Colorado business optimism dropped sharply heading into the last three months of 2018, according to the latest Leeds Business Confidence Index. That marks the seventh-largest drop since the Leeds Business Research Division at the University of Colorado Boulder started the index more than 15 years ago. The LBCI measures Colorado business leaders' optimism on the state economy, the national economy, industry sales, industry profits, industry hiring and capital expenditures. 

Unemployment fell to its lowest level in nearly half a century in September even as job growth slowed, allowing President Donald Trump to present a mostly-favorable economic picture in the critical home stretch before the midterm elections. The Labor Department reported 134,000 new jobs in September, down from 270,000 in August. Wage growth dipped, with average hourly earnings up 2.8 percent over the previous year, down from 2.9 percent in August - the largest single-month jump in nearly a decade. But unemployment was 3.7 percent, down from 3.9 percent in August and its lowest level since December 1969. 

It's with a heavy heart that we urge Coloradans to vote no on Amendment 73. Colorado schools are underfunded and there was a time, not-so-long ago, that we supported a similar income tax increase to help rescue our lagging K-12 education system. But times have changed. Colorado's economy is booming. And the Trump tax cuts will actually mean an increase in Colorado income tax revenue. Between 2017 and 2020, general fund revenue is expected to grow by more than $1.7 billion (even accounting for the money that will be given back to taxpayers under TABOR revenue caps). We're not so naive as to expect that all of that money will go to better fund our schools, but we would hope that Colorado lawmakers would do the right thing and dedicate the lion's share to increasing K-12 education funding.