Subject: Spread the word: cutting and cutting won't create new jobs
From: "Alan Franklin, ProgressNow Colorado" <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2011 13:32:40 -0600 (CST)

ProgressNow Colorado

Dear Neighbor,

Colorado is in trouble. According to the respected fiscal experts at
the University of Denver, Colorado's fiscal structure is
unsustainable.
http://progressnowcolorado.pnstate.org/site/R?i=hUxhxnnaI-vGspVO0x2OZQ..

What does that mean? It means it's time to face the facts. Endless
cuts to our schools, our parks, and our colleges won't create new
jobs. These endless cuts won't grow our economy either. As the study
from the University of Denver released last week shows, even though
the economy is recovering, our state won't be able to pay for basic
and essential services without serious, long-term reform. 

Coloradans do have a choice. We can continue making huge cuts in
education, health care, our parks and natural resource protections,
and all the things that make Colorado a great place to live. Or we can
come together around a plan to increase revenue. We are in a race to
the bottom--to become last in the nation for education funding.
Colorado is 48th in funding K-12 education, 49th in funding higher
education, and we are falling faster every day. Colorado's kids soon
won't be able to compete with students in other states--much less with
students around the world.

Help us spread the word: write a letter to your local newspaper right
now
http://progressnowcolorado.pnstate.org/site/R?i=v_a9LfuBnYI-22OqUpOKrg..

.
Can't write a letter, but still want to help? Click here to contribute
to ProgressNow Colorado

http://progressnowcolorado.pnstate.org/site/R?i=q9q_DJnsL4gRa3B3RVO88Q..

.

Colorado can't afford to fall farther behind. Businesses won't come to
Colorado--or stay--if we allow our basic institutions to erode
further. Don't take my word for it: newspapers around Colorado are
sounding the alarm.

"At some point, given the lean nature of the state's finances, there
will have to be talk about structural reform and probably revenue
enhancement -- yes, we mean taxes."
--The Denver Post editorial board, 1/23/2011

"The question before us is straightforward: What do we want for
Colorado, for our children and the future? And in the end, that is up
to the people of the state, not this or any other governor."
--The Durango Herald editorial board, 2/16/2011

"Does (Colorado) want to be the lowest tax state in the union, even
though that might mean substandard schools, exorbitant college
tuition, and crumbling roads and bridges? Or does it want to make
strategic, reasonable investments in the things that make this state
attractive for job creation, tourism, quality of life and good health
for its citizens? It can't be both. Something's gotta give."
--Denver Business Journal Editor Neil Westergaard, 2/18/2011

Following the release of the DU fiscal study, there is a growing call
for a comprehensive solution to raise the revenue needed to pay for
essential services. But we need you to add your voice. The right wing
is in denial and out of touch: Republican Majority Leader Amy Stephens
actually said this week of Colorado's chronically underfunded schools,
"Well-funded is in the eye of the beholder." (KDVR, 2/28/2011). If
they won't get serious about the problem, we have to! As Senator
Rollie Heath said on Monday in response to the DU study's bleak
conclusions, "our kids can't wait."

Please click here to write a letter to the editor of local papers
around Colorado, and make sure your neighbors understand what is at
stake
http://progressnowcolorado.pnstate.org/site/R?i=aYYBxOvwxvRj384mJAXrUw..

.

Thank you. The cuts the state is facing are truly staggering, and
because of bad choices in past years, Colorado is suffering more now.
The time has come to do the responsible thing, and make sure the
essential functions we take for granted every day are provided for.
Let's get to work!

Sincerely,

Alan Franklin

PS. For more information on Colorado's structural funding imbalance
and the DU study, click here.
http://progressnowcolorado.pnstate.org/site/R?i=6JCcEDbHT2Au1PZu1s7qVA..

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