State level priorities

Now the easy part is over and the hard part begins – governing, and governing effectively and efficiently in the middle of the worst recession since the great depression. Ok, let's talk the State of Colorado – what do we need to do.

For the past 2 years we Democrats have done a competent job. And in flush times, that would be fine. But in these times, it's not enough. We need to step up and solve the big problems we face. In this election the voters made it clear that they need to see more from us – the state level vote was a let it ride for 2 more years. If the voters were thrilled with us, we would have seen more wins.

But put political advantage aside for a moment – there is a much more critical reason to step up and resolve these serious issues – because if we don't this state is going to be in a world of hurt. There's always reason to put off the hard decision till tomorrow – but we have done that so long that there is no more room to do so. We sit at a nexus where the actions of the state government over the next 2 years will have a long-term impact on our state.

It will require Bill Ritter to put it all on the line. It will require our Democratic majority to put it all on the line. It will require we expend every effort we can to include the Republicans in crafting solutions with us. And it will require that our Republican legislators get down to the hard work of finding effective compromises, when the compromising will be mostly done by the Republicans (and yes – that is very hard to do).

What's interesting is that most of these problems do not require money to resolve them. But they do require political decisions that will require vast amounts of political courage and skill. Here are our priorities (in order):

1. Our K-12 public schools are an abysmal failure. Statewide 30% of our children are not graduating. And a significant chunk of those who graduate High School do not graduate college, mostly because they did not receive the preparation they need. Virtually every student who does not get a college degree is sentenced to a life of economic poverty. And with that reduced economic productivity the state suffers, receiving less taxes, spending more on social services, and our GDP is lower.
   The good news is that this is not a financial issue. This country spends several times more per pupil than any other country. The bad news is this is a systemic issue. I'll write a separate post about my ideas on this but the bottom line is we need to radically change how we run our schools. We have tweaked here and there over the last 30 years all to no significant effect. Minor change won't accomplish squat.
2. Our higher-ed system is doing a good job, but is about to go bankrupt. And we should not be financing something so critical to our success on a wing and a prayer. At the same time, the actual cost of educating a student keeps outpacing the rate of inflation – and for no good reason. We need to reach agreement with the schools where the cost per student is fixed and raises at no more than the rate of inflation henceforth. In return the state needs to provide funds, both direct and via scholarships, so that the first 2 years of college are free and the remaining are easily affordable and based on ability to pay.
   For those that say we can't make the first 2 years of college free, why is it we pay 100% of the first 13 years of schooling and 0% after that? Thirty years ago a High School degree was sufficient for a good job. It's not anymore. And for our state economy to grow we need a highly educated workforce. Getting K-12 working and Higher-ed funded and affordable is where we determine the long-term future of our state. Get this right and long-term we will do very well. Get this wrong and nothing else will make up for this deficiency.
3. We need to create a list of infrastructure investments in this state, clearly prioritized, with compelling arguments that show the necessity of each item, and why it is ranked where it is. This process needs to be transparent, include both parties and officials from the county, city, school district, rtd and other areas. It needs to be completed quickly and be treated like the budget – it will be done, it will be done on time, and it will be built within clear parameters.
   Why so important? Because the consensus in Washington is rapidly heading toward a massive government investment in infrastructure to end the recession. When that happens, if we have already done the hard part of determining projects, their priority, etc. – we will see the dollars come in here a lot sooner, we will see more, and they will be better targeted.
4. Through luck, NREL, government action, and/or something else we have become a center for green energy. We need to do everything we can to encourage this to grow as we have the potential to become the silicon valley of green energy. Now part of that is to build up programs at the schools & labs. Part of it is to keep bringing in as many companies as we can.
   An even more powerful tool will be to make Colorado the first state to get off of hydrocarbons. We need to set the goal that in 5 years we will be generating electricity to meet all state needs via green sources (yes we'll still have the existing coal plants, but we will export an amount equal to their generation), that we have modernized the transmission grid in this state, and that all new cars here run on electricity or hydrogen. Putting this state on the fast track to a non-hydrocarbon future will force almost every green energy company to have a presence here.
   And to those who say it cannot be done, in 5 years this country went from peace and 1 army division that could go overseas to winning WWII, including having 100 army divisions placed world-wide. Compared to that, this is a piece of cake. It's also an effort that will create jobs and improve our financial situation.
5. The changes we will see in medical insurance out of Washington over the next 2 years will probably center around making it available to everyone and eliminating the noxious pre-existing clauses. Good improvements all, but they don't address the core issue of rising costs.
   We need to take on figuring out how to provide quality medical care at a cost we as a society can afford, and with the growth in costs staying below inflation. How to go about doing this is the subject of another post, but like K-12 education, it will require major changes in the whole system – tweaking here and there won't help much.
6. TABOR – fix it. Don't end it, the people of this state clearly want to be asked before taxes are raised. But come up with a way for revenue to roughly match GDP, and for taxes to be balanced (i.e. one set raised, another lowered) without requiring a vote. Until this is fixed, this remains the central constraint for most legislation in the state – and that does not serve us well.
7. Redistricting is coming in 2010. With a recent Democratic majority, and a possible Republican resurgence, we face a rare time when the parties are equally balanced. Safe districts do not serve the people of Colorado, they do not serve finding common ground in the legislature, they do not serve anyone except the office holder who has a lifetime lease and the interest groups on the far left and right that get extreme candidates in.
   The legislature needs to pass a law stating that the primary criteria of setting boundaries is to make as many as possible competitive, with a secondary goal being to minimize the number of partial counties and cities in each as well as keeping the boundaries geographically sane. And the boundaries are then set by an independent group, maybe 1/3 Democratic, 1/3 Republican, and 1/3 judges. Yes Dianna DeGette and Doug Lamborn will form a coalition (the only time you will see that) to fight this.
   But the state legislators, who make this decision, actually have two giant incentives to do so. First, this is step one to expanding or eliminating term limits as competitive seats create very effective term limits. Second, the Congressional seats in this state will open up more if they are more competitive and that gives our state legislators more opportunities to advance.
   As to the 99.999% of us that are not office holders in this state, we would get legislators that are more focused on us constituents, more moderate in their approach, and from that will be working harder to effectively govern.
8. Create a year round professional legislative staff. Especially with term limits, the lobbyists now are the only ones with institutional memory. The legislature needs resources of its own, both an office that exists for the legislature as a whole as well as staff for each individual legislator. With the recent disaster in the financial industry, people are open to the idea that, to do a good job, the legislature needs to actually hire some people.
9. Implement public financing for candidates in this state. Yes they should be required to raise some money on their own, yes this needs to include the 527s and others as well (including ful transparency of the original source of funds for all groups). But we need to eliminate the need for candidates to spend 18 months in a room on the phone begging for dollars. I think Joan Fitz-Gerald, Will Shafroth, & Diane Primavera can also speak to the tremendous advantage a rich candidate enjoys.
   The money for the campaigns does need to come from somewhere and in the present system the big cost is that we have legislators spending less time on legislative business, and instead they are thrown into non-stop contact with people that have money, and all too often want a favor.

Ok, that's it – piece of cake no? Here's the thing, the people in this state know that we are in a world of hurt. They know we need to step up and effect major change. What is accomplished (not what is talked about – what is accomplished) over the next 2 years determines if Colorado will help lead the United States in this new millennium.