Scot Kersgaard

By Scot Kersgaard
The Colorado Independent

A report issued Tuesday by healthcare advocacy group Families USA illustrates how the Ryan budget, passed recently in the U.S. House on a mostly partisan vote, could cost Colorado up to $36 billion over the next decade.

According to the report, Colorado would bleed billions in Medicaid, Medicare and other federal healthcare spending over the next ten years if the budget were adopted.

By Scot Kersgaard
The Colorado Independent
(Also posted on The American Independent)

Now that this year's legislative session is safely behind us, maybe it's time to talk about the state budget. That, anyway, seems to be the premise behind a video released today by the Bell Policy Center and ProgressNow Colorado.

The six-minute animated video bills itself as a plain-English introduction to Colorado's budget-where the money comes from and where it goes.

The minimum wage in Colorado will increase from $7.25 an hour to $7.36 on Saturday. In Colorado, the minimum wage is tied to inflation and adjusts every January 1.

Someone working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks would see their annual income increase from $15,080 to $15,309.

This news comes on the heels of a report released this week by the Denver-based Bell Policy Center study which says that the working poor in Colorado keep falling further behind.