Ben Murrey, Author at Independence Institute

ADMINISTRATOR

Ben Murrey

Ben Murrey serves as Independence Institute’s Director of Fiscal Policy, working to promote fiscal responsibility in Colorado government and to defend the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights in the state’s constitution. Prior to his role with II, Ben spent seven years as a United States Senate staffer in Washington, D.C. and a legislative aide for Senator Ted Cruz. While in Washington, he participated in numerous legislative and policy battles, including those over the 2014 effort to defund Obamacare, passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, and passage the CARES Act in 2020. He also took on other fights to stop federal bureaucratic overreach, limit the size and scope of the federal government, and restore fiscal order in Congress. Before moving to D.C., Ben coordinated grassroots and get-out-the-vote efforts for 45 east Texas counties for the Ted Cruz for Senate campaign during the 2012 runoff election. He served as Deputy Director of Operations during the general election. A graduate of Hillsdale College with honors from both the Politics and German departments, Ben has been steeped in the principles and precepts of limited government, free market economics, and individual liberty. He did two stints as an exchange student in Germany, first on a State Department scholarship where he spent a year living with a German family and attending a German high school (Gymnasium) in Bremen and later for a semester at the University of Saarland. He speaks fluent German. A native Texan, Ben spent his formative years vacationing in and falling in love with Colorful Colorado. Years working the D.C. swamp left him with the strong conviction that most of America’s governing should happen at the state and local level. He finally put his money where his mouth was by moving with his wife and son to Denver and joining the Independence Institute staff.

The Rise of K-12 Blended Learning in Colorado 0

Online tools combined with face-to-face instruction create what is known as blended learning. Effective integration of technology can allow more efficient use of instructional time and save schools money. Colorado is well positioned to implement and test blended learning programs on a larger scale. Charter and district public schools have begun to implement blended learning models and have seen promising results.

VIDEO: Legislature Steals TABOR Refunds, Pays Off Special Interests 0

Last year, Independence Institute’s fiscal policy center published a 67-page report detailing every change made to state tax expenditures over Gov. Polis’s first term in office. This year, the legislature has proposed around two dozen new bills to further expand tax expenditures by over $600 million dollars in FY2024-25 alone, with more in future years.

VIDEO: Colorado Property Tax Video Series 0

Fiscal

April 4, 2023

Under current law, residential property taxes are set to increase by over 30 percent on average across Colorado. Such increases will come as a shock to homeowners who until recently were protected from large property tax increases like this by the Gallagher Amendment in the state constitution. Renters will see the impact of the tax

Five fiscal policy issues to watch in the 2023 legislative session 0

Voters gave Colorado Democrats a decisive victory in this year’s state races, yet they also passed Independence Institute’s income tax cut by approving Proposition 121. While they elect left-of-center candidates, they continue to expect low taxes and fiscal restraint by their government. As recently as 2018, Republicans controlled the Colorado senate and served as a

Comparing 2022 Gubernatorial Nominees’ Plans to Eliminate Colorado’s Income Tax 0

The 2022 Republican nominee for governor of Colorado, Heidi Ganahl, has proposed eliminating Colorado’s income tax, calling it a “big bold idea to take us to zero income tax.” On September 30th at a gubernatorial candidates’ forum hosted by Colorado Concern, the moderator, Dean Singleton, pressed Ganahl on her plan for accomplishing this. In response,