Empirical Evidence of Denver as Sanctuary City

by Rich Bratten | 11:31 am, September 10, 2010

In the Denver Post’s Friday, Sept 10 front page story “Sanctuary City?…”, Denver Assistant City Attorney David Broadwell is quoted as stating that “I don’t believe there is any empirical evidence to support that [Denver is a sanctuary city].” I suggest that Mr. Broadwell and Mayor Hickenlooper review the empirical evidence provided by the Colorado [...]

Of Treasurers & Politics

by Rich Bratten | 10:45 am, August 10, 2010

I was recently asked the question “How is a state treasurer’s job political? Aren’t they bound by law and GAAP?” While I don’t claim to be an expert, here is my “two cents” for an answer. The Colorado State Constitution establishes the elected office of treasurer as part of the Executive branch of our state [...]

Looking Under Colorado Seat Cushions for $142mm/year

by Rich Bratten | 6:24 pm, July 31, 2010

The GAO has confirmed that we are WASTING $142,209,675 per year of our Colorado citizens’ money through the federal surface transportation program. The GAO has identified Colorado as one of 27 “Donor” states that pay more in federal taxes and fees than they receive in federal-aid. No surprise there, since reports from ALEC show that [...]

Governors Beg For More of Someone Else’s $

by Rich Bratten | 11:01 pm, July 10, 2010

In reading about the National Governor’s Association meeting, I saw that Pat Quinn, Governor of Illinois, was leading the all-too-typical uninformed charge of history revisionists. Pat stated that “We need more help from Washington to protect against job cuts and health care cuts. If we don’t do that, we’re following Herbert Hoover economics.” My response [...]

The Myth of Government Job Creation

by Rich Bratten | 11:36 pm, June 30, 2010

Government doesn’t create jobs.  Government cannot create jobs.  Anybody who says that “I want to be elected to office so that I can create jobs for the people” needs a remedial course in economics. Government is by definition a drag, a friction, an impediment to the creation of jobs, wealth, or value. Government can only [...]

32 States Borrow From Fed To Pay Unemployment

by Rich Bratten | 6:10 pm, May 21, 2010

Below is a link to a report that says 32 states have borrowed from the federal government to make unemployment payments. Following are some initial impressions that only an actuary (or other number oriented, critically thinking persons) would note: Twelve of these states have borrowed $1 billion or more. 11 out of those 12 states [...]

The Denver Post Continues to Flail

by Rich Bratten | 10:46 pm, May 18, 2010

As MediaNews Group Inc., the holding company for the Denver Post and other newspapers, fights for survival through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, alternative competitive media outlets continue to gain traction. While there are certainly many factors that are driving the demise of many newspapers, like plunging print advertising revenue, etc., one of the factors [...]

I Dare You to Actually Read the Budget

by Rich Bratten | 11:49 pm, May 13, 2010

I read through some of “The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2010 – 2020″, published by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in January 2010, by Doug Elemndorf, Director of the CBO.  Fascinating stuff… really… if you’re into horror stories. Given all of the recent talk about sovereign debt, potential downgrades of various countries’ credit [...]

Effective Teachers Support Accountability Bill SB 191

by Rich Bratten | 9:05 pm, April 24, 2010

I sat in on the testimony for SB 191 last week. I had signed up to testify, but the list of “star witnesses” that were scheduled to testify ran so long that I, a mere parent, never made it. Not that I mind all that much, because there was a lot of good testimony for [...]

Where Have You Been All These Years, CEA?

by Rich Bratten | 8:12 pm, April 24, 2010

I was only three sentences into CEA President Beverly Ingle’s Op-Ed in the Denver Post on April 21 when I knew I had to respond. You see, her third sentence was a poorly worded question that actually made no sense, although I could infer what it was that she meant to ask. So, after reading [...]

keep looking »

Featured Posts

• Printing Money Doesn’t Work in Britain Either

  Of course not! Why would anyone conclude that errors are geographical? Errors are errors and attempts to reinflate the British economy using the same hot air compressors that we use here aren’t going to work any better over there than they have here.

• Oklahoma’s Constitutional Amendment Would Pit Taxpayers Against Unions
• Friday’s Unemployment Numbers: Correcting the Corrections
• Romney Woos Grand Junction, Earns Sen. King’s Endorsement
• The Borking of Netflix: movie service finds privacy law to be an inconvenience
• Rich Americans Are Fleeing the Country
• ObamaCare Advisers Predict Death of Health Insurance Companies