The residential construction industry has long constituted an important component of the Mesa County economy. Consider that the construction of 100 single-family homes creates an average of more than 300 jobs. So it was significant when the home building industry surged in the boom days and suffered in the bust that followed. Now there are […]
In its latest economic outlook, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development projects further economic underperformance in the U.S. and other developing nations. While the global economy is “gaining momentum,” the OECD warns “the recovery is fragile, extremely uneven across different regions. The group forecasts Europe will barely grow at 0.1 percent in 2012 and […]
Got your eye on a new way to expand your business? See a sure move to beat competitors? Today, you and lots of small business owners are eager to seize opportunities to grow, create jobs and capture market share. But that big cloud of uncertainty hanging over Washington, D.C., stops you dead in your tracks. […]
There’s no small measure of irony in the fact the company that manufactures components for the largest and most innovative aquarium projects around the world maintains its headquarters in the landlocked desert of Western Colorado. Nonetheless, there are millions of reasons to be thankful Reynolds Polymer Technology is located in Grand Junction — as in […]
The recent election in Wisconsin got me thinking about the opportunities to change the direction in the country that should be plain as day, but are somehow missed due to busy lives, attentions being diverted elsewhere and for all too many, absolute ignorance. What occurred in Wisconsin was a simple exercise to re-affirm freedom and […]
We’re more than seven months through the current fiscal year. Is anything really changing after the massive increases in federal spending over the past few years? Unfortunately, though unsurprisingly, the answer is no. Keep in mind that federal outlays from 2007 to 2011 jumped by 32 percent — from $2.73 trillion to $3.6 trillion. Due […]
Although the presidential campaign is increasingly clogging the nation’s news outlets with partisan tit for tat, there’s a nasty political struggle in Europe these days that should be getting equal air time for it could affect Americans’ lives even more than November’s election results. Across the Atlantic, some nations are facing bankruptcy. Unemployment is rising, […]
North Avenue once served as one of the busiest thoroughfares in Grand Junction and one of the busiest business districts in the city. So it’s disconcerting to those with long-term perspectives to see some of the changes that have occurred over the years: the businesses that have closed or relocated and the rundown and outdated […]
Woody Walcher, that is. If you’re anything like me, there are just some things you see or hear that rub you the wrong way immediately. And then they stick in your craw, enhanced by their repetition. Such is the case with Woody’s latest set of campaign radio ads that now seem as if they’ve been […]
The IRS needs money. It’s struggling to get by on about $12 billion a year, an agency official told Congress, warning that insufficient funding prevents adequate enforcement. The result is a $400 billion “tax gap” caused by some taxpayers under-reporting what they owe. Washington’s solution? Give revenuers more money. But a better use of […]