bell policy center

Colorado politicos see high stakes in Washington tax fight

Oct 30, 2017

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JOEY BUNCH

As Congress gets ready to rumble over tax reform this week, Colorado politicos on both side of equation have been sizing up the stakes. They wonder if the Republicans American voters put in control of all three federal branches can demonstrate the ability to govern. “We really need to get this done,” state Republican Party…
Forced arbitration with banks isn’t dead yet, but Colorado consumer watchdogs say let it die

Jul 21, 2017

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JOEY BUNCH

Republican leaders in the U.S. House and Senate Thursday set in motion a plan to force people possibly wronged by banks into arbitration and keep them out of courtrooms, just like in the old days before this month. Let’s back up a few steps. In 2010 Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer…
Bell Policy Center chief: We’re not free in a predatory economy

Jul 16, 2017

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JOEY BUNCH

You can’t pick yourself up by the bootstraps if your feet are chained to the floor. Debt is preventing Americans from moving up and our increasingly predatory economy makes that possible. This year, Colorado’s General Assembly closed the “Zombie Debt” loophole in our Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. It was an important win for consumers,…
Debt collectors have to clean up their acts under new Colorado law

Jun 12, 2017

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JOEY BUNCH

One new Colorado law should be music to the ears of those who don’t care for calls from debt collectors, especially for money they don’t owe. Senate Bill 216 cracks down immediately on “zombie debt,” uncollected or written-off bills the debt collection agencies buy in bulk to try to collect on. Unfortunately for the public,…
Partisan divide over Colorado public retirement savings plans offers little chance again this year

Apr 14, 2017

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Joey Bunch

A bill that would create a retirement savings account with payroll deductions for Coloradans who don’t have them got off to a partisan start Thursday. House Bill 1290 would create the Colorado Secure Savings Plan. It passed the House Business Affairs on a 7-6 party-line vote. Hard-edged questions from Republicans exposed ideological rifts over the…
A PERA for the masses? It’s now pending in the Colorado legislature

Apr 10, 2017

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DAN NJEGOMIR Colorado Politics

Instead of alms for the needy, some Colorado lawmakers want to give them a shot at a retirement plan – through a new fund that would be set up by the state. House Bill 1290, recently introduced in the House by state Reps. Brittany Pettersen, D- Lakewood, and Janet Buckner, D-Aurora, sets up the “Colorado Secure Savings Plan” and establishes a…
Colorado economists: Trump budget short on details, long on politics

Mar 20, 2017

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JOEY BUNCH

Donald Trump’s budget is more about politics and philosophy than policy and reality. That was the consensus of more than a dozen economists and analysts interviewed by Colorado Politics after Trump dropped his proposal with a political thud. Sen. Cory Gardner, the Republican from Yuma who serves on the Senate Budget Committee, reminded Trump that it’s…
Younger workers benefit most from minimum wage hike

Dec 31, 2016

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Mike McKibbin

Colorado workers between the ages of 20 and 25 are the largest group who will see their paychecks go up Sunday, when Amendment 70’s minimum wage hike takes effect. According to the Bell Policy Center, 79 percent fall into the youngest age range, with lower percentages as age increases. Women will benefit more than men,…
? Zoe: A conservative case to raise the minimum wage

Nov 2, 2016

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Jared Wright

I have been a fiscally conservative Republican since I was a young man because President Ronald Reagan’s unshakable optimism in the goodness of America and his message of personal responsibility and the dignity of work resonated strongly with me. And that’s why as a business owner, I’ll be voting for Amendment 70 to gradually raise…