“When Governments Make the Weather: Colorado’s Shortfall and the Global Ripple”
By Larry Allen Haggerty Jr.
A Billion-Dollar Storm in Colorado
Colorado lawmakers are staring down annual $1 billion budget shortfalls, driven largely by the explosive growth of Medicaid. Since 2018, state spending on Medicaid has surged by 43%—an increase of $1.7 billion. Governor Jared Polis himself warned that unchecked growth will leave “no money for roads, no money for public safety.”
But is Medicaid the only storm cloud? Or is it just the symptom of something deeper—the erosion of the middle-class job base that once carried the tax load?
The Disappearing Backbone of Real Work
Take Craig, Colorado. When one coal plant unit shuts down, it’s not just a few hundred jobs lost. It’s thousands of livelihoods unraveling:
- Suppliers who provide parts and materials.
- Truckers and rail operators who move the product.
- Restaurants, mechanics, and even McDonald’s staff who depend on those paychecks circulating in town.
Economists call this the multiplier effect—one high-wage industrial job can support three to five others. So when multiple units close, the ripple becomes a wave.
Here’s the question: What happens to a community when its backbone jobs vanish, and all that’s left are service wages?
The Cold Mountain Irony
It’s like the scene you remember from Cold Mountain: they made the weather, then cursed the rain. Regulators shut down industries for environmental reasons, then lament the economic fallout. They celebrate progress, then complain about deficits.
But who pays the price? The worker. The diner. The school. The town.
Short-Term Fixes, Long-Term Poverty
Yes, industries can be retooled. A coal plant can be converted, a factory repurposed. But the cost? Billions. And too often, the payoff is short-term. The new jobs don’t match the wages or stability of what was lost.
So ask yourself: Is it stewardship to spend billions on transitions that don’t restore dignity? Or is it manufacturing poverty under the banner of progress?
When the Storm Goes Global
Now multiply Colorado’s story across states and nations.
- Plants close in Appalachia.
- Mines shutter in Europe.
- Factories vanish in Asia.
The ripple becomes worldwide. Supply chains fracture. Tax bases shrink. Subsidy rolls swell. And governments everywhere complain about deficits they helped create.
So here’s the bigger question: When nations across the globe make the same weather, what kind of storm system are we building?
The Ethical Dimension
This isn’t just economics—it’s ethics. Poverty doesn’t just happen; it’s driven by choices.
- Choices to shut down industries without equal-wage replacements.
- Choices to expand subsidies without strengthening the tax base.
- Choices to prioritize short-term wins over long-term stability.
Both parties play a role. Democrats often push aggressive regulation and expansion of social programs. Republicans emphasize growth and private-sector jobs, though they too stumble. But the deeper truth is this: when leaders forget the worker, they manufacture poverty.
A Call to Stewardship
Stewardship means balance. Protect creation, yes. But also protect the worker who keeps the lights on, the family who depends on a paycheck, the town that depends on its backbone.
So let me ask you:
- What is justice if it forgets the laborer?
- What is progress if it bankrupts the town?
- What is stewardship if it makes the weather and then curses the rain?
Closing Reflection
Colorado’s billion-dollar shortfall is not just a budget story—it’s a parable of what happens when governments forget the backbone of real work. And when that pattern spreads across the globe, the storm becomes worldwide.
The question for us all is simple, but sobering: Will we keep making the weather, or will we finally learn how to balance the rain?
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