By now, most Coloradans who intend to vote are well aware of what Amendment 70 would do: raise the state’s minimum-wage rate. This doesn’t mean they necessarily understand what the minimum-wage rate is and what increases do. Old definitions and arguments don’t hold much sway with voters, so let’s propose something new: The minimum wage […]
Does anyone in a position of power in our nation’s capital have a clue as to how policy actually affects the economy? Contrary to economic common sense and what we’ve learned from history, President Barack Obama continues to push more and more regulation, higher taxes and a generally activist government. This is somehow supposed to […]
Economic developments efforts continue in the Grand Valley to land the proverbial big fish — a company that would bring a substantial number of new jobs and hefty payroll to the area. Meanwhile, though, other efforts continue to promote the birth and growth of lots of small fish — ventures that start out as the […]
Across the country, it seems people are more engaged in politics than ever before. It’s difficult to go more than an hour without hearing about the latest developments in the 2016 presidential race; from Donald Trump releasing his economic plan to Hillary Clinton committing to all three presidential debates. We are met daily with a […]
One of the privileges of editing a business journal is telling stories about successful companies, especially those that demonstrate that certain knack for doing things right. That’s certainly the case with the cover story about Timberline Bank. The bank — which operates locations in Grand Junction as well as Montrose and Aspen — is among […]
There are a lot of good reasons to operate a business in Colorado, not the least of which is the opportunity to work and live in a state this beautiful. The halcyon days of fall with their crisp mornings, warm afternoons and changing foliage only serve to drive home the point. But as a more […]
Once again politics trumps logic and relationships. And despite my poor attempt at a pun in the headline, this one makes me sad because the person this affected is someone I care about, a wonderful young mind and individual I’ve always admired. But what hurts the most in this exchange on — you guessed it, […]
The Federal Reserve recently released the latest edition of its Beige Book, an anecdotal look at the United States economy published every other month based on interviews of business contacts, economists, market observers and so on. Given our current economy, this publication is aptly named. Beige is an elusive color. In an article published on […]
The right-hand column of the Trends page in the Business Times constitutes a proverbial dashboard in tracking key economic indicators for Mesa County, among them the monthly unemployment rate, real estate sales and tax collections. Wouldn’t it be nice if all the indicators pointed at once to improving conditions? Unfortunately, that’s seldom — if ever […]
Here we go again. Take a bad regulation from something under the government’s bucket of you-know-what and try to make it smell like a rose. And no, this isn’t an attack on a county commissioner, even though the one of the same name was recently touting the topic at hand. Then again, at least there […]