Colorado Regulations Crush Economy as Immigration Crisis Drains Resources

On December 12, 2024, Bob Boswell and Pam Long joined the show. CEO of Laramie Energy analyzes Colorado’s plunge from 5th to 41st in GDP, attributing the collapse to the state’s 50,000 regulations and the legislature’s subversion of TABOR through enterprise fees Director of Children’s Health Defense Military Chapter delivers year-end analysis exposing Denver’s $120 million failed migrant program, Venezuelan gang crisis,.

Colorado’s Regulatory Burden Crushes Economic Growth

Start listening at 33:11 – Hour 1

Bob Boswell sounds the alarm on Colorado’s catastrophic economic decline, citing the Colorado Chamber of Commerce’s new Regulation Impact Analysis Report. The state now ranks 41st in GDP after holding the 5th position for years, a collapse Boswell attributes directly to the Democrat supermajority’s regulatory explosion. Colorado now has 50,000 regulations compared to the national average of 30,000, with a 7% increase in the past year alone compared to just 1.3% at the federal level under Biden.

The impact extends beyond abstract statistics. Personal living standards have plummeted from 3rd best in the nation to 39th. Professional sector job growth has cratered from 30,000 annually to less than 5,000. Boswell highlights the absurdity of modern permitting: while the Statue of Liberty took 48 months to construct, today’s regulatory environment would require seven years just to obtain permits for an equivalent project. He points to the legislature’s subversion of TABOR through enterprise fees as a particularly egregious example of regulatory overreach.

“So excessive regulation is having a devastating economic impact on the state. And that trend needs to be changed with a more balanced Senate and House, so that we can stop this influx of regulations.”

Bob Boswell, CEO of Laramie Energy

Denver’s Failed Migrant Experiment Costs Taxpayers Millions

Start listening at 72:37 – Hour 2

Pam Long delivers a devastating analysis of Denver’s migrant crisis in her year-end review of Colorado politics. Mayor Mike Johnston committed $45,000 per migrant for shelter and services, a figure that dwarfs the $9,000 spent educating Colorado students. The city’s self-proclaimed “humanitarian mission” devolved into budget cuts across essential services: $2.5 million from the fire department, $8.5 million from police, and $3.8 million from the sheriff’s office.

Healthcare systems buckled under the strain, with Denver Health reporting $135 million in uncompensated migrant care and UC Health absorbing $580 million for migrants and uninsured patients. Aurora food pantries served 325 families daily while churches attempting makeshift shelters for 200 people eventually collapsed under the burden. After spending $120 million, the program failed so completely that the mayor’s office began urging migrants to leave Denver by April.

“It was not compassionate to bring people to a cold climate without resources.”

Pam Long, Director, Children’s Health Defense Military Chapter

Venezuelan Gang Crisis Exposes State Leadership Failure

Start listening at 96:00 – Hour 2

Long exposes Governor Polis’s response to the Venezuelan gang takeover of Aurora apartment buildings as a case study in failed leadership. Despite video footage, police reports, and testimony from city council members, the governor dismissed the crisis as “imagination.” The New York Post reported on the national embarrassment when the governor’s spokesperson blamed Aurora’s leaders for “trashing their own city” rather than acknowledging the documented gang activity in buildings funded for migrant housing.

The contrast with communities that rejected sanctuary policies proves instructive. Douglas County passed an ordinance prohibiting commercial buses from dropping passengers at unscheduled locations, effectively creating a legal deterrent without violating state laws that prohibit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Counties declaring themselves non-sanctuary cities and prioritizing citizen services avoided the crime waves and resource exhaustion plaguing Denver.

“And so what we had is we had video footage, police reports, all of this evidence that it was happening in our governor gaslighting our local leaders.”

Pam Long, Director, Children’s Health Defense Military Chapter