90 episodes

When it comes to legislative proposals, ballot initiatives, or economic trends that could have a lasting impact on Coloradans and the state’s economy, where do you turn for unbiased facts and objective analysis? The Common Sense Digest is our regularly occurring podcast featuring policy experts discussing Colorado’s most pressing issues. Debuting the 4th Tuesday of each month, Common Sense Digest’s lively discussions equip you with the most important tool to combat divisive partisanship and shrill rhetoric – Common Sense.

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    • 5.0 • 7 Ratings

When it comes to legislative proposals, ballot initiatives, or economic trends that could have a lasting impact on Coloradans and the state’s economy, where do you turn for unbiased facts and objective analysis? The Common Sense Digest is our regularly occurring podcast featuring policy experts discussing Colorado’s most pressing issues. Debuting the 4th Tuesday of each month, Common Sense Digest’s lively discussions equip you with the most important tool to combat divisive partisanship and shrill rhetoric – Common Sense.

    Tackling Homelessness in Arizona featuring Tom Simplot

    Tackling Homelessness in Arizona featuring Tom Simplot

    Homelessness – and the provision of related services – has evolved into a substantial economic sector. While services are primarily provided by nonprofits, funding starts at the federal level and flows from federal, state, and local grantors into the nonprofit space. The funding and services are distributed through a vast national network of local nonprofit organizations, with Arizona alone hosting as many as 167 such entities. CSI estimates that the total nonprofit workforce dedicated to alleviating homelessness in Arizona is as high as 51,000 employees and volunteers. For context, the state’s largest private organization employs about 45,000 people.
    CSI estimates that statewide spending in Arizona is approximately $933 million to $1.1 billion annually on shelter, treatment, food, and other support services for people experiencing homelessness. According to the latest Point-in-Time counts, today there are more than 14,000 (Estimate 1, Appendix B) people experiencing homelessness in Arizona, and another 9,600 estimated to be in Permanent Supportive Housing. You can find our full report on the topic, titled Homelessness Spending Tops $1 Billion in Arizona here.
    On this episode of Common Sense Digest, our Chairman and Host Earl Wright welcomes Tim Simplot, former director of the Arizona Department of Housing unpack the issues many complexities ranging from a myopic focus on "housing first" to challenges for law enforcement. Homelessness is a prominent issue in Arizona, and the causes of and solutions to it are varied and hotly debated. This episode aims to bring some clarity to the issue. 
    Thank you for listening to Common Sense Digest. Please rate, review, and subscribe on your favorite podcatcher. All of our podcasts can be found here.
    Tom Simplot is former director of the Arizona Department of Housing and a longtime member of the Phoenix City Council. Tom’s career in housing has spanned several decades as an attorney, former real estate agent and former owner of affordable rental properties in Arizona. Tom is also past president of the Maricopa County Board of Health and the Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority. 

    • 24 min
    Announcing the Launch of CSI Iowa featuring Joe Murphy and Ben Murrey

    Announcing the Launch of CSI Iowa featuring Joe Murphy and Ben Murrey

    In January, CSI made a bold move to kick off 2024 and launched in two new states: Iowa and Oregon. Both states are already releasing new studies and engaging in the public policy arena. Along with its successful counterparts in Colorado and Arizona, as well as a newly launched chapter in Oregon, CSI Iowa is guided by a board of local leaders, each bringing expertise from various industries. These board members share CSI's dedication to factual and non-partisan policy analysis. 
    To discuss the launch of CSI Iowa, our Chairman and Host Earl Wright is joined by Joe Murphy, President of the Iowa Business Council and the inaugural CSI Iowa Board Chair, and Ben Murrey, CSI Iowa Director of Policy & Research. They discuss why Iowa is suited for a new chapter of Common Sense Institute, the unique strengths and challenges facing Iowa currently, and give a sneak peek of some of the research to come from this new chapter. It's an exciting look into CSI's newest expansion, and we're thrilled to continue to provide our non-partisan research to Iowans as they consider public policy in their state. 
    Thank you for listening to Common Sense Digest. Please rate, review, and subscribe on your favorite podcatcher. All of our podcasts can be found here.

    • 29 min
    SPECIAL EPISODE: Eggs & The Economy - February 13, 2024

    SPECIAL EPISODE: Eggs & The Economy - February 13, 2024

    In this special edition of of Common Sense Digest, we feature discussion from one of our recent events. On Tuesday, February 13, Common Sense Institute hosted its quarterly Eggs & The Economy Event. This edition was titled: "Supply & Demand, What to Know About Today's Degrees and Tomorrow's Jobs." Our panelists included:
    Janine Davidson - President of Metropolitan State University
    Dave Davia - former CEO of the Rocky Mountain Mechanical Contractors Association
    Mike Coffman - Mayor of City of Aurora
    Robin Wise - President & CEO of Junior Achievement
    Jason Gaulden - CSI Education Fellow
    Luige Del Puerto - Editor of Colorado Politics and the Denver Gazette (Moderator) 
    Thank you for listening to Common Sense Digest. Please rate, review, and subscribe on your favorite podcatcher. All of our podcasts can be found here.

    • 1 hr 4 min
    Diagnosis of Colorado’s Healthcare Industry featuring Dr. Reggie Washington

    Diagnosis of Colorado’s Healthcare Industry featuring Dr. Reggie Washington

    Colorado’s healthcare industry is a major contributor to the state’s economy. In addition to protecting Coloradans’ personal health and wellbeing, the healthcare industry supports 18% of all Colorado jobs. The underlying economic and policy conditions that impact the healthcare system are more favorable in Colorado than in most other states, according to CSI’s Free Enterprise Healthcare Competitiveness Index.
    The sector’s relevance is only expected to grow as Colorado’s population ages and continues to demand more from healthcare services. Though the sector is set on a course for growth, it faces a series of headwinds which are adding financial strain to both providers and patients. A combination of market trends, inflation, state and federal regulations, and expansions of government-backed insurance coverage is increasing costs while constraining revenue. These constraints are reshaping markets across the state, especially in rural areas. All of this influenced the decision to project a negative outlook for the healthcare sector in CSI’s Free Enterprise report.
    Dr. Reggie Washington was one of the authors of our recent report: Diagnosis of Colorado’s Healthcare Industry: Impact and Competitiveness Are Significant, but Warning Signs on the Rise, and he joins our Chairman and Host Earl Wright to discuss his report, its findings, and provides an outlook for the healthcare industry in Colorado. They discuss the effects of COVID, realities about costs across the industry (including patients), the role of personal responsibility, and much more in a wide-ranging chat. 
    Thank you for listening to Common Sense Digest. Please rate, review, and subscribe on your favorite podcatcher. All of our podcasts can be found here.
    Dr. Reggie Washington is our Health & Wellness Fellow, and a National Consultant for HCA offering expertise in pediatric services to centers across the United States. Previously, he was the Chief Medical Officer at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children and Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center until 2023.  His experience included 15 years of advancements in quality, physician satisfaction, and employee engagement.
    In 2008 he co-founded the Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation to provide support to families whose children were in need of care or mothers requiring breast milk for their babies.
    As a physician and strategic leader he was the Co- Founder and Medical Director of Rocky Mountain Pediatric Cardiology and expanded outreach clinics throughout a four-state area.
    He earned his M.D. in 1977, became Board Certified in Pediatrics in 1980 and Board Certified in Pediatric Cardiology in 1981.

    • 34 min
    The Economic Costs of Colorado's Foster Youth featuring John Farnam

    The Economic Costs of Colorado's Foster Youth featuring John Farnam

    Colorado’s foster care youth are a small but troubled section of society. Unfortunately, data is scarce for their life outcomes after they exit the system and, in some cases, when they are still inside it. To illustrate the economic impact of even a small sliver of the foster population, the report focuses on those aging out of the system. This is the first study attempting to derive the individual and social costs borne by a cohort of Colorado’s foster youth.
    Foster care youth aging out of the foster care system in Colorado face a multitude of challenges, including higher rates of homelessness, limited education, unemployment, involvement in the criminal justice system, early parenthood, mental health issues, a lack of support networks, limited healthcare access, substance abuse risk, and financial instability. You can read our full report on the subject here.
    On this episode of Common Sense Digest, Host and Chairman Earl Wright welcomes report author and 2023 Morgridge Child Welfare Fellow John Farnam to discuss his report. The two discuss the shortcomings of the current foster care system, recent incremental victories relative to the issue, and a proposed path forward. The issue has many intertwining contributing factors and long lasting outcomes, and the conversation reflects the complexity of the issue while offering a unique clarity. 
    Thank you for listening to Common Sense Digest. Please rate, review, and subscribe on your favorite podcatcher. All of our podcasts can be found here.
    John Farnam has served the Morgridge Family Foundation for 12 years, administering more than $150 million in grants, first as chief of staff and now as managing director. John builds relationships and catalyzes connections with partners at every level, resulting in transformational change across all social sectors in Denver and beyond. His expertise has been sought out as an Aspen Institute Fellow, a member of the American Enterprise Institute Leadership Network, and an advisor to the Governor’s Leadership Committee on COVID Relief. In 2022 he earned an executive certificate through the prestigious Chief of Staff Fellowship at the University of Oxford, and in 2023, he was one of just 60 leaders from 20 countries to complete the inaugural Chief of Staff Association Program through Harvard Business School Executive Education. He now serves as the Morgridge Child Welfare Fellow for the Common Sense Institute.

    • 28 min
    The Multifaceted Issue of Homelessness in Colorado featuring Donna Lynne

    The Multifaceted Issue of Homelessness in Colorado featuring Donna Lynne

    Over the last three years, Colorado has spent nearly $2 billion on homelessness, concentrated largely in the Denver metro region. While metro areas across the country have seen a surge of people experiencing homelessness, the Denver metro has some of the highest levels of growth among the areas the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development tracks.
    There has been a 58% increase in the Denver metro’s unhoused population since 2016. More become homeless for the first time, and more are chronically homeless.
    Joining Host and Chairman Earl Wright is Donna Lynne, CEO of Denver Health. Donna was the Lieutenant Governorof Colorado from 2016-2019. Prior to that role, she served in executive leadership positions at Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals. She has a unique view of the homelessness issue, the recent influx of migrants, the need for a large coalition of stakeholders to address the issue, and a lot more. In this episode of Common Sense Digest, Donna and Earl have a spirited, wide-ranging discussion of the issue's many contributing factors, possible solutions, and where the conversation goes from here. 
    You can find CSI's most recent research on homelessness here.
    Thank you for listening to Common Sense Digest. Please rate, review, and subscribe on your favorite podcatcher. All of our podcasts can be found here.

    • 29 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
7 Ratings

7 Ratings

ikelley ,

Helpful policy impact insights from community leaders

Common Sense Institute offers some of the best research on Colorado state policy impacts. This podcast is an excellent extension of the public resources they offer, by engaging community leaders across many fields in conversations that shed further light on pressing issues.

rgarn256 ,

Insightful and compelling!

The common sense digest is my go to resource for staying up to date on Colorado politics. I find their podcasts to not only be insightful, but also compelling!

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