Progress Now Action

Today the Bell Policy Center launched Health Blog, a forum for health care experts and the public to discuss health care reform efforts now under way in Colorado.

"Health Blog will give people all over Colorado access to the debate over how to fix our health care system," said Wade Buchanan, Bell Policy Center president.

View the new blog at www.thebell.org/blog/208/   Read More »

"The action of the Colorado Supreme Court saved Colorado voters from an expensive campaign on what even the initiative's supporters agreed was a purely symbolic measure," said Wade Buchanan, president of the Bell Policy Center. "It would have been a campaign centered on a false choice."

The Bell Policy Center was not a party to the case that led to Monday's decision. However, Bell announced its opposition to the Defend Colorado Now initiative in December 2005, noting that the measure would cost more to implement than it would save, would make it more difficult for citizens and legal residents to get government services, and would open state and local governments to a wave of costly litigation from anyone suspecting a violation.

"Immigration is a serious issue, and it isn't going away because of this decision," Buchanan said. "But it's a national problem. Real solutions can't be found at the state level -- they have to come from the federal level, similar to what the president and U.S. Senate have proposed.

"The first part of that solution has to come in fixing the numbers: balancing the number of work visas issued with the demand for workers in this country," he said.

"At Bell Policy Center, we are going to keep documenting the effects of immigration in Colorado, both the economic contributions from immigrants and the costs to taxpayers. Our reporting, as always, will be based on real numbers and reliable studies," he added.

More information from the Bell Policy Center on immigration issues:
www.thebell.org/Immigration.html

Bell Policy Center has just released a special April 1 e-newsletter, The Inopportune News.

The story line-up includes incisive reporting on social and education policy, news from the statehouse, business briefs and a bit of levity in the form of senryu (the funny version of haiku) and today's sudoku puzzle:

• Bell Policy Center finds the poor lack money
• "Zero Percent Solution" drills down state education funding
• COF may sputter out, new tuition distribution methods eyed
• Tech introduces '06 Short Bill
• Hubble's Orbiter: News, rumors and outright gossip from the political realm
• Fiscal Flirtations dating service targets budget wonks
• Pols Air providing campaign essential: the skydive
• Bell Policy Center announces 10th Gateway, "Swift and Painless Death"

Here are the links:

HTML version
Link

Printer-friendly PDF with hotlinks
Link

Today's front page on the web site Media Matters for America features a story on the right-leaning bias of CNN news show host Lou Dobbs, using the Jan. 10 appearance of two Colorado guests as a prime example.

That show featured Wade Buchanan, president of Bell Policy Center, and Fred Elbel, co-chairman of Defend Colorado Now, in what was billed ahead of time as a discussion of the DCN's proposed ballot issue on immigration. Neither Wade nor Fred got a chance to say much, as Dobbs used the airtime mostly for a pointless argument over semantics.

"It was unfortunate that we missed the chance to debate an important issue facing Colorado," Buchanan said Monday. "Dobbs seems to have guests serve only as foils for his rhetoric."

The show aired just two weeks after Bell Policy Center released an issue brief on existing immigration research. The brief also takes a position opposing the Defend Colorado Now initiative, and explains why it will do nothing to solve the problems caused by illegal immigration.

To read the 20-page brief, go to the Bell's website, www.thebell.org

Bell Policy Center issued a new policy brief this week summarizing recent research on the educational achievement gap.

Rich Jones, the brief's author and Bell's director of policy and research, also points to eight actions that can help Colorado make progress on this persistent problem.   Read More »

The Bell Policy Center continues to deliver the facts behind the rhetoric on immigration issues.

In this piece, Bell Senior Policy Analyst Robin Baker, Ph.D., debunks the claim that immigrants, legal or otherwise, cost a bundle for subsidized health care.

Look for more information on immigration at the Bell's website:
www.thebell.org > Immigration   Read More »

Longmont • Boulder • Colorado Springs • Aurora • Loveland • Greeley/Evans • Golden

A bipartisan group of legislators and the Bell Policy Center are holding a series of town hall meetings around the state to discuss the allocation of tax revenues retained through the passage of Referendum C.

These public meetings will feature a briefing on constitutional and statutory limits on the budget process and encourage discussion on spending priorities.

The Accountability Tour is led by Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, Sen. Steve Johnson, R-Fort Collins, Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff and Rep. Tom Massey, R- Poncha Springs. They will attend as many of the meetings as their schedules permit.

The Bell Policy Center will provide content, outreach and logistics for the tour. For an outline of the Bell's presentation, "The Colorado state budget and Referendum C," visit the Bell's website:
www.thebell.org > Referendum C Roundup   Read More »

The Bell Policy Center is urging the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee to approve HB 1327. It would create an alternative base period in order to qualify more low-income workers for unemployment insurance when they lose their job.

The committee is slated to hear the bill on Monday, Feb. 20.

The bill is sponsored by state Rep. Mike Cerbo, D-Denver. It's also the subject of a thumbs-up Opportunity Note written by Rich Jones, Bell's director of policy and research. Look for it on the Policy Watch page of Bell's web site, www.thebell.org.
   Read More »

Reported by Harry Hall
Bell Policy Center volunteer

In a 6-0 vote, with one senator was excused, the state Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Friday approved the elimination of an assets test in determining eligibility for cash assistance under the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program.

The vote was on Senate Bill 134, sponsored by Sen. Paula Sandoval, D-Denver, and Rep. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood.

This asset test currently denies TANF eligibility to anyone who has more than $2,000 in assets. Such assets include health savings accounts, retirement funds, college funds, and checking and savings accounts. These savings have an important impact on economic security, educational attainment, and household stability.

Seven people, including Rich Jones, the Bell's director of policy and research, offered testimony during the committee hearing. Six of those who testified favored eliminating the assets test requirement. Their reasons included a minimal cost to state government and the value of enabling dependent families to preserve their limited financial resources.

Holding modest savings while getting temporary assistance helps these families build a bridge from government dependency to self-sufficiency.

For more information on SB 134, read an Opportunity Note on the bill researched and written by Robin Baker, a Bell senior policy analyst.

You can find the Note on the Policy Watch page of Bell's web site, www.thebell.org.

Bell analyst pokes holes in K-12 funding proposal

One issue likely to be on the Colorado ballot in November is the so-called "65 Percent Solution."
Promoted by the group First Class Education, it's a simple enough plan that sounds sensible. It would require school districts to spend 65 percent of their overall funds in the classroom.
But Bell's research shows it doesn't deliver, and may well damage public education.
Frank Waterous, a senior analyst on education issues for the Bell Policy Center, examined the 65 Percent Solution and found two major flaws:
1. A Standard & Poor's analysis of nine states considering the 65 Percent mandate (including Colorado) shows no relationship between the percentage of funds spent in the classroom and test scores. Some high-performing districts spent less than 65 percent, while some low-performing districts spent more.
2. The definition of classroom spending cuts out key services that bolster student success: teacher training, curriculum development, libraries and guidance counselors.   Read More »

Bell Policy Center released its first Opportunity Note Feb. 1 to members of the state House of Representatives in advance of a committee hearing on HB-1024.

The Opportunity Note is modeled on the familiar Fiscal Note produced by the Colorado Legislative Council Staff.
The Note evaluates a particular bill's impact -- positive or negative -- on opportunity for Coloradans to live a healthy, educated and self-sufficient life. It also evaluates whether the legislation achieves its goal in a cost-effective manner.

HB-1024, sponsored by state Rep. Jerry Frangas, calls on state colleges and universities to commit to provide the necessary support services to make sure low-income and minority students succeed. The bill got a thumbs-up rating in Bell's Opportunity Note.   Read More »

Bell Policy Center releases new statewide findings in Colorado: A State of Opportunity 2005 Report

9 Gateways • 39 Indicators • 55 Recommendations
Research, analysis and solid ideas for action.

For most people, Colorado is a state that offers plenty of opportunity to achieve the American Dream. The economy is rebounding, most families earn enough to get ahead and residents are healthier compared to those in other states.

But for low-income and many minority residents, the state of opportunity in Colorado ranges from fair to poor.

Fewer low-income and minority kids graduate from high school, and if they attend college they are more likely to earn low-level degrees.

Minorities suffer from higher rates of obesity, and low-income residents are less likely to have health insurance coverage.

Fewer low-income and minority residents own their homes, and many have little or no savings for retirement or an emergency.

And for middle-income families, opportunity is dwindling for an affordable college education and for health care coverage.

In a new report, the Bell Policy Center assembles the most recent data available to assess the chances for opportunity for a wide spectrum of Colorado residents.

Bell Policy Center is a Denver-based, nonpartisan, public policy think tank that focuses on social issues affecting all of Colorado.

Free copies of Colorado: A State of Opportunity 2005 Report are available by request from Bell Policy Center. Call Bell Policy Center at (303) 297-0456 in metro Denver or (866) 283-8051 toll-free in Colorado. The report is also available in downloadable PDF format on the Bell's web site, TheBell.org. Or you can request a copy by sending your name and mailing address to sullivan@thebell.org

Read our press release about the report in the extended entry.   Read More »