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New report shows what it takes to move Colorado to the middle of the pack; Conversation 2007 seeks input on P-20; Reports for 208 panel detail health spending and uninsured; CBO: Financing health care spending with income tax will be costly; Payday lending in Colorado nearly triples since 2000; More states expand Earned Income Tax Credit; Poll: Income gap is too large; Jones named to state Pay Equity Commission; Political Journal: Civic engagement a full-time job in 2007

A financially secure and healthy retirement is our ninth and final gateway to a life of opportunity. A secure and healthy retirement should be the reward for a life of hard work and contribution to family and community.

A compilation of data used in the 2004 "Opportunity Lost: When Hard Work Isn't Enough for Colorado Families" report.

A Rocky Mountain News Point/Counterpoint stating that in a nation that values hard work and self-reliance, no one should have to work full-time for wages that leave a family in poverty. As a simple matter of fairness - and to strengthen families and encourage work - it is time to raise Colorado's minimum wage.

A Boulder Daily Camera commentary outlining the findings of the national report, "Working Hard, Falling Short: America's Working Families and the Pursuit of Economic Security," which describes the difficulty low-income families have working their way to self-sufficiency.

A Boulder Daily Camera commentary summarizing the findings of the Bell Policy Center's "Opportunity Lost" report, which found: Coloradans work hard, but too many working folks struggle to get by; education and skills are the best predictors of whether hard work pays off; and Colorado does not invest enough in services that help adults improve their job skills.

The state government must examine the complexities of work support programs and create a comprehensive system that increases eligibility limits and phases benefits out gradually to avoid steep financial cliffs for working families.