How Forced Family Leave and Minimum Wage Mandates Threaten Colorado Small Business

On December 11, 2019, Kim Monson welcomed business owners Susan Kochevar, proprietor of the Historic 88 Drive-In Theater, and researcher Patti Kurgan to examine proposed legislation that threatens Colorado’s entrepreneurial climate, from mandatory paid family leave to forced minimum wage increases.

Government Task Forces Work Behind Closed Doors

Start listening at 35:00 – Hour 1

Patti Kurgan exposes the secretive summer task force developing Colorado’s paid family leave program, known as FAMLI. The unelected committee hired an actuary who projected costs between $1.1 billion and $2.2 billion, a staggering range that suggests even experts cannot predict the true financial burden. Kurgan notes the actuary himself admitted the projections could be “way off.”

The proposal would extract premiums from both employees and employers, with workers paying 60 percent and businesses covering 40 percent. Kurgan warns this mandatory deduction will fund up to four months of paid leave, forcing employers to maintain positions for absent workers while simultaneously hiring replacements. The legislation sidesteps voter approval by calling these extractions “premiums” rather than taxes.

“It’s about power and control, and they know better than us.”

Patti Kurgan, Researcher and Small Business Owner

The Crushing Weight of Compliance on Small Business

Start listening at 49:00 – Hour 1

Susan Kochevar brings the perspective of a hands-on business owner navigating an ever-expanding maze of regulations. She calculates that mandatory paid family leave would effectively double her labor costs, requiring two employees for every position to cover absences. The math simply does not work for small operations already struggling with paper-thin margins.

Kochevar raises a chilling point about selective enforcement: when regulations become so complex that full compliance is impossible, government gains the power to target any business it chooses. She warns that aspiring entrepreneurs face crushing barriers before they can even open their doors. The discussion reveals how big corporations often benefit from these mandates through regulatory capture while small competitors are driven out.

“I’m telling you now, no one is in compliance, and that’s tyranny.”

Susan Kochevar, Owner, Historic 88 Drive-In Theater

Impeachment and the Abuse of Power

Start listening at 14:53 – Hour 1

The conversation turns to the House impeachment proceedings unfolding in Washington. Producer Steve plays audio clips revealing the Democrats’ strategy, including Representative Al Green’s admission that impeachment is necessary to prevent Trump’s reelection. Both guests express alarm at the precedent being set, with Kochevar citing American Thinker articles warning that such partisan overreach risks pushing the nation toward dangerous divisions.

Kurgan connects the impeachment proceedings to broader patterns of government overreach, noting how the hearsay rules were changed just weeks before the whistleblower emerged and how phone records were obtained without warrants. She reminds listeners of Trump’s warning that “they’re not after me, they’re after you. I’m just in the way.”