Why is it that certain leaders under the Golden Dome insist on exemplifying their conceit and contempt through their legislation and actions? And yes – that’s exactly what is going on at the General Assembly right now.

The most recent example is the forthcoming bill to mandate “Fair Workweek Employment Standards” through so-called “predictability pay.” In a nutshell, Democratic state Rep. Emily Sirota doesn’t trust restaurants (of any size) and large retailers to set their own employees’ schedules.

Sirota believes the government has the right – nay, the responsibility – to dictate that employers inform affected employees of their work schedule two full weeks in advance. Any deviation – or any time an employee is “cut” early or asked to stay longer – will result in expensive extra pay. Violations could cost businesses up to $10,000 per infringement.

Somehow, Sirota seems to have forgotten (or perhaps just doesn’t care?) how fickle and impactful Colorado’s weather can be – especially when you’re not living in her home city of Denver. Will the next Snowmageddon hit 10 days after the schedule goes out, significantly reducing the number of patrons to a restaurant? Who could know?

Let’s be real: Sirota’s bill – which was effectively dismantled in Monday’s Gazette editorial – reflects the tried-and-failed mindset that government-knows-best and the regressive belief that government must therefore provide like a mother nursing her newborn. Hence, this legislation’s intent to “micro-dictate” businesses’ schedules to ensure a “living wage.”

“Just like increasing the minimum wage to an inappropriate amount, predictability pay will increase the businesses’ costs which will increase prices which will result in less customers/revenue which will cause decreased staffing,” 710KNUS radio listener Alexa texted me as I hosted Tuesday.

Bingo. If this passes, it will spawn a vicious cycle that will imperil service businesses (especially restaurants) that are still struggling to emerge from the pandemic – if they were lucky to survive in the first place.

In fairness to the labor organizations supporting this legislation, working in the restaurant industry isn’t easy. The ability for the employer to call in an employee for a short shift on a whim or to cut them early is a real thing that can be frustrating, if not difficult for someone relying on the income.

To that end, perhaps it’s fair to at least try and ensure that workers are made aware of their shifts a week in advance. But even that’s not so simple.

In addition to serving at-large on Aurora’s city council, Danielle Jurinsky owns multiple restaurants. Flexibility with scheduling is crucial to these businesses, including sports bars like hers.

“I have employees that literally just show up somedays, ‘Hey, does anyone want to go home? I want to work and pick up a shift,'” Jurinsky told me on 710KNUS. “If it is slow, I’ve got the 21, 22-year-old bartenders, waitresses, that are chomping at the bit (to leave for a social outing). So, what does that mean now, that I’m going to have to pay them for an extra hour, when they’re even asking to be cut early some nights?”

What about unexpected sporting events, like when the Colorado Avalanche are crushing it?

“I don’t know until maybe four, five days – maybe a week tops – before that the Avalanche are going to the Stanley Cup,” Jurinsky said. “And guess what? If they don’t win that night, and my schedule’s already out, then I have a whole bunch of people lined up to work there’s not going to be the business for the Stanley Cup. Or I, say, I don’t know if the Avalanche are gonna win, so I don’t schedule a whole bunch of people, and we do win – and the sports bar is packed.”

Do the bill’s supporters really want sports bars to root against the home team so they can accommodate patrons under their scheduling scheme?

Let’s be clear: government edicts like this take away the flexibility that is fundamental to a service business. There’s no two ways around that.

How conceited and condescending must Sirota and company be to believe they have the right to tell restaurants and retailers how to manage their staff schedules – and penalize them for failing to comply? Have they even consulted the industry?

Last week, I wrote about the inflation blues we’re all enduring (channeling a classic B.B. King song my blues band is fond of covering). From eggs and milk to gasoline and home heating bills, everyday Coloradans and small businesses are feeling the pinch.

While Gov. Jared Polis says the government has “the tools to save people money,” he and his fellow Democrats are complicit in surging costs, from their ridesharing, gasoline and plastic bag “fees” to rising energy bills and health insurance premiums.

Polis’s words belie their apparent contempt for average Coloradans by claiming they want to help cut our costs while actually making life more expensive – and expecting the people and businesses of Colorado to just accept their reasoning.

Sirota’s “predictability pay” is merely the latest in a line of legislation – ranging from counterproductive to harmful – that dismisses reality in favor of a delusional vision of what government can and should do. In the end, how deeply will this conceited and contemptuous attitude shape the legislative session?

Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and host of “The Jimmy Sengenberger Show” Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on News/Talk 710 KNUS. Reach Jimmy online at JimmySengenberger.com or on Twitter @SengCenter.