Friday, April 23, 2010

Cuts will hurt quality at CU-Boulder, official says

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 Friday, April 23, 2010.

FISCAL POLICY
Denver Post editorial: A bad gamble for higher ed
Rather than expand gambling, state lawmakers should seek more direct funding for Colorado's universities and colleges.
Also: Pueblo Chieftain editorial: Keen on keno?

Denver Post commentary: Rosen column on taxes is misleading
Rosen says that a family of four making $52,000 in 2009 pays zero taxes. I tried to work up the taxes using the federal guidelines and discovered that he really took a lot of assumptions to get to zero. I came up with about $4,000 in taxes. Of course, if the family owns a home, that will drop the tax burden, as will other taxable deductions.

Boulder Daily Camera: CU-Boulder: Cuts will affect education quality
The University of Colorado at Boulder's financial chief told the regents Thursday that the quality of education will "absolutely" be affected by multimillion-dollar budget cuts.

Fort Collins Coloradoan: Loveland teachers could carry brunt of budget cuts
In trying to balance a budget for the 2010-11 school year that featured at least a $5.9 million deficit, officials with the Thompson School District made keeping the district intact one of their top priorities, meaning many teachers and staff wouldn't lose their jobs in the budget crunch. Administrators also focused on keeping class sizes from increasing.


ECONOMIC SELF SUFFICIENCY
Denver Post commentary: Colorado's payday lending debate
Economists agree: Eliminating payday loans as an option for consumers has disastrous consequences for those who utilize them. We've already seen what happens when other states outlaw these short-term infusions of cash. It remains to be seen whether Colorado will fall into the same trap.
Also: Aurora Sentinel: Aurora legislators hopeful for payday reform plan’s passage


CONSUMER PROTECTION
Denver Daily News: Financial reform gaining speed
“What we’re hoping comes out of this is simply some serious effort on the part of everyone to move the legislation forward and stop the, ‘this is what this is gonna do’ scare tactics, because people are already uncertain enough, we have had enough stress these last two years, and I think this signals to our markets and outside markets that we’re serious about this — you can count on us, you can have some confidence in us and we’re gonna make it,” said T.A. Taylor-Hunt, director of Coloradans for Financial Reform.


HEALTH POLICY
Grand Junction Sentinel editorial: Cut from the middle on health insurance
If you own a business and want to save money on health insurance by cutting out the middle man and working directly with insurance companies — good luck. Call most of the major insurance companies and they will politely take your company information, then hand you over to one of their “preferred” agents, who will add a commission of 4 percent to 5 percent to your annual premium. Rocky Mountain Health Plans, headquartered in Grand Junction, is one of the few insurance providers that will deal directly with businesses, without an agent or broker.

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