Extended jobless benefits will boost economy while giving a hand to unemployed workers

Good morning. Here's a look at news reports from around the state on issues of interest to the Colorado Center on Law and Policy for Wednesday, July 21, 2010. Listing does not imply endorsement of the content.

FISCAL POLICY
Denver Post commentary: As jobless kept up the search, Senate acted lost
I have never actually measured it, but I suspect the distance between the Senate floor in Washington, D.C., and the unemployment office downtown where I spent Tuesday afternoon must be at least a dozen or so light years.

The Denver Post: Extension of jobless benefits pumps aid into Colorado economy, analysis says
If the past is any indication, Congress would reap a good return on its investment by extending jobless benefits through November, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute.
Also: Denver Daily News: Jobless benefits deadlock broken
Also: Durango Herald editorial: Money where it will help workers and nation
Also: KUSA: 80,000 Coloradans could get benefits back

Denver Daily News: Privatization debate goes on
Markey: Privatization a ‘scheme’; Norton: Social Security a ‘scheme.’

Summit Daily News: State budget shortfalls will soon show on Summit County roads
Shrinking funds could cause local highways to deteriorate in the next few years as the Colorado Department of Transportation feels the punch of state budget shortfalls.


HEALTH CARE
The Denver Post: Colo. social workers say state computer changes hurting benefits system
Social workers across the state say that attempts to fix the long-troubled Colorado Benefits Management System — a database that processes applications for public assistance like Medicaid, food stamps and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families — are actually making the system worse.


ECONOMY
Colorado Springs Independent: Where the money is ... and isn't
El Paso County's average weekly wage was among the lowest among the state's nine largest counties in December 2009, according to data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Denver Post: Colo. jobless rate flat in June as tourism jobs make up for census cuts
A surge in tourism-related hiring helped offset the loss of census jobs last month and kept the state's unemployment rate level, according to the June employment report, which was released Tuesday.
Also: Pueblo Chieftain:  Pueblo jobless rate hits new high
Also: Denver Business Journal: Colorado unemployment rate remains at 8% in May; 7,100 fewer Coloradans working
Also: Craig Daily Press: Moffat County unemployment hovering at 8.7 percent
Also: Grand Junction Sentinel: Unemployment rate hits 9.5% in Mesa County, same as in U.S.

Fort Collins Coloradoan: City's sales tax revenues increase
The city's sales tax increased 0.3 percent in May, bolstered, in part, by the medical marijuana industry, according to June's sales-tax report.