There’s a not-so-subtle theme in many of the stories published in this issue of the Business Times. While the result was unintentional, it’s no less clear or surprising: For better or worse, the federal government exerts tremendous influence over business. Even as Western Slope officials and business leaders worry about the economic effects of proposed […]
Better get used to hearing one form or another of those two phrases when it comes to your health insurance plan. The preliminary reports on the Obamacare rollout show a severe lack of affordability, coverage and common sense. That is, unless you believe the constant spin coming out of the White House. While many folks […]
The vagaries of deadlines and publishing dates are such that columnists in newspapers such as this one are often at a disadvantage. As I write this, I have no way of knowing how various school board elections turned out. Be that as it may, it’s a topic that cries out for comment. There was a […]
I’m on record as believing the federal government shutdown strategy, while legitimate, was a tactical mistake on the part of congressional Republicans. Not only did the made-for-cable-news theatrical episode detract from the unmitigated disaster that was the Obamacare rollout, but President Barack Obama and company have no more interest in negotiating over policy than they […]
In our local school board election, there’s actually an ad spot that claims some of the folks running for the board would be beholden to Wall Street “special interests.” Apparently this ad asks all of us to forget the fact that three of the candidates featured in the ads claim they have no political agendas […]
There are any number of good reasons to vote against Amendment 66, the ballot initiative that would increase Colorado income taxes to generate additional revenue for public education. The fact the ballot measure would amend the Colorado Constitution rather than state statutes and therefore make it difficult to address unintended consequences constitutes by itself a […]
Oil shale development in Western Colorado has posed a challenging puzzle to say the least. Even after investing millions upon millions of dollars and decades of research into various methods of extracting kerogen from shale formations without having to simply mine and process the rock, the efforts have yet to result in commercial-shale production. Shell […]
Regardless of whether or not the federal government shutdown has ended or continues to drag on, I suspect a vast majority of Americans can’t tell the difference. Unless you have a federal government job that hasn’t been deemed “essential” or find yourself climbing over gates the feds spent money to erect around certain national sites […]
I always laugh (OK, cry) every time the government is forced to lay off or cut “nonessential” personnel or programs. I guess being a business owner has taught me that paying for something “nonessential” is just plain dumb. Or in another word: worthless. To a business, wasting hard-earned money on something “nonessential” is the very […]
The moral indignation expressed by most members of the Democratic Party over the latest episode of looming debt ceiling conflicts is fun to watch. The fabricated anger at GOP insistence on conditioning the habitual increase in the legal federal debt limit on doing something to try to reduce the need for raising it again in […]