Pinnacol Assurance Partners with Colorado Apprenticeship Program to Build Workforce of the Future

By Lori Ella Miller

While enjoying a healthy, robust economy and low unemployment, Colorado faces a challenging paradox. According to the Colorado Talent 2016 Pipeline Report, by 2020 nearly 74 percent of all jobs within the state will require some type of postsecondary education. At the same time, only 23 percent of Colorado’s graduating high schoolers are earning a college degree. This gap in career-readiness is putting local students at a severe disadvantage as they enter the workforce. At the same time, it’s making it difficult for area employers to attract qualified workers, as well as create a pipeline of steady recruits for the thousands of job opportunities in the state.

In an effort to solve the ongoing problem, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper led a contingent of community and business leaders on a trip to Switzerland to learn about that country’s successful youth apprenticeship system. The visit inspired the launch of Colorado’s first modern apprenticeship program: CareerWise Colorado. This program offers high school students real-world work experience and debt-free postsecondary education.

One of the business leaders accompanying the governor to Switzerland was Phil Kalin, president and CEO of Pinnacol Assurance, a workers’ compensation insurer headquartered in Denver that has been ranked as a Top Workplace by The Denver Post for both 2017 and 2018. At the time, Pinnacol Assurance was evaluating its own workforce development objectives. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey, nearly one half of employees in the insurance industry are nearing retirement within the next decade. An analysis of Pinnacol’s own workforce demographics suggests that nearly one-third of its employees will be eligible for retirement by 2019.

Kalin and Pinnacol’s executive team see the CareerWise program as a win-win. By participating in this important public-private partnership, the company supports the community and helps build a strong workforce for its future.

“By hiring apprentices, we can continue to fill our workforce with talented employees who will bring the enthusiasm and innovation required for Pinnacol to thrive,” said Kalin.

Pinnacol Assurance is one of 44 companies partnering with CareerWise Colorado. Statewide, about 100 students have begun apprenticeships and Pinnacol hoststhe largest cohort in the program. Unlike other pilot programs, Pinnacol’s is directed by dedicated staffers who are responsible for communications between internal team stakeholders, apprenticeship recruitment, and advocating for the apprentices—therefore contributing to the success of the larger-scaled program.

One of the staff members is Apprenticeship Program Lead Julie Wilmes. Prior to joining Pinnacol, Wilmes taught public school for 10 years before going on to become an instructional designer.

“I knew this was the perfect fit for me, as I wanted to be a part of workforce development in Colorado,” said Wilmes. “Youth apprenticeships empower young people, their families, and will have a lasting impact on future generations.”

Some 50 Denver-area students threw their proverbial hats into the ring and applied to the Pinnacol Apprenticeship Program, and 20 were selected. According to Wilmes, Pinnacol hired a diverse group of students. Approximately 80 percent of the participants are students of color, which is consistent with the demographics of participating Denver schools. She added that the group is also equally split between genders. Pinnacol has already committed to onboarding up to 10 additional apprentices in 2019.

One of the best parts of the apprenticeship model is that it is accessible to all students on track to graduate from high school, regardless of socio-economic status.

“CareerWise’s modern youth apprenticeship program benefits students from any background. Regardless of demographics, students learn better when they have a real world environment in which they can apply their classroom lessons,” said CareerWise Colorado Director of Human Resources Strategy & Implementation Kathleen Brenk. “Through this business-led, student-centered model, any high school student can benefit from debt-free college credit and be career-ready when they decide to work full time in their field—whether that’s immediately after the apprenticeship or after further education.”

Over the next few years, the apprentices will rotate through Pinnacol’s departments, engage with guest speakers, shadow employees, perform productive hands-on work, and hone skills needed for a career in the insurance industry — ideally at Pinnacol.

In addition, the students earn an apprentice wage, receive retirement benefits and time-off, participate in the company’s bonus program, and are eligible for performance-based raises. Pinnacol also covers tuition costs for some postsecondary education and an insurance industry certification.

The CareerWise Colorado model is mutually beneficial for both the apprentices, as well as the businesses. Companies realize a positive return on their investment not only from the value of the apprentices’ work, but also from the impact it has on employees. That is certainly the case for Pinnacol.

According to Wilmes, “The program is a having a positive effect on morale. Our team members are growing as leaders and mentors. They feel needed, and love sharing their expertise and knowledge.”

The Pinnacol staffers, who serve as subject matter experts, train and coach the apprentices who acquire new proficiencies in team work, operations, business practices and accountability. It’s real hands-on work. The apprentices are involved in facilitating projects, developing high-level communications, planning events, and assisting operations in the Underwriting and Claims departments.

“They are taking on roles and responsibilities that free up full-time, salaried staff to focus on the more technical aspects of their jobs,” remarked Pinnacol Apprenticeship Program Manager Mark Tapy. 

High school junior and CareerWise Colorado apprentice Byonce Reyna is currently working in Pinnacol’s Communications department. Reyna pens a monthly blog for Pinnacol’s intranet that has become one of the most read articles by company employees.

Eric Miller, a high school junior on the Continuous Improvement and Lean team is gaining the skills to facilitate team meetings and help team members reach their goals. He is actively working on a project to enhance the efficiency of communications between CareerWise, schools, and businesses. His work on the evaluation of the communication process will have an impact on Pinnacol, as well as other participating companies.

Wilmes believes the CareerWise model could have a profound impact on all industries in Colorado and nationwide. “Businesses must get involved in workforce development – it’s crucial,” she said. “Companies can get apprentices in the door and train them for what your company needs now and in the future.”

At the completion of their apprenticeships, these students will finish high school with transferable college credits, at least one postsecondary credential, three years of work experience, and in many cases, an associate degree.

“I would recommend this program to my fellow students because working in a professional environment helps you to see and understand the complexity and struggles in not only the business world, but how business integrates itself into our everyday lives,” said Isabelle Benton, a 17-year-old apprentice in Pinnacol’s Special Investigations Unit. “It teaches you a sense of responsibility that you don’t really get to understand until you have the freedom to do so. In an apprenticeship, you start doing things on your own and away from the classroom environment…you are doing a job with adults and you have to think and understand things like they do. This program has changed my life.”

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For Astronaut Safety NASA Should Look To Colorado

Author: Jeff Wasden

Colorado doesn’t always come to mind when people think of America’s space legacy. After all, no one ever said, “Denver, we have a problem.” Meanwhile, our researchers and aerospace manufacturers are quietly shaping the state’s economy, America’s space future, and astronaut safety. 

Employees from eight of the country’s top aerospace manufacturers are hard at work right here in Colorado preparing NASA for 21st century spaceflight. One of those companies, Denver-based United Launch Alliance, has nearly 130 successful launches – a remarkable accomplishment in contrast to some recent flame-outs on the launch pads. Independently, Boeing is working to build the Space Launch System for NASA, to begin the journey to Mars.

Amidst this friendly competition, it is easy to forget about the safety of the astronauts who put their lives in the hands of Colorado’s engineers amongst others.

It is shocking to many to learn that SpaceX plans to fuel their rocket with the astronauts already onboard. This ‘load and go’ method needlessly risks astronaut lives in an effort to cut corners and eke out power from an undersized platform. SpaceX’s own Falcon 9 exploded on the launch pad in 2016 using this exact same fueling technique and a NASA safety panel has urged this risky proposal be reconsidered.

It’s not the first safety question mark to be raised about SpaceX’s hurry up approach to development.  The company lost a Falcon 9 rocket and (thankfully unmanned) Dragon capsule in 2015 and one of its Merlin rockets exploded during testing late last year.

Elon Musk recently stated in “The Verge” that, “We certainly could load propellants and then have the astronauts board Dragon.”  If SpaceX can do this, why don’t they eliminate the high-risk operation?  In this case it appears the SpaceX ideology of risk taking is prioritized over safety.  

NASA’s requirements demand that the odds of dying can be no greater than 1 in 270 flights. Counting the 2016 explosion and another in 2015 with the Falcon 9, SpaceX does not meet that criteria if they intend to carry our most precious cargo, America’s astronauts. Space travel will never be completely safe, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

And given Colorado’s central role in America’s leadership in space, this is a discussion our state need to be leading. After all, Colorado boasts the country’s 2nd largest aerospace economy, with nearly 190,000 space related jobs which puts us number one in the nation per capita.

And our universities in Colorado are a key driver for cutting-edge space research. In fact, there are twenty former NASA astronauts affiliated with the University of Colorado and two are currently on staff. This commitment to space education explains why CU receives more NASA research funding than any other public university. And just down the road at the U.S. Air Force Academy you will find the nation’s 2nd ranked aerospace program. 

Thankfully, Colorado companies, like Boeing, and ULA, our researchers, and our students understand this, and are committed to putting men and women in space and bringing them safely home. When NASA calibrated the chance of a fatal incident on the historic Shuttle flights, it came in at 1 in 12. While some cargo like Facebook’s communications satellite can be insured, human life is far too valuable to leave up to chance.

Source: https://www.denverpost.com/2018/06/01/for-...

Get Used To Low Unemployment Rates - Thanks To The Federal Tax Cuts

Author: Jeff Wasden

Friday’s jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the national unemployment rate is 3.8 percent, the lowest rate this century. Colorado’s is even better at 2.9 percent. Even the best forecasters couldn’t have predicted such a strong labor market six years ago when the unemployment rate was twice this level. Currently there are 6.6 million unfilled jobs across the nation, suggesting the unemployment rate could fall even further.

This strong labor market is largely a result of the current economic expansion. Economic growth in recent quarters has finally been near the 3 percent level this country is used to, following many years in the 2 percent range. Again, Colorado’s economic growth is even better —  at 3.6 percent last year. But solid economic growth alone can’t account for this historically low unemployment rate. For that, we should thank the recent Republican tax cuts, which have added fuel to the economic fire.

The tax cuts included a new 20 percent small-business tax deduction — the biggest small-business tax cut in the nation’s history. Like me, you probably know of several small businesses just barely hanging on in today’s competitive economy. This tax relief will allow them to protect one-fifth of their earnings from taxes. These saving can then be directed to the expansion, capital expenditures, and hiring they need to become more competitive and stay in business.

This deduction should also help address the historically low small-business startup rate. In contrast to nearly all other economic indicators, the startup rate has not recovered from the Great Recession. The new small-business tax cut will give potential entrepreneurs extra incentive to follow their dreams. Because these small firms account for two-thirds of all new jobs created, such a small business expansion will help the labor market even more.

No wonder small businesses support the tax cuts by a 10-to-1 margin, according to a recent survey conducted by the Job Creators Network.

The tax cuts also brought the nation’s corporate tax rate in line with international standards. This allows American businesses to better compete with their foreign counterparts, which ironically have often been in a better position to invest in the U.S. because their home governments tax away less of their earnings.

Instead of American companies “investing” abroad to try to better compete in today’s global marketplace, companies are now returning to — and expanding in — the U.S. because the tax climate is finally fair again. These include major employers such as Bayer, Amazon, Ford, and Broadcom.

In these conditions, it’s easy to see how the unemployment rate has fallen to a historic low. But it’s not only jobs that these businesses are providing with their tax cuts. They’re also delivering higher wages. Over 500 businesses, including some of the nation’s biggest employers such as Walmart (1.5 million U.S. employees) AT&T (200,000 employees) and Starbucks (250,000 employees), have directed part of their tax cut savings to increased employee compensation. As a result, median wages are growing at their fastest pace in a decade after many years of stagnating.

Congressional Democrats — led by Colorado Rep. Jared Polis — have promised to repeal these tax cuts if they retake power on Election Day this fall. They complain these are merely tax cuts for the rich. That is not true. The share of taxes paid by the rich actually increases under this law. Not only are ordinary Americans benefiting from reductions in their individual income tax, but they are also benefiting from the greater prosperity, more job opportunities, and higher wages spurred by tax cuts.

An unemployment rate below four percent may be an anomaly. But as long as the tax cuts remain in place, stimulating the economy, expect to see this far more frequently in the future.

Source: https://coloradopolitics.com/get-used-to-l...

How Companies Can Boost Their Employee Well-being Programs

5 tips to help drive employee engagement and satisfaction 

By Sandra Crews, Health Strategist, UnitedHealthcare of Colorado

An increasing number of companies are implementing well-being programs to help their employees live healthier lives, reduce health care costs, and improve employee productivity and satisfaction.

A recent employer survey by Willis Towers Watson found that 72 percent of U.S. companies “aim to improve their health and well-being strategies and programs over the next three years to differentiate themselves from organizations with which they compete for talent.”

In fact, more than half (53 percent) of employees with access to a company well-being program say the initiative has made a positive impact on their health, according to a recent UnitedHealthcare survey. Among those, 88 percent said the programs motivated them to pay more attention to their health, 67 percent said the initiatives helped them reduce their bodyweight, and 30 percent said the resources helped detect a disease or medical condition.

May is Global Employee Health and Fitness Month, an ideal time for employers to research, assess and enhance well-being programs. To help employers support their employees’ health goals, here are five “Cs” that may drive engagement and create a successful well-being program.

·       Commitment – Executive leadership must make wellness a priority by leading the program and creating a culture of well-being. It is important to set the tone for your organization and serve as “CEO of Well-being” by passionately and visibly supporting, participating in and communicating the importance of wellness. Also, mid-level managers and direct supervisors should also set the tone for their departments by informing, educating and motivating employees.  

·       Communication – When it comes to well-being programs, don’t “launch it and leave it.” Establish communication touch-points throughout the year that reintroduce employees to the program and remind them about the value of participating. Show what’s in it for them, from the intrinsic perspective (their health) to the extrinsic perspective (available incentives). To support those efforts, consider forming a “Wellness Champion Network” composed of a group of volunteer employees who help in planning, communicating and implementing the program. Also, a well-being program website or intranet site can provide information and enable employees to get their questions answered.

·       Culture Employees spend more waking hours at work than anywhere else, so it makes sense that creating a healthier environment would help support positive behavior changes. Some examples include providing stress-related educational information, creating indoor/outdoor walking paths, installing bike racks and on-site exercise equipment or yoga classes, a lunchtime walking club or a “Take the Stairs” campaign, and providing healthier vending options.

·       Cash – Research shows that valued incentives drive participation, which can ultimately lead to engagement. Incentives must resonate with your unique workforce. For example, merchant gift cards and premium credits resonate well with most employees. But incentives are not a one-size-fits-all proposition. The value and appeal of a particular incentive varies among employees, making the right incentive selection important.

·       Contribute – A well-being program cannot be billed as “employee–focused” if employee input is not solicited and applied. By giving employees an opportunity to share their feedback, they can provide key information to structure the program to help meet their needs and interests, and give employees a sense of ownership. Remember to solicit and give open and honest feedback to further identify what is working and what needs to change to increase engagement and satisfaction.

These five Cs can help improve your company’s well-being program and earn an A+ in employee engagement. For more information about well-being programs, visit UHC.com.

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Teledyne Brown Engineering and DLR: Expanding the Possibilities of Earth Observation

Teledyne Brown Engineering has partnered with the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) to host the International Space Station’s (ISS) first commercial hyperspectral sensor.  The DESIS-30 (DLR Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer) is scheduled to be hosted aboard Teledyne’s ISS-based Multi User System for Earth Sensing (MUSES) platform in June of 2018.  The DESIS-30 is an Offner spectrometer with a spectral range of 400 to 1000 nm (VIS-NIR).  With 2.55nm sampling and 235 spectral channels, it will be the highest-fidelity hyperspectral sensor in operation.   DLR will use the acquired hyperspectral imagery for scientific investigations while Teledyne will make it available for commercial applications. 

Teledyne’s MUSES platform was launched to the ISS in June of 2017 and achieved full operating capability in September of the same year.   The platform was developed as part of a cooperative agreement with NASA to create opportunities for both Government and commercial applications such as imaging, technology demonstration and space qualification payloads supporting research, scientific studies and humanitarian efforts.  Once DESIS-30 is in place, the platform will have remaining capacity for three additional payloads to support other imagers, technology demonstrations and space qualification missions.

“The differentiator of the MUSES platform is that by leveraging the ISS infrastructure; time to orbit is significantly reduced, mission length is adjusted to meet the needs of the customer, and the payload can be returned to earth for analysis or reuse.”, stated Jack Ickes, Senior Vice President of Geospatial Solutions at Teledyne Brown Engineering.  “We are providing companies and researchers a path to low-earth orbit where their hardware can be deployed and returned for a fraction of the cost and effort otherwise incurred by satellite deployment.”

The MUSES pointing capability of 5o/45o cross track and +/- 25o along track significantly improves the revisit time of the DESIS-30 imager over the baseline ISS Orbit. Teledyne’s Amazon-Cloud based Data Management System will process and make acquired imagery available within hours. This high degree of agility and processing speed makes it possible to provide information for disaster response in near real time.

DLR and Teledyne want to leverage the data from DESIS and future MUSES instruments to further improve Earth observation and to expand the use of hyperspectral sensing in commercial applications. The ISS circles the earth 16 times per day, giving the platform and its instruments frequent and broad coverage of its surfaces. Once operational, images from DESIS-30 will be available for access via Amazon Cloud for research purposes around the globe.  

Relieving Some Of The Burden

As a former operating small business owner, I know firsthand the challenges that face Colorado's 611,000 small businesses on a day-to-day basis. And it can be very overwhelming.

But luckily for them - as well as for the other 29 million small businesses across the country - the current administration in Washington is relieving some of that burden. Not only are costly regulations being slashed, but the tax relief package that was passed and signed into law late last year is giving small businesses some budgetary wiggle room to hire more people, raise wages, and expand.

The results have been impressive. The latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals the lowest unemployment rate since 2000. And to build off that, the unemployment rate for minority Americans has hit an all-time low.

While many seek to downplay the positive impacts of Tax Reform and Jobs Act, as well as other pro-business policies enacted by the Trump administration, they are having a significant impact for small business owners across Colorado and the nation.

Jeff Wasden, Colorado Business Roundtable

Highlands Ranch

Colorado Cannot Afford the 2018 Health Insurance Tax

By JEFF WASDEN, Colorado Business Roundtable, Updated: April 25, 2017 12:16 pm

The healthcare fight in Washington D.C. continues as a prolonged saga with little clarity as to when progress will be made. Meanwhile, Coloradans are facing the realities of rapidly rising health care costs with little relief in sight. At the end of the month, however, our representatives in Congress do have the option to make progress on lowering health care costs by voting to delay the Health Insurance Tax for 2018.

The Health Insurance Tax (HIT) is a brutal tax on health care that continues to cripple small and independent businesses throughout our state. While we often hear about rising premiums and unaffordable costs of healthcare for many, the HIT is an additional and specific tax on the health care plans that small business owners purchase for their employees. It’s estimated the HIT will cost businesses $500 in taxes per employee per year. A burden of this size will crush Colorado’s small businesses.

At the Colorado Business Roundtable, we prioritize creating an environment in our state for businesses to thrive and grow. The HIT works against these values and goals. Rather than adding jobs or updating equipment, businesses will have to budget for this per employee tax. Once we hinder growth for local businesses, the state suffers. Colorado businesses should pride themselves on high wages and top-of-the-line healthcare for employees. Delaying the HIT puts these aspirations in reach.

The unfortunate truth of the HIT is that the small guy is always hit the hardest. It’s Colorado’s family-owned, local enterprises — often the lifeblood of our communities — that cannot prosper under this tax. It’s important for us to fight for their success, which will no doubt bring prosperity to Colorado.

Our state was lucky when Aurora Rep. Mike Coffman, along with a strong bipartisan majority in Congress, voted to delay the HIT for 2017. The ramifications can be seen as our economy booms. Colorado is a top destination and a top place to live. This was made possible by representatives like Congressman Coffman, who have always prioritized pro-business and pro-growth legislation. By supporting the delay of the HIT for this current year, he relieved businesses that suffered under its weight from 2014 to 2016. We need him to stand with us again to vote to delay this tax.

As Congress returns to session and begins to navigate funding the budget, delaying the HIT is non-negotiable if we want our economy to thrive. The Colorado Business Roundtable hopes we can count on Congressman Coffman to vote for this delay and encourage his colleagues to do the same. Colorado cannot afford the Health Insurance Tax for 2018.

Jeff Wasden is president and CEO of Colorado Business Roundtable, a Denver-based nonprofit advocating for pro-business legislation.

As originally posted in the Aurora Sentinel

AuroraColorado Business Roundtablefeedhealth careHealth Insurance TaxHITJeff WasdenRep. Mike Coffmansmall business

F-35 Fighter Contract Vital to Colorado’s Defense Economy

Originally published here at the Denver Business Journal on November 25, 2016

The vital role that the defense sector plays in Colorado’s economy could expand in the near future if elected leaders, regardless of party or ideology, stand up for a new, fifth-generation jet fighter that already has a solid economic footprint in our state. Colorado business leaders recently learned firsthand how critically important this is when we had the rare opportunity to “fly” the cockpit simulator of the F-35 Lightning II.

The F-35 is the fifth-generation fighter jet that is enhancing America’s ability to own the skies. Ball Aerospace in Westminster is home to an exciting high-tech manufacturing facility that manufactures and tests antenna systems for the fighter. The company expects to manufacture nearly 50,000 antennas for the program in the next 25 years.  

We civilian business types, whose closest engagement with a jet fighter was the models we played with as kids, gained a deep understanding, from a pilot’s perspective, of how this aircraft is the most lethal and survivable strike fighter jet ever built.

We took two important lessons from this landmark event. First, how vital it is that America makes the F-35 a defense-funding priority in order to have an agile asset that can literally create air dominance in any environment and, as a result, meet the growing and evolving threats the nation faces in the 21st century. Equally important, we were reminded how Colorado’s energetic and expanding economy is intertwined with a strong and growing defense sector. Indeed, there are strong and sustained efforts to advocate for basing some of the new fighters here in Colorado.

Many Coloradans aren’t aware of the broad and deep economic benefit that Colorado derives from Department of Defense activity. In fact, adding up direct and indirect jobs, defense is the third-largest industry in the state, matching agriculture. Total DOD-related employment represents 5.2 percent of the state workforce, or 170,000 jobs, accounting for $11.6 billion in total labor earnings. This accounts for 6.5 percent of the Gross Regional Product (GRP).

The F-35 program is no exception.  Throughout the state, the fighter has 22 suppliers in Colorado and supports 750 direct and indirect jobs, providing an annual economic impact of $60 million throughout the state.

One of the key aspects of Colorado’s attractiveness for military-oriented jobs such as those at Ball Aerospace is our growing and well-deserved reputation as a magnet for high-tech workers. While many assume that the smaller tech startups are the most important magnet for these workers, defense-oriented jobs are attracted by – and attractive to – these men and women. A study released last year by the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs detailed the vibrant synergy between direct military activity and related companies that work with the defense sector. The report specifically cited the “crossflow” between DOD and private industry and calling it a self-reinforcing relationship that concentrates talent, productive capacity and innovation.”

The report also underscored that Colorado’s private sector technology based companies provide a stable and reliable base for DOD that helps weather the ups and downs of the lifecycles of products and technologies.

Colorado is a vital, fertile location not only for defense jobs but for private-sector companies and entrepreneurs who work with the military. This is the fruit of years of bipartisan work to demonstrate that Colorado is second-to-none as a location to grow high-quality jobs at exciting, innovative companies. With programs such as the F-35 and other cutting-edge defense assets earning support, Colorado can continue to be an indispensable player in America’s national security – to the lasting benefit of our nation and our economy. 

Jeff Wasden, President and CEO
Colorado Business Roundtable (COBRT) 

Presidential Candidates Should Follow Denver’s Leadership Overseas

[This op-ed was originally published here at The Colorado Statesman on May 17, 2016.]

Now that both parties have decided on the presumptive nominees for the 2016 presidential election and Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump make their case to Coloradoans, it is easy to find the stark differences between them on any number of issues — from terrorism to trade to taxes. In a highly partisan campaign environment, it can seem near impossible to find common ground. But there is one thing that all the candidates can and should agree on: the vital importance of strengthening America’s global leadership.

This may be an unusual question, but what does Nepal have to do with the presidential race?

After last year’s devastating earthquake, a young woman, Laxmi, was left to die. Suffering from a broken back, legs and pelvis, she was pulled from the rubble and transported to a medical center. Her injuries were severe, but treatable. Due to the lack of medical supplies, though, there was little that could be done. She was sent back to her destroyed village with no hope of recovery. It was in that village that Tom Dickey, a Fort Collins-based physician’s assistant, found her. Working with Project C.U.R.E., he had travelled to Nepal following the disaster and was able to provide lifesaving aid to countless victims, including Laxmi. Working with a local medical equipment engineer, Tom helped establish a post-operative rehab center for dozens of people who suffered traumatic injuries. Thanks to American generosity—Laxmi is able to walk again.

Tom’s story is a powerful one because it demonstrates on a personal level how Denver has long played an oversized role across the globe—and how what happens overseas directly matters to us here at home. Not only is Denver headquarters to international charities, but the Mile-High City is proud to host global companies like IBM, Intel, Cargill, and Lockheed Martin. They, as well as local industry leaders like CH2M have all invested heavily in Colorado.

The candidates should know that more than 710,000 jobs are supported by trade statewide—more than one in five—and with close to $8.4 billion in foreign exports last year, Colorado plays a central role in the world economy. Nearly 5,000 small and medium-sized Colorado businesses sold goods overseas, a number that is only likely to increase in the future. As these companies can attest, America’s customers are no longer our traditional allies in Europe and North America. In fact, over half of our exports now go to developing countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

We’re proud that Denver-based organizations like Project C.U.R.E. and the DaVita Village Trust not only provide humanitarian assistance overseas, but also help promote development that opens doors for economic growth and opportunity. Together with our U.S. government counterparts, like USAID, the Peace Corps and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, we help save lives and create stability overseas. As we confront growing challenges overseas from ISIS to Russia to the Zika virus, these are the civilian tools that our next president will need on their first day in the Oval Office.

Our development and trade efforts build peace and prosperity in places where it had been previously lacking. Not only do they reduce the risk of conflict and terrorism, Colorado companies—many which belong to the Colorado Business Roundtable and its affiliates—also foster relationships around the world to advance American interests and values. As countries move up the development ladder, investments by the U.S. are repaid many times over through improved business ties and expanded customer bases. This is not just a hypothetical—11 of our top 15 trading partners today were once recipients of U.S. assistance.

Calls from the campaign trail for isolationism or turning inward ignore today’s globalized economy and our increasingly interconnected world. We can no longer only count on our domestic customers to remain competitive. Denver businesses depend on strategic investments in development and diplomacy to open doors and create a climate to facilitate trade and investment. As our nation helps increase prosperity in the developing world, we expand our access to emerging markets and new consumers have the buying power to purchase American goods.

And our generals are the first to say that American military might alone, will not keep us safe from threats like pandemics, terrorism, weapons proliferation, and environmental disasters. No longer do the mountains or the plains insulate us from threats and changes overseas—now we must fully engage in what is happening in London, Jordan, and Indonesia. Only with strong American leadership can we help influence events internationally and ensure that the world remains a safe place for the United States to do business.

In November, Colorado voters will be going to the polls to choose the next commander-in-chief. What do we expect to hear from all the candidates? A clear vision for how they will use all our tools—development, diplomacy, and defense—to strengthen our nation’s role in the world.

Dr. Douglas Jackson is the President and CEO of Project C.U.R.E., the largest provider of donated medical supplies and equipment to developing countries around the world. Jeff Wasden is the President of the Colorado Business Roundtable, a leading business organization that advocates for business development and a stronger Colorado economy. Both are members of the Colorado Advisory Council of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition.

Health Insurance Tax Provision Passes Real Cost to Customers

Colorado families depend upon a growing economy and a strong private sector to ensure they can meet their needs today and reach for their goals tomorrow. Small and medium-sized businesses are widely recognized as the engines that provide the thrust necessary for the economy to take off through innovation and employment opportunity.

When a tax or regulation targets those growing companies, it doesn't just hurt the entrepreneurs and owners: Whatever holds the businesses back also holds back their employees and the people who might have become employees.

That's why we are deeply concerned by the Health Insurance Tax provision within the Affordable Care Act. The Health Insurance Tax acts like a sales tax on health-insurance policies purchased in the market by individuals and employers. While the tax, when implemented, is supposed to be paid by the insurance companies, the real cost will be passed through to the customers who pay for the insurance.

It's pretty simple: when every insurance company is required to pay the same tax and their customers have no other alternative but to pay for the policies, the tax will be added to the cost of the policy. No insurance company is going to absorb the estimated annual cost of more than $500 per insured family per year. The insurance companies will simply pass it along as a price increase.

In many small businesses, $500 per employee would buy everyone a new computer or send everyone to a training session to learn about a new technique for working smarter or faster. Those are the kinds of investments that businesses make when they're trying to grow and become more effective in the competitive marketplace.

Targeting this tax at those very same small businesses means that they're being saddled with new expenses instead of being encouraged to invest for new opportunity. That starves them of the fuel needed to become those important engines of economic growth. Thank you for your time and consideration of these concerns we have about how the Health Insurance Tax will negatively impact Colorado’s companies, consumers and, ultimately, citizens.


Contact your legislators now about this issue. Submit a message to Senator Cory Gardner here or call 202-224-5941. Submit a message to Senator Michael Bennet here or call 202-224-5852. If you would like to pass this message along, we urge you to share it with the social share buttons below. 

An open letter to the Colorado General Assembly

Dear Members of the Colorado State Legislature,

Please, pump the breaks. Take a breath and do what we were all taught in elementary school, and “just say no.” The onslaught of anti-business bills being ran this year, many borne out of election-year politicking, is threatening the Colorado so many know and love. During the reason committee hearing on HB-1275, the tax haven bill, Metro Denver EDC Chair Tom Clark testified that this bill would set us back as a state and put us at a competitive disadvantage. Representative Priola mentioned that this bill would work against the direct efforts of Governor Hickenlooper and Fiona Arnold, Office of Economic Development and International Trade. 

Colorado was just listed as the number three state for business by the Wall Street Journal. While there is a lot to be celebrated, there are certainly warning signs and areas of concern. Number one on the list was Utah (again). Governor Herbert, Utah has made it a personal mission to remove burdensome, outdated regulations off the books (342 in one year), and the Olympics provided important infrastructure enhancements. Of significant note was the announcement on Feb 26th highlighting the creation of the newly formed Utah Chapter of Aerospace States Association. The South Metro Denver Chamber just hosted an economic development meeting on our aerospace industry, and Colorado Business Roundtable recently had Colorado’s Aerospace Champion Major Gen. Jay Lindell and Edgar Johansson from the Colorado Space Business Roundtable on its Connect and Collaborate radio. The aerospace industry in Colorado is vibrant, growing, and drives significant economic impact to the state. Is our state legislature willing to put that at risk knowing that Utah and other states would welcome any of our prime companies with open arms? 

During its Legislative Reception prior to the start of the session, COBRT President Jeff Wasden challenged the business community to stop asking legislators what are their five bills for the year (as each legislator can run five bills with some exceptions each year). Instead, the questions we should be asking are “What priorities do you have for this session?” and “How can you ensure the proper role of government to help Colorado families and businesses this year?” Instead, we get hit with the tax haven bill, equity pay bills, minimum wage bills, paid mandatory sick leave bills, and others. Couple those with proposed ballot initiatives like single-payer healthcare and statewide energy bans and it is no wonder business always feel under attack and playing defense. 

Colorado has evolved since the 80’s. The Metropolitan Revolution by Katz and Bradley highlights significant milestones in the evolution of the metro Denver region and the center-city hub—aggressive annexations, the rise of Denver International Airport, the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, and FasTracks. Today, the Denver metro region is home to corporate headquarters for companies like DaVita, Ball Corp, Arrow Electronics, CH2M, Western Union, Level 3, Newmont Mining, and Dish. Our economy boasts a strong, diversified portfolio from bioscience, renewable energy, aerospace, financial services, health and wellness, creative industries, and engineering. We have an educated workforce, favorable climate, and amazing outdoors in which to recreate. 

The State of California has long been one of our strongest recruiting tools as overreaching policies have driven off company after company. We should all take note, because business is much more mobile, states are actively competing for companies, and policies matter. Let’s focus on what is important for our ongoing economic prosperity and wellbeing—finding conservative ways to fix our broken transportation funding, critical investments in infrastructure, ensuring all students have access to a quality education, and working with business instead of against business. 

Jeff Wasden, President, Colorado Business Roundtable
Robert Golden, President/CEO, South Metro Denver Chamber


Printed at The Colorado Statesman and Denver Business Journal 

   

Space Organizations Release White Paper: "Ensuring U.S. Leadership in Space"

Space Foundation Contact:
Brendan Curry, Vice President - Washington Operations
202.618.3061

Space Organizations Release White Paper:
"Ensuring U.S. Leadership in Space"

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 4, 2016) - Representatives from a coalition of 13 leading U.S. space organizations have produced a white paper entitled "Ensuring U.S. Leadership in Space."

The coalition includes aerospace professionals from industry, academia and government, who joined together to outline issues every presidential and congressional candidate needs to know about space to ensure that space and space policy are a priority in the next administration.

For nearly 60 years, U.S. government and private sector investment and partnerships in space have been critical to the nation and our world. They make possible a $330 billion global space industry, establish new technologies, revolutionize national security, enable and extend our global communication networks, help us understand our own planet better and inspire millions of Americans to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Yet there still remain serious challenges to U.S. leadership in space that the next administration and congress will have to address. The white paper outlines the challenges that the U.S. space program faces, including unpredictable budgeting, foreign competition and workforce trends. In addition to detailing the challenges, the paper explores sensible policy recommendations to address and overcome them, actions necessary to continue our nation's leadership in space.

The paper was introduced today at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., and presented on behalf of the coalition by:

  *Dr. Sandra H. Magnus, executive director of AIAA
  *Elliot H. Pulham, CEO of the Space Foundation
  *Eric Stallmer, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation

Coalition members, in addition to AIAA, Commercial Spaceflight Foundation, and the Space Foundation, are: Aerospace Industries Association, Aerospace States Association, American Astronautical Society, Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, Colorado Space Coalition, Satellite Industry Association, Silicon Valley Space Business Roundtable, Space Angels Network, Space Florida, and the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space.


Read the paper online at ensuringspace.org.


About the Space Foundation
Founded in 1983, the Space Foundation is the foremost advocate for all sectors of space, and is a global, nonprofit leader in space awareness activities, educational programs and major industry events, including the annual Space Symposium, in support of its mission "to advance space-related endeavors to inspire, enable and propel humanity." Space Foundation World Headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo., USA, has a public Discovery Center, including El Pomar Space Gallery, Northrop Grumman Science Center featuring Science On a Sphere(r) and the Lockheed Martin Space Education Center. The Space Foundation has a field office in Houston and conducts government affairs from its Washington, D.C., office. It publishes The Space Report: The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity, and through its Space CertificationTM and Space Technology Hall of Fame(r) programs, recognizes space-based innovations that have been adapted to improve life on Earth. Visit www.SpaceFoundation.org

A bipartisan opportunity for improving federal regulation

By Jeff Wasden, President
Colorado Business Roundtable

In President’s Obama’s State of the Union address on January 12, 2016 he won a vigorous – and bipartisan – standing ovation with a few simple words about the economy and regulation.

“I believe a thriving private sector is the lifeblood of our economy,” the President declared. “I think there are outdated regulations that need to be changed, and there’s red tape that needs to be cut.”

The Colorado Business Roundtable (COBRT) agrees with President Obama on this point. The challenge now is to turn that clear statement of principle into action with real legislation that Congress can pass and the President will sign.

Regulatory reform is critical to our economic vitality. According to a 2014 study by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, federal regulation and intervention cost American consumers and businesses an estimated $1.88 trillion in lost economic productivity and higher prices.

The COBRT has been active locally in working to pass the Regulatory Reform Act. Later this year, together along with the NFIB, we will host the American Opportunity Project and the Regulation Freedom Amendment which looks to rein in the current burdensome regulatory processes imposed by bureaucrats and allow for congressional oversight.

Can Congress come together and create legislation that generates bipartisan support and actually has some teeth in reducing burdensome regulation? There is real optimism this can be accomplished.  A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators is currently attempting to develop such legislation. They are working on a proposal that would improve the process for developing new regulations that breaks the status quo and the regulatory mess we find ourselves in now. Regulations would then achieve their goal of protecting people and the environment, while cutting the red tape that makes it so hard for businesses to invest, hire and compete.

The draft proposal, the Regulatory Improvement Act, builds on recommendations made by a number of independent groups whose primary interest is in seeing that federal regulation works both effectively and efficiently. The Regulatory Improvement Act represents a major update of the 70-year-old process by which federal agencies write the regulations that affect Colorado’s citizens and businesses so dramatically.

For example, the proposal would require agencies that issue major regulations – those with an economic impact of $100 million or more – put a plan in place to assess whether the regulation is doing what it was intended do when it was issued. Quite simply, agencies have to answer the question: Is the regulation working?

Americans would also gain a bigger voice in the regulatory process. Today, agencies often propose major rules without giving much notice ahead of time, forcing everyone potentially affected to scramble in response. The process shortchanges the public, who may have good ideas to offer, and ultimately produces regulations that may not achieve their intended goals in the most efficient and effective way possible. The Regulatory Improvement Act would address this issue by requiring federal agencies to publish advance notice that they will be working on a new regulation that would have a major impact on the economy.

The bill would also require so-called independent agencies – like the SEC and Federal Communications Commission – to adopt the same kind of sound regulatory development practices that Cabinet agencies must follow. For example, right now, these agencies aren’t required to conduct a full and objective cost-benefit analysis when proposing a regulatory solution. Some do, but there is no guarantee that the agency will take the same time as say, the Department of Defense, to determine whether their proposal will achieve its objectives in the most efficient and effective way possible.

Colorado’s businesses are not opposed to all regulation. But, like the public, we believe that regulations should meet their intended goal of protecting people and the environment in the smartest way possible. Improving the process for issuing new regulations so that they meet their objectives, without creating duplication or unnecessary red tape is good public policy. The Regulatory Improvement Act would do just that, and the Colorado Business Roundtable believes such bipartisan reform could make a big difference.

Colorado Business Roundtable (COBRT) is a prominent advocate for proactive, positive legislation that strengthens the economy and allows businesses to grow and thrive in Colorado and the region. Through strategic alliances with great groups of industry leaders, chambers of commerce, educational institutions and governmental bodies, our goal is to improve the business environment, increase effectiveness, and expand the networks of our partners.

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