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Tag: Common Sense Institute

Colorado Crime Still Among Nation’s Worst Despite Drop in Auto Theft
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado Crime Still Among Nation’s Worst Despite Drop in Auto Theft

By: The Gazette Editorial Board | Commentary, The Denver Gazette The Polis administration’s announcement the other day touting a drop in Colorado’s nationally notorious rate of auto theft was welcome news — as long as it lasted. As The Gazette reported, the state Department of Public Safety released data late last month showing auto thefts were down this year by 36%, from January through May, compared with the same time frame last year. Then came the bad newS. Not one, but two people were shot to death in apparently separate incidents in Denver — both while trying to stop the theft of their cars — within days of the announcement. Yes, motor vehicle theft still poses a very serious threat in our state. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise.  Accordin...
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Initiative 195 would raise taxes on Colorado’s top earners. A new report asks whether they’d stay.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Initiative 195 would raise taxes on Colorado’s top earners. A new report asks whether they’d stay.

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The income tax on a Colorado household earning under $25,000 would fall by $9 a year under Initiative 195. A filer reporting between $2 million and $5 million would pay about $13,914 more. Both figures come from the measure's certified ballot title. The Common Sense Institute, a free-market policy group in Greenwood Village, says that second household is also the one most likely to pack up and leave Colorado, and that the state would lose part of the revenue the tax is supposed to bring in right along with it. Initiative 195 would end Colorado's flat income tax. The state taxed income on a graduated scale for its first 50 years, then switched in 1987 to a single rate, now 4.4 percent, that applies to every earner.  In its place, 1...
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Denver Public Schools Grows Bureaucracy While Student Population Declines
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver Public Schools Grows Bureaucracy While Student Population Declines

By: Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette Meanwhile, the district employs 262 fewer teachers compared to 5 years ago. Denver Public Schools (DPS) has operated with thousands fewer students than its peak enrollment in 2019 but it has grown its administrative ranks back to nearly their pre-pandemic level, a Denver Gazette analysis of state staffing data shows. This finding mirrors a statewide trend identified in a report by the Common Sense Institute (CSI) that found Colorado school districts continued to grow their administrative staff despite declining student enrollment. In the past five years, districts across the state have added more than 250 administrators, a 13.1% increase, according to CSI. State data shows Colorado has lost more than...
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Colorado Growth Slows as Population Gains Concentrate in Fewer Counties
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Growth Slows as Population Gains Concentrate in Fewer Counties

By Mark Samuelson | The Denver Gazette Population growth in Colorado, which had helped drive the region’s burgeoning economy over recent years, has slowed markedly. In metro Denver, the growth areas are concentrated in only a handful of counties, according to a new report. From 2024 to 2025 the state added just 33,151 residents, marking one of the lowest annual growth cycles it had posted over the past decade, according to a study issued last week by the Greenwood Village-based Common Sense Institute. That recent total shows Colorado’s annual population growth having slipped by some 60% from 2015, a summary of the study concluded. During the span of 2015 to 2016, Colorado saw a population increase of 83,036, the study said. Meanwhile, although recent data show t...
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New Federal Tax Credit Could Expand Colorado School Choice Options
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, Commentary, State

New Federal Tax Credit Could Expand Colorado School Choice Options

By Brenda Dickhoner | Commentary, The Colorado Sun State lawmakers made the right move to postpone legislation that would have created barriers for the program. Colorado lawmakers have been working to close a budget gap of more than $1.5 billion, and programs that students and families rely on are under pressure. At the same time, a new federal tax credit gives Colorado a chance to bring substantial philanthropic dollars into education without drawing from the state’s general fund. The Education Freedom Tax Credit allows taxpayers to receive a federal tax credit of up to $1,700 annually for charitable contributions to scholarship-granting organizations that support K-12 students. Essentially, the program encourages private giving to step in where public fun...
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Colorado loses businesses at one of nation’s highest rates, new report finds
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado loses businesses at one of nation’s highest rates, new report finds

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado residents have spent years watching prices climb while business groups warn that operating in the state is becoming harder. A new report adds another layer of data to those concerns. Colorado ranked near the bottom nationally for net business establishment growth in 2024 and recorded the nation’s worst employment losses tied to business openings and closures, according to a new analysis from the Common Sense Institute. While most states added businesses and jobs last year, Colorado was one of only six states to lose ground in both categories, joining Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Washington. Researchers pointed to high business costs and weakening confidence in Colorado’s economic outlook as growing warni...
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Report Ties Colorado’s Fentanyl Death Surge To Weaker Drug Laws
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Report Ties Colorado’s Fentanyl Death Surge To Weaker Drug Laws

By Jacob Mauk | Colorado Politics Overdose deaths from opioids rose in Colorado, diverging from the national trend, which has been decreasing, according to a new study from a think tank. In its new report, the Common Sense Institute said synthetic opioid overdose deaths in Colorado have grown by 17% since November 2024, the third-fastest growth rate in the country. The only states with higher spike rates are Arizona and New Mexico, according to the report. If Colorado had followed the national trend, some 1,600 lives could have been saved, the study said, adding the opioid deaths represented a cost of roughly $18.3 billion. “While this number does not encompass the entire value of human life, it does indicate that lives lost due to fentanyl and other opioids red...
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From $8 Billion to $16 Billion: How Colorado’s Medicaid Budget Doubled in a Decade
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

From $8 Billion to $16 Billion: How Colorado’s Medicaid Budget Doubled in a Decade

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice If you ask most Colorado families how they feel about health care right now, the answers aren’t complicated. It’s expensive.It’s confusing.It keeps going up. And for taxpayers helping fund Colorado’s Medicaid program — known as Health First Colorado — another question has started to surface: If enrollment has come back down, why hasn’t spending followed? Ten years ago, Colorado’s Medicaid agency operated on roughly $8 billion. Today it’s closer to $16 billion. The Common Sense Institute (CSI) calculates that as 101 percent growth over the decade. CSI reports that the rest of the state operating budget grew 64 percent during that same period. The story of enrollment is different. ...
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Colorado Human Trafficking Cases Reach Alarming High In 2025
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Just The News, Approved, State

Colorado Human Trafficking Cases Reach Alarming High In 2025

By Derek Draplin | Just the News The analysis by Common Sense Institute Colorado uses data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. But the institute said the state’s data is undercounted due to data-entry lag, noting 2025 human trafficking numbers could end up exceeding record levels from 2023. Colorado saw “peak levels” for human trafficking in 2025 even without complete data for the year, a new analysis warns. The analysis by Common Sense Institute Colorado uses data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. But the institute said the state’s data is undercounted due to data-entry lag, noting 2025 human trafficking numbers could end up exceeding record levels from 2023. ...
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