Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Inflation

Trump Pledges $5,000 Dividend to Adult Americans if GOP Holds Congress
CBS News, Approved, National

Trump Pledges $5,000 Dividend to Adult Americans if GOP Holds Congress

By Joe Walsh | CBS News President Trump vowed Wednesday to send a $5,000 "dividend" to every American citizen after the midterms, but only if Republicans hold onto control of the House and Senate. The announcement came almost an hour into Mr. Trump's speech to the Republican National Committee's first-of-its-kind midterm convention in Dallas, as he seeks to rally Republican voters and fight significant political headwinds in the November elections. "If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000," he said. The president did not offer details on how the payments — which he dubbed "Trump Dividends" — would work, including whether he plans to ask Congress to authorize the checks. He has floated the idea of cutting checks to U.S. citizens in th...
Inflationary Bracket Creep With Initiative 195 Could Push More Coloradans Into Higher Tax Brackets
Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Inflationary Bracket Creep With Initiative 195 Could Push More Coloradans Into Higher Tax Brackets

By Nash Herman | Commentary, Complete Colorado Initiative 195, the proposed ‘progressive’ income tax ballot measure, promises long-term pain for Colorado taxpayers due to what economists call “bracket creep.”  But we do not need to speculate about the impact of bracket creep, as we can already see its effect in action since voters passed Proposition FF in 2022.  Proposition FF Through Proposition FF, voters decided to increase taxes on high-income Colorado earners to support a universal school lunch program.  The measure capped state deductions for tax filers with a federal adjusted gross income exceeding $300,000 and directed new revenue to the Healthy School Meals for All (HSMA) program.   READ THE FUL...
Walmart Targets Lower Prices After Receiving Nearly $3 Billion in Tariff Refunds
Fox Business, Approved, National

Walmart Targets Lower Prices After Receiving Nearly $3 Billion in Tariff Refunds

By Bradford Betz | FOX Business Walmart plans part of nearly $3 billion in tariff refunds to support its pricing strategy as the retailer posted higher sales and raised its annual outlook. Walmart has received nearly $3 billion in tariff refunds and says it will use some of the benefit to help keep prices low for shoppers, while the windfall also gave quarterly profit growth a significant boost. The company said it "prioritized investment in price" after receiving refunds tied to tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. The refunds came as Walmart continued leaning into its value proposition. The retailer pointed to more than 11,000 price rollbacks across its U.S. stores during the quarter. "We’re i...
Prescription Drug Prices Post Sharpest Decline in More Than 60 Years
The Washington Post, Approved, National

Prescription Drug Prices Post Sharpest Decline in More Than 60 Years

By Steve Thompson, Federica Cocco and Christopher Rowland | The Washington Post While overall medical costs continued to rise, prescription drug prices fell by 3.1 percent in the year ending in July, the steepest annual decline since 1963. Prescription drug prices recorded the biggest year-over-year drop in more than 60 years in July, a startling reduction experts chalked up to an array of factors, including more generics and discount GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. While overall costs for medical services continued to rise, prices for medicinal drugs fell 2.7 percent over the 12 months ending in July, the largest annual drop on record, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Wednesday. Prescription drugs, part of the medicinal drug category, fell by 3.1 perce...
Denver Minimum Wage Increase Raises Questions Over Prices, Jobs, and Affordability
DENVER7, Approved, Local

Denver Minimum Wage Increase Raises Questions Over Prices, Jobs, and Affordability

By Sophia Villalba | Denver7 DENVER — Denver's minimum wage will rise to $19.84 an hour on Jan. 1, renewing debate over how higher labor costs affect workers and businesses. Some say the increase is necessary, while others say the higher wages could impact business operations. Every business owner implements cost-cutting methods however they can. At Elemental Bakery and Coffeehouse, owner Cindy Wright chooses to take on more work herself to save some money. “Instead of hiring a dish person, we all do the dishes. We're not looking to raise prices or anything right now,” Elemental Bakery & Coffeehouse owner Cindy Wright said. Spending is top of mind, especially with another minimum wage increase on the horizon. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT DENVE...
Colorado Economy Holds Ground as Inflation and Labor Shortages Raise Concerns
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Economy Holds Ground as Inflation and Labor Shortages Raise Concerns

By Bernadette Berdychowski | The Denver Gazette Inflation is up again, job growth is slowing and geopolitical turmoil has added the effects of high oil prices to the state’s economy. Yet, despite those issues, Colorado’s economy continues to expand, according to a report from the University of Colorado Boulder released Tuesday. The state added 28,600 jobs in June, up 1% year-over-year, the report said. Twelve industries in Colorado saw job losses and eight saw gains, with the most job growth consistently in the healthcare and social assistance sector. Colorado’s economy in 2025 was largely defined by a period of uncertainty spurred by a slew of federal policy changes — from tariffs to federal worker layoffs — after President Donald Trump took office for his seco...
Colorado Progressive Tax Plan Raises Long-Term Bracket Creep Concerns
Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Progressive Tax Plan Raises Long-Term Bracket Creep Concerns

By Nash Herman | Complete Colorado Proponents of a progressive state income tax claim that it will give most Coloradans a break on their taxes.   Those familiar with history, inflation, and bracket creep see a much different long-term picture.   Repeating history The US adopted a federal income tax in 1913, justified by the claim that only about one percent of the population would pay the tax in its earliest years.  Does this sound familiar?   Proponents of Initiative 195, the ballot measure to switch Colorado’s 4.4 percent flat income tax rate to a progressive tax, are adamant that the measure is fair because 97 percent of filers will receive a tax cut.  READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT COMPLETE COLORAD...
Government intervention comes at a price
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Government intervention comes at a price

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project I came across the chart mentioned in the first link below during my wanderings about the internet. The link is to a blog post put out by HumanProgress.org, an offshoot of the Cato Institute a Libertarian think tank.I want to call your attention mainly to the graph embedded in the blog post. This is attached as screenshot 1. To help you orient yourself, this is a graph of the rise (or fall) in prices for a variety of goods and services in a time series from the year 2000 on. The scale is given as a percent increase (positive numbers), or decrease (negative numbers).It makes sense that prices change over time (how many of us had grandparents who quoted the price of a chocolate bar, how many of us will ...
Immigration Reform And Ending War Could Ease Inflation
The Daily Signal, Approved, Commentary, National

Immigration Reform And Ending War Could Ease Inflation

By Steve Cortes | Commentary, The Daily Signal Housing affordability is awful, and it looks set to get worse. Unless, of course, we take corrective action, especially on immigration and war. Here’s the harsh current reality: Inflation continues to bedevil far too many Americans. Other than owners of substantial assets, wage earners have struggled in this economy for five years, ever since the profligacy of the COVID-19 panic sent prices surging. Consider the kitchen-table fallout from this inflation. Right now, mortgage rates are rising as U.S. Treasury yields climb. Bond investors worldwide demand higher yields to lend money to America, a country grappling with nearly a staggering $40 trillion in federal debt. Consequently, here is the math with ...