According to an Axios poll in January 2024, the most important issues to Colorado voters this year were the following: homelessness, housing costs, immigration, cost of living, taxes, crime, and the economy. This article will address the best and worst of Colorado policies on these issues. In prior years, I have focused this annual review on elected people responsible for the implementation of these policies, but this year I will focus on the actual policies which fail and succeed. My reasoning is threefold. First, Marxist ideology is running rampant in the Colorado capitol and Denver. The Democrat Super Majority in the Colorado General Assembly allows bills to pass with party line votes which are grounded in ideology and lacking any evidence demonstrating efficacy, cost-effectiveness, or long-term benefit to the public. Second, Colorado is spending $40 billion a year without accountability. Colorado’s legislators are spending billions of dollars annually within a quasi-democratic government that does not obtain consent of taxpayers, and that no longer subjects itself to open meeting laws as of 2024. Under the Polis Administration, new taxes have been added annually and are disingenuously called “fees” to circumvent TABOR. Third, a statewide redistribution of wealth agenda is now out in the open in the Colorado legislative and executive branches. 99% of the 700 bills introduced annually in Colorado are not constituent-driven, but instead are special-interest-driven and focused on funding grants and giving tax breaks to very small groups and “green” agendas while making Colorado unaffordable for most people.
Denver officials demonstrated the outcomes of a “sanctuary city” which welcomes immigrants with a “humanitarian” promise of food, shelter, and transportation which could not be sustained by taxpayers. In 2023, 36,000 migrants were “welcomed” to Denver at a cost of $36 million, or $1M for every 1000 immigrants. Denver’s 36,000 immigrants represented 5% of the Denver population of 700,000 residents, and the distinction of more immigrants per capita than any other major U.S. city. What were the outcomes of this program? Gas stations and other businesses were surrounded by camps, saw a 50% reduction in business and experienced problems with trash and loitering. In January 2024, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced his plan to tear down the problematic camps, lease hotels as shelters, and construct tiny homes or “micro-communities” for migrants, at a cost of $45 million for 1000 migrants, or $45,000 per migrant (while the state spends $9,500 per student in education). In 2024, Johnston decided to cut Denver services to fund $15 million per month to house migrants and projected spending $180 million in 2024 for migrants. Johnston announced that Denver residents should embrace a “shared sacrifice” for migrants, even though migrants do not pay taxes and cannot get work authorizations. Johnston cut $5 million in Parks and Rec programs for youth and cut DMV services for taxpaying citizens. Denver’s “newcomer budget” for migrants also cut the fire department by $2.5 million, cut the police department by $8.5 million, and cut the sheriff’s office by $3.8 million.
Denver area businesses, schools, and non-profits also paid the price for what some have described as “liberal lunacy.” Denver Health reported $135 million in uncompensated care for migrants in 2023, which is paid by Denver and Colorado taxpayers. UC Health reported $580 million in uncompensated care to migrants and the uninsured in 2023, mostly from the hospital in Aurora, near Denver. Aurora non-profits served 325 migrant families a day at food pantries funded by non-profits for unknown food costs. Denver Public Schools reported an influx of 200-250 migrant students a month, and a shortfall of $14 million in the beginning of 2024. By March of 2024, a Denver Friends Church closed its makeshift shelter because the volunteers and resources were stretched too thin to provide a safe place for 200 immigrants. Denver police had responded to 955 calls to violence at migrant shelters. By April of 2024, the Denver Mayor’s office directed migrants to leave Denver for New York or Chicago, finally with an admission of “suffering” of migrants in the sanctuary city program which was initially justified as “humanitarian.” This entire sanctuary city program was unsustainable from the start, costing $120 million for shelters, and contributed to the exodus of residents and businesses out of Denver. The “micro communities” and shelters were shut down out of necessity because of cost and crime.
The surge of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border in 2022 did not initially travel to Denver. They were enticed by the “pull factor” of the Denver mayor and Denver city council which promised free shelter and onward transportation in a sanctuary city.
The elected representatives of Douglas County made a very public resolution to mitigate a “pull factor” for migrants in the area. They passed an ordinance which prohibited commercial buses from dropping off passengers at unscheduled locations, with a $1000 fine per violation. With limited resources, the county commissioners expressed an obligation to serve their citizens first and noted the inhumane lure of bringing migrants to a cold climate without proper resources. The county commissioners voted in support of legal immigration channels, despite two Colorado laws passed under Governor Polis (HB19-1124, HB23-1100) which prohibit local governments from collaborating with federal agents to enforce legal immigration and detention of illegal entries. Castle Rock, one of the main cities in Douglas County, has the sixth lowest crime rate in Colorado and did not experience the financial strain on resources like Denver which treated its taxpayers like second class citizens to prioritize migrants.
Prior to the surge of 40,000 migrants in 2024, Denver reported 9,000 homeless people in 2023. Denver created a “Denver Basic Income Project” to give cash to homeless people. The program has no requirements or restrictions on how people spend the money. This program gave out $6.5 million to 800 people, with payments ranging from $50 to $1,000 per month. The mid-project report of a 12-month study indicates only a 30% increase in people living in homes. How many of these people returned to homelessness after the program? This program does not mitigate mental health or addictions which interfere with employment.
A Denver Gazette report compared the Denver homeless strategy to all other large U.S cities. The Denver homeless crisis cost taxpayers $274 million from 2021-2024. Other large U.S. cities have had better success with a focus on permanent housing, rather than emergency shelters and temporary transition services which perpetuate homelessness. In the past five years, the number of people entering homeless services increased 179% in Denver, while most other large U.S. cities have had declines. Only two out of 10 people exiting homeless programs in Denver find permanent housing. Denver has one of the lowest successful exit rates out of homeless services compared to the other largest U.S. cities as reported in a data-based report the Denver Gazette, “There are two or three large non-profits who are receiving the lion’s share of tax dollars to operate programs which are, in essence, not solving the problem.”
In ancient times, debtors worked for seven years under a master’s provision for food and shelter until they could pay off a debt. In colonial times, indentured servants learned a trade while living in a dormitory setting until they could support their own independence. These options were regarded as compassionate and responsible. Modern psychology agrees that fostering “resilience” requires purposeful work in society.
The Denver Gazette reported, “The whole argument has been that our cities are spending so much money on the front end, providing emergency rooms, jail, and detox services to people, that if you would just house them and provide them with mental health and substance abuse services and stabilize them, you would spend a lot less money than you would by using some of the most expensive units of service that cities have available to them,” Van Leeuwen said.
A faith-based program at Denver Rescue Mission Harvest Farm allows men to live in a peer house if they work on the farm and remain sober. Programs like these, which provide long-term housing, foster resilience by giving people skills which lead to employment and by recovering people to sobriety which leads to stability.
Aurora passed a “tough love” program in June of 2024 for addressing challenges of homeless people called HEART: Housing, Employment, Addiction, Recovery, Teamwork. This program puts low level offenders (panhandling and stealing) on probation until they complete the court-ordered program and then charges are dropped. During the program, homeless people are connected to resources for shelter and other needs. Time will tell if the Aurora program of accountability is better than Denver’s program of handouts.
According to U.S. News & World Report, Colorado became the third most dangerous state in the nation as of 2024.
Ignoring crime is the worst deterrent to crime. As the New York Post reported “Colorado Gov. Jared Polis dismissed anger over Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua taking over apartment buildings in the Denver suburb of Aurora, calling it ‘imagination’ — despite video footage, police reports, and the city’s mayor confirming it’s happening.” Aurora Mayor Coffman said, “the buildings were used as taxpayer-funded migrant housing, which is what gave the gangs a foothold.” In response to Aurora City Council members reporting shootouts and brutal beatings, Polis’ spokesperson responded to the New York Post, “the governor really hopes that the city council members in charge stop trashing their own city when they are supposed to keep it safe.” This is what some call “governor gaslighting.”
Car theft is down in 2024 in Colorado, likely because SB23-097 made all car theft a felony. In 2022, a total of 41,656 vehicles were stolen, the highest year for auto theft per capita in Colorado. In June of 2023 with SB-97, a total of 32,976 cars were stolen, a 20% decrease from 2022. Colorado’s 2024 data projects a 45% decrease in car theft from 2022.
Kia and Hyundai are among the top ten most stolen cars in Colorado due to lack of anti-theft features. Many older Kia and Hyundai models were not equipped with electronic immobilizers, which prevent the engine from starting without the correct key.
Violent crimes are also decreasing in Colorado. Research indicates that prosecution of crimes in lower offenses reduce crimes in higher offenses.
Colorado has seven legislators who are members of the Democratic Socialists of America. Their ideology opposes penalties for criminals (the oppressed), and their ideology enacts penances for the alleged oppressors (business owners, property owners, and producers of goods and services.) Redistribution of wealth is evident with the assault on property owners to fund social welfare programs while circumventing the consent of taxpayers.
In 2024, the property tax wars in Colorado resulted in a second taxpayer-funded special session, to address Coloradan’s average increase of 25% in property taxes. The 2024 legislative session failed again to bring significant relief to property taxes which are making Colorado homes unaffordable. As reported by CPR,
“House Bill 1001 permanently reduces property tax rates for homeowners by about 2 percent. That’s a savings of about $50 for a $500,000 home in an area with average tax burden. It will have a greater impact on some non-residential owners, reducing their tax burden by about 7 percent in the near term, and more in later years. That’s about $800 for a typical $1 million property.”
Homeowners in Colorado are not relieved over a $50 savings when they are paying $3,050 in property taxes for a $600,000 home.
Local governments which decided to make tax cuts during this time protected homeowners from being taxed out of their homes. Douglas County Commissioners approved tax relief checks averaging $190. The owners of businesses and homes will migrate to counties which protect them from excessive taxation.
The average price of a Denver area home is $595,000. As reported by CPR, the Progressives’ solution to more affordable housing involves building high density housing near public transport, authorizing “accessory dwelling units” (tiny houses), eliminating parking space requirements (to coerce public transport use), removing occupancy limits, and enacting anti-eviction laws among other dystopian ideas along with government land grabs.
As reported by The Common Sense Institute Colorado, in “Unlocking Housing Affordability in Denver:”
“Reevaluate Expanding Housing Affordability: In light of the significant decline in housing permits following the implementation of Denver’s EHA ordinance, a comprehensive review of the ordinance is warranted. While the intent of the EHA is to facilitate the development of affordable housing, the evidence suggests it may inadvertently be hindering Denver’s capacity to meet housing demands, counterproductively restricting supply. Denver leaders should consider eliminating or adjusting EHA to facilitate rather than hinder housing development, potentially by modifying fee structures or offering more flexible compliance options.
Significantly Increase Zoned Capacity: Denver currently lacks the zoned capacity necessary to foster a regulatory environment that supports the most affordable housing types and supply. To address this, it is essential that Denver increases the percentage of land zoned for multifamily developments. Additionally, there must be a significant reduction in barriers to the construction of duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes, often referred to as the “missing middle” or “light touch density” especially in areas currently zoned exclusively for single-family homes.
Radically Accelerate Permit Processes: The efficiency of Denver’s permitting process is paramount to keeping pace with the urgent needs of Denver’s housing market. Inspired by the successful fast-track permitting initiatives in San Diego and Los Angeles, Denver should adopt similar measures to streamline and expedite its permitting processes to include market rate housing. This approach will reduce developmental costs and timelines, allowing for greater financial feasibility of projects during this high cost of capital market environment. This will thereby encourage more developers, across all housing types, be they affordable, middle and market rate to invest in Denver, creating greater supply on an annual basis.”
Coloradoans are also paying taxes disingenuously called enterprise “fees” at every transaction: bags at the grocery store, Amazon purchases, food delivery services, and ride shares. In the 2024 legislative session, Democrats introduced an outrageous bill for a pet ownership fee, to include fish and insects. Other bills aimed to impose fees on phones, alcohol, tires, rental cars, and moving trucks. Every area of life is taxable under the current Colorado government, with the use of “fees” to avoid taxpayer approval required by TABOR.
As a result, a Colorado Polling Institute reported in a survey on cost of living (March 2024) that 61% of voters said they have considered moving or recently moved due to financial considerations, and 53% of voters said they were worse off than 4 years ago.
By Constitutional amendment, fees should be defined as a tax, and need voter approval per TABOR.
The current legislative body and governor have a disdain for the three main industries of Colorado: agriculture, oil and gas, and tourism. Colorado has recently released wolves onto public lands to kill cattle, and then after backlash, legislators offered a bill to ranchers for non-lethal mitigation measures. The legislature also introduced a bill to ban oil and gas drilling, while the Governor has goals to force electric-only policies on the public by 2030. The legislature also introduced a bill to decimate the mountain tourism industry with a 400% increased tax rate on rental properties. These bills did not pass this session, but the goals are clear.
The leadership of Colorado is killing the economy. The Colorado Chamber of Commerce issued a report that that found that Colorado is the 6th most regulated state in the country, and the excessive regulations on industries are crushing the state’s economy. Fewer people want to move to Colorado. As reported by KDVR, in 2013, 1 in 12 people who were moving to a new state were moving to Colorado. In 2023, that changed to 1 in every 120 people. Business incentives are not working as reported in The Colorado Sun, “Colorado offered $1.45 billion in incentives to attract new business. About 5% was claimed.”
The best economic policy is to pressure Colorado leadership to support the industries which have demonstrated success in Colorado. In 2024, the National Western Stock Show brought 671,467 visitors to Denver and sold $1,374,000 worth of livestock. In 2023, the Stock Show generated a $171 million impact on the state’s economy. This is indicative of the thriving agriculture and cattle industry which are not valued under the current administration. Colorado’s parks bring in $7 billion each year, and yet the Denver Airport does not feature any park information for tourists. The oil and gas industry has over 300,000 jobs in Colorado and provides significant funding for schools through taxes, in addition to heating 7 out of 10 homes with natural gas, and yet it took 200 people to testify against a bill that would ban oil and gas drilling in Colorado in 2030 to defeat it.
My hope is that liberal, independent, and conservative voters will engage like never before at the Colorado capitol in the new session in January 2025. Furthermore, I will make the dire prediction that if there is not unprecedented citizen backlash at the Colorado capitol, then greater Denver area businesses and communities are on track to become a wasteland, much like the once thriving Motor City of Detroit.
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