The Common Sense Policy Roundtable is a non-partisan organization that researches and promotes common sense solutions to economic issues in Colorado. It analyzes data on the state's economy and makes policy recommendations, such as incentivizing businesses, investing in education and infrastructure, and supporting industries like manufacturing, aerospace, biotechnology and biosciences to create jobs and spur economic growth. The roundtable believes this will increase salaries, tax revenues, property values and overall prosperity for Colorado.

1. The Common Sense Policy Roundtable is
a non-partisan informational resource for
public policy makers and future leaders.
CSPR researches and promotes common sense
solutions for economic issues in Colorado.
COMMON
SENSE
Policy Roundtable
1. N. Mullis, “Focus Colorado: 4. A. Svaldi, “Hard times getting
Economic and Revenue Forecast,” harder for Coloradans,” The
Colorado Legislative Council, Jun. Denver Post, Jul. 19, 2009
21, 2010
5. Ibid
2. A. Svaldi, “Colorado job losses
6. N. Mullis, “Focus Colorado:
worst in 65 years,” The Denver
Economic and Revenue Forecast,”
Post, Jul. 24, 2009
Colorado Legislative Council, Jun.
3. Bureau of Labor Statistics: 21, 2010
http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/
7. Colorado Economic Development
SurveyOutputServlet?data_
Databook, 2010-2011
tool=latest_numbers&series_
id=LASST08000003 – as of August 8. Colorado Economic Development
2010. Databook, 2010-2011

2. COMMON
SENSE
Policy Roundtable
Colorado Jobs Today
Economic Truths
h Free enterprise growth creates more jobs.
h More jobs create more salaries.
h More salaries create more tax revenues.
h More tax revenues mean more government revenues.
This “multiplier effect” of the growth in
free enterprise is even more dynamic. With
job growth comes:
h Demand for homes.
h Demand for more office space.
Eventually, property values increase, which
creates more property taxation to support
municipal and state revenues.
By the Numbers
h Colorado’s unemployment rate rose from below 4 percent in
May 2007, to 8 percent in May 2010.1
h Colorado’s economy shed a record number of jobs in
2009 — the highest number on a percentage basis than at
any time since 1944.2
h 85,000 fewer Coloradans have jobs since passage of the
federal “stimulus” bill.3
h Over the last two years, we saw personal incomes in
Colorado decline more sharply than at any time since 1958.4
h Colorado went from being the 10th best state for personal
income growth in 2008 to an abysmal 35th in 2009.5 The
decline was the first in Colorado since 2002.6
h In 2009 alone, 106,000 Coloradans lost their jobs.7

4. “A simple fact: Higher
COMMON taxes take capital away
SENSE
Policy Roundtable
from growing business
and prevent job creation.”
# Incentivize large-scale business investment in
manufacturing, aerospace and other high-wage
sectors by revisiting the Business Personal
Property Tax.
# Ensure a world-class workforce by prioritizing
investment in our higher education system with
an emphasis on research and trades programs.
# Constructing and maintaining a cutting edge
multi-modal transportation system is essential
to a thriving economy. Policymakers must create
an infrastructure strategy for the state, seeking
lower cost solutions and opportunities for
public-private partnerships.
# Improve the state commitment to biotechnology
and biosciences by building on a 2008 package
that provided some $26 million assistance for
Colorado start-up companies8 and research
institutions seeking to commercialize new
technology.
# Work with Colorado’s universities in technology
transfer opportunities, to create new Colorado
jobs and companies. Identify reasonable
solutions to obstacles which stop cooperation
between academic research institutions and free
enterprise.