Research

Common Sense Institute (CSI) strives to develop insightful and educational research on the most critical debates facing Colorado. CSI employs rigorous research techniques and dynamic modeling to evaluate the potential impact of issues on the Colorado economy and individual opportunity. CSI provides elected officials, policy makers and Coloradans with facts and data-driven analysis to help make informed decisions about the biggest issues facing the state. CSI research has also sparked innovative policy solutions and bipartisan, solutions-based discussion about the future of Colorado.

Education

Energy & Our Environment

Healthcare

Housing & Our Community

Infrastructure

Jobs & Our Economy

State Budget

Taxes & Fees

The Decline of Condominium Construction in Colorado: Addressing Litigation Reform to Alleviate the Housing Affordability Crisis

2023 Research, 2024 Research, Featured Research, Housing & Our Community, Recent Research, Research

Condo development has grinded to a near halt in Colorado.

Inflation in Colorado – November 2023

2023 Research, Featured Research, Inflation Reports, Recent Research, Research

Between September and November, prices in Denver fell by .34%. This was the first two-month period of deflation since September of last year.

Colorado’s Free Enterprise Report – 2024 Edition

2023 Research, Featured Research, Research

The Free Enterprise Report is a marquis report that provides an objective, non-partisan, fact-based analysis of the Colorado economic landscape and the state’s most pressing issues.

Colorado Budget: Then and Now

2023 Research, Featured Research, Research, State Budget

Colorado Budget Then and Now illuminates the changes in Colorado state budget appropriations over the last twenty years. The figures included in the report provide a summary overview of revenue allocated to state departments through the budgeting process. The trends in appropriations reflect the shifting priorities brought on as a direct result of the laws and budgets passed each legislative session.

EXPLORE CSI RESEARCH

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Colorado Springs Housing Affordability Report 2024

May 22, 2024 • 17 min read

The housing deficit in 2023 is in the range of 16,554 to 27,360 units. To meet population growth by 2028 and close the housing deficit, between 32,000 and 43,000 housing units will need to be built.

Tags: colorado springs, Colorado Springs Housing, housing, Housing Index

Fork in the Railroad: RTD’s Ridership Dilemma

May 21, 2024 • 18 min read

What began as a relatively small-scale bus operation has grown to one of the Denver metro area’s most expansive pieces of infrastructure and a political arena of its own. Increasingly, the public is being asked to put more confidence into an organization of which it has cause to be skeptical.

Tags: RTD, RTD Budget, RTD Colorado, RTD Crime, RTD Ridership, RTDNational Context

Colorado Jobs and Labor Force Update – April 2024 Update

May 17, 2024 • 3 min read

Colorado’s private-sector employment increased by 300 jobs in April. After initially reporting a growth of 5,300 jobs in March, new figures showed a growth of only 2,800 jobs after revisions.

Tags: Cole Anderson, jobs, jobs and labor force, Jobs Report, labor force

2024 Colorado Legislative Session: TABOR Takings Tracker

• 6 min read

These bills propose to reduce the TABOR refund by a combined $523 million in FY24, $1.06 billion in FY25, and $1.25 billion in FY26. The recent announcement that an additional $67 million in TABOR refunds is owed to taxpayers due to an accounting error is not reflected in this report.

Tags: 2024 Tabor, tabor, Tabor Tracking

Does SB24-233 Provide Taxpayer Relief and Predictability?

May 8, 2024 • 4 min read

There is no relief for taxpayers. Coloradans will not have property tax relief from recent spikes. As reported by CSI, residential property assessment values increased over 27% in 2023. Under SB24-233, Coloradans are locked into these recent elevated property tax payments, resulting in no tax relief for this year or next.

Tags: Property Tax, property taxes, Taxpayer, Taxpayer Relief

2024 Session: TABOR Takings Tracker

May 3, 2024 • 6 min read

Follow the CSI TABOR Takings Tracker the final days of the 2024 session! Buoyed by strong revenue growth, there is an estimated $6 billion owed to Colorado taxpayers over the next 3 years. Over 100 bills introduced during the 2024 legislative session would re-direct those funds, reducing the total amount refunded by $3.5 billion.

Tags: 2024 Legislation, 2024 Tabor, tabor, Tabor Tracking, taxes, Taxes and Fees

Key Questions for Universal Payer

May 1, 2024 • 6 min read

In Colorado’s current healthcare system, the cost of providing care to a patient often exceeds the payment received in return for the services provided. On average among the various major health insurance groups (Medicare, Health First Colorado, private insurance, self-pay, CICP), only patients covered by private insurance pay the full amount of their cost of care back to their provider.

Tags: Colorado Healthcare, Cost of Healthcare, Dr. Reggie Washington, healthcare, Universal Payer

Colorado Housing Competitiveness Index

April 25, 2024 • 7 min read

Colorado’s housing affordability gap widens! Since 2011, it now takes over double the hours to afford the average mortgage, outpacing wage growth.

Tags: competitiveness, Competitiveness Index, DJ Summers, Housing Competitiveness Index, Housing Report, Steven Byers

Denver Migrants Spending and the City Budget

April 19, 2024 • 2 min read

Denver’s proposed budget cuts to fund its migrants response take about $17 million away from public safety spending.

Tags: costs of migrants, denver, Denver Migrants, migrants

Colorado Jobs and Labor Force Update – March 2024 Update

• 3 min read

Colorado’s unemployment rate has increased every month since the beginning of 2024, growing from 3.3% in December of 2023 to 3.7% in March of this year, a growth of 12%.

Tags: colorado jobs, Colorado Jobs Report, jobs, Jobs Report

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