There is no shortage of national headlines warning of the looming economic challenges facing our country; however, here in Colorado, our business community has remained resilient amid historic inflation and myriad pandemic-induced obstacles. Though there is a lot to be encouraged by when it comes to our state’s growth and innovation, our elected leaders need to be careful not to stifle these successes with misguided policies at the state and federal level.

An analysis of 2023 first quarter economic data released by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office and University of Colorado confirmed what many of us already knew to be true: the state of the Colorado economy is strong and we are one of just a few states that continues to post robust economic gains. Colorado saw the eighth-highest year-over-year GDP growth in the U.S., and new business filings during the first quarter rose 14.3% over the previous quarter, which is the highest quarterly increase on record.

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Part of the reason our business community continues to outperform its peers is the enactment of pro-growth policies like the Colorado Business Fee Relief Act, which was signed into law last year. However, there is a push by some of our leaders at the state and federal level to punish certain sectors of the U.S. economy, such as our country’s leading technology companies that have contributed to the diversification of our state’s economy and provide invaluable services to small- and medium-sized businesses across Colorado. These efforts only serve to diminish our state’s, and our country’s, competitiveness at a time when we are trying to maintain our technological edge against China and other adversarial nations.

We should not take our economic dominance for granted. It is imperative the private and public sectors row in the same direction so that we can maintain our industrial might. Unproductive legislation and the constant threat of political lawsuits do nothing to achieve our long-term economic goals.

Jeff Keener is the president and CEO of the South Metro Denver Chamber.