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The State of Opportunity
The Bell Policy Center believes Colorado should be a state of opportunity — a place where all people can build better lives for themselves and their families.
Opportunity motivates effort. It unleashes the talents of individuals, feeds a dynamic economy, and stimulates creativity and invention.
Turning this vision into reality is the mission of the Bell Policy Center.
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Bell judges the 2008 legislative session an overall success
In the most recent edition of Opportunity News, the Bell gives a comprehensive overview of legislative achievements and disappointments in this past session. "While this session lacked a signature, highly visible initiative, the actions taken represent real progress toward opening doors of opportunity for more Coloradans," said Wade Buchanan, president of the Bell Policy Center.
Read the entire Opportunity News here
Read our report: The Truth About Payday Loans
A report from the Bell and the Center for Policy Entrepeneurship that uses data from the Colorado Attorney General's office to show that payday loans trap hard working Coloradans in a long-term cycle of debt.
With an average APR of over 350%, state data shows that these loans are harmful products that do not help people, but rather ensnare them in a cycle of debt.
Learn about payday lending reform bill, HB-1310
A must read!
Looking Forward
Colorado's fiscal prospects after Ref C
“We want this report to serve as a resource to Coloradans as they discuss where to go from here. It compiles a reliable set of projections about future fiscal conditions and provides the context in which future decisions need to be made.” — Wade Buchanan, president, The Bell Policy Center
Looking Forward is written by a team of eight analysts from the Bell Policy Center, Colorado Children’s Campaign and Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute. They focused on the six-year study period of FY 2007-08 through FY 2012-13 — the last three years of the Referendum C time-out and the first three years of the new Ref C revenue cap.Looking Forward projects revenues and expenditures for the five largest state agencies, assuming a continuation of 2007 levels of service. It analyzes the effects of TABOR, the Arveschoug-Bird 6 percent spending formula and the varying forces that drive spending, agency by agency. It also looks at the future needs of the state’s capital budgets, including transportation and capital construction.
“The bottom line is that 2007 is probably as good as it’s going to get for state services. Services aren’t back to the levels they were at before the recession, and yet the challenge now is to prevent falling behind again.” — Wade Buchanan, The Bell Policy Center
“What we need now is a serious, informed, statewide discussion about the kind of state we want our children to grow up in. If we aspire to higher goals for our schools, colleges and universities, health care, transportation systems and more, then we need to start a conversation in Colorado about how we get there.” — Megan Ferland, president, Colorado Children’s Campaign.
Under TABOR, decisions affecting state revenues in Colorado are made by the state’s 2.5 million registered voters rather than the 100 state legislators.
“We can’t just take this information up to the Capitol and think we’ve done our job. This is something we need to take to Coloradans throughout the state. This is a conversation we all need to participate in.” — Maureen Farrell, executive director, Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute.
Visit the Looking Forward homepage
Link to Health Blog • Read the press release
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The Health Blog is tracking the work of the Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Reform and provides a public forum to debate aspects of health care reform.
Come join the blog and help contribute to the open discussion about meaningful health care policy in Colorado.
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July 2, 2008
Amendment 46 becomes a hotly debated issue
Melissa Hart, from the Equal Opportunity Campaign and law professor from CU Boulder, and Jessica Peck Corry, policy analyst from the Independence Institute and proponent of the Amendment 46, recently debated Amendment 46 on DemocracyNow.
Watch the video here
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June 25, 2008
Task Force Calls for “Broader, Bolder Approach to Education”
A task force of national experts in the areas of education, social welfare, health, housing and civil rights has issued a statement calling for “A Broader, Bolder Approach to Education” focused especially on closing the nation’s achievement gaps. The task force, convened by the Washington, D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute, urged the establishment of a broader partnership among schools, public health and social services to help students from all backgrounds succeed. Specifically, the task force identified the following elements as critical to the needed approach:
· Continued school improvement efforts.
· Developmentally appropriate and high-quality early childhood, pre-school and kindergarten care and education.
· Routine pediatric, dental, hearing and vision care for all infants, toddlers and schoolchildren.
· Improving the quality of students’ out-of-school time.
The Bell Policy Center’s research and advocacy on closing Colorado’s achievement gaps has long stressed the importance of efforts both inside and outside the schools as essential for student success. The task force’s statement reinforces this view and provides a clearer focus for comprehensive federal policies in this area.
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June 18, 2008
Micro Lending CEO Named 2008 Unique Woman of Colorado
Kersten Hostetter, CEO of Micro Business Development was named 2008 Unique Woman of Colorado for her work in helping Coloradans start small businesses. We at the Bell have had the pleasure of working with Kersten over the years and applaud Micro Business Development’s success in promoting entrepreneurship.
Micro Business Development provides small loans and business advice to help mostly low-income people go into business for themselves. Under Ms. Hostetter’s leadership, MDC has lent $9.2 million to 28,000 entrepreneurs who created 3,200 jobs. Most of MDC’s clients are minorities and women.
Micro-enterprise development is a proven way to expand our economy and create an additional path to opportunity for low-income Coloradans. The Bell recommends that state leaders invest a portion of our economic development funds in groups like MDC to expand access to micro enterprise loans throughout the state. .
The award, which is sponsored by the Women's Foundation of Colorado, Lockheed Martin and the Denver Post, was presented on June 2. It honors a woman who has left her indelible mark on the Colorado community and used her influence to create a more equitable society for Colorado's women and girls
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Archive of Highlights
2008 • 2007
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