2017 Opportunity Handbook
In an effort to inform effort to expand opportunity in Colorado, we have compiled a report focusing on some of the important levers to economic mobility.
In an effort to inform effort to expand opportunity in Colorado, we have compiled a report focusing on some of the important levers to economic mobility.
A recent study claimed raising Colorado's minimum wage to $12 by 2020 would result in 90,000 jobs lost; this has been debunked.
Working full time at minimum wage is not enough to support the basic cost of living in most communities in Colorado.
Allowing Coloradans to split their state income tax refunds and directly deposit a portion into several accounts would encourage savings overall and help low- to moderate-income families build wealth.
In a detailed analysis of state anti-discrimination laws that provide remedies to workers who prove workplace discrimination, the Bell Policy Center found these laws have no statistical effect on the creation of small businesses.
Expanding pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship opportunities is a win-win proposition for Colorado.
The Bell offers five comments on the draft plan.
PERA is the retirement system for state and local government employees, including teachers. It is the only retirement program for these employees, virtually all of whom do not participate in or receive Social Security benefits.
Workers who lack paid sick leave are more likely to come to work sick, send their children to school while sick, recover more slowly from illnesses, and rely on expensive visits to emergency rooms than are workers with sick leave.
In an update to our 2004 report, Opportunity Lost: When Hard Work Isn't Enough for Colorado's Families, the Bell's 2010 study finds working poor and low-income families now fare worse on many of the same indicators examined in the previous report.
