Nearly 1,000 feet of welded pipe lays next to the Arkansas Valley Conduit ditch in eastern Pueblo County. (Mike Sweeney, Special to the Colorado Sun)One year ago, in a Brighton speech on a snowy January day, I described Colorado’s new era of austerity to the Denver regions’ mayor’s association. Recognition was just beginning that Colorado was in a major population and tax revenue slowdown. Within two months, local and state government began adjusting to the fiscal crisis and announcing budget reductions, program cuts, and layoffs.
The presentation was only four days after President Trump’s inauguration. While it was obvious federal budget disruptions were coming, no one saw the depth, speed or partisanship of the Federal retrenchments.
Colorado has been placed on a Trump hit list for fiscal punishment. Funding for a major, long-promised water project in the Arkansas Valley was just vetoed. This week, $10 billion in federal health, food and child care services funding was frozen for Democratic states – Colorado, California, Illinois, New York and Minnesota. The list reflects the Administration’s claim that Democratic states likely share the Minnesota fraud problem. But more important for Colorado is the state’s lack of cooperation to free Trump supporter and election denier, Tina Peters.
The era of austerity is just beginning.
RELATED:
Opinion Today Published Era of Austerity February 27, 2025
Axios Denver Covers Era of Austerity Presentation February 18, 2025
No comments:
Post a Comment