In the years since the end of world war II, spending at all levels of government has risen faster that the rates of inflation dramatic increases in public sector outlays is that government is attempting to do more than ever before. Whether government should be attempting so much is an important issues, but one beyond the scope of this paper.
Coping with the financial stress of trying to do more can be difficult. In Arizona, forecasts for the state budget project deficits of $ 70 to $140 million for fiscal 1989. Governments at all levels in the state have accumulated debts in excess of $11 billion. The need to deal with with these financial issues has encouraged many people to consider the option of privatization.
READ MOREThe prison problem in Colorado is reaching the boiling point. In brief, there are far more prisoners that room. Existing state facilities are bulging — and another 575 state prisoners are housed in country jails, themselves approaching capacity while payment disputes continue.
READ MOREBudget crisis or false alarm? In March 1988, Denver’s largest newspaper headlined a five-part series called Colorado Government: Running on Empty. In May 1988, the beleaguered legislature called in reinforcements, creating a citizen task force to run a six-month Vision Colorado study on how to stretch the state dollar in coming years.
READ MORE“Better Schools through Wider Choice” was the topic when 100 conferees from 13 states gathered for the Western States Education Summit in Golden, Colorado, on June 17, 1988. This issue paper summarizes the proceedings.
READ MOREThe recent Japanese purchase of several Colorado properties including an Aurora office complex and the Breckenridge ski area has sparked debate in the state. Is this good for Colorado? Does it create jobs or expand wealth?
READ MOREColorado’s legislature and governor disagree about a one-year experiment to contract out a twelfth of the juvenile custody caseload to a private company in Brush. The plan, which would cut that has risen at nearly 13% a year since 1982, is up for veto override in early August. Policy analysts Reed and Holm provide background for the controversy by asking whether the 76% cumulative jump in juvenile custody coa=sts (four times the inflation rate during this period) doesn’t indicate monopolistic behavior by state government. Would a dose of competition be the antidote taxpayers are looking for?
READ MOREThe growth of spending by Colorado state government is less effectively restrained by law than in some big states like California and Massachusetts, even though we were among the first states to legislate a spending cap in the inflationary ’70s.
READ MOREhe Regional Transportation District as presently structured is a drag on the Colorado economy. A heavily subsidized government monopoly, RTD sucks millions of tax dollars out of the economy year after year.
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