July 14, 2011 08:30 PM UTC

Dig Into Colorado's Budget, One Bite at a Time

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• by: TheBell

(Promoting for the resources–checked the budget tool kit fact sheet and it cites its sources solidly, it’s an easy overview if you want one (and agree with the conclusions) or a starting point to research if you don’t agree and/or want to dig deeper. – promoted by ProgressiveCowgirl)

We’d be the first to admit that the state budget is complicated and can get confusing. And we know it inside out.

But the basics aren’t that hard, especially when you take them a bite at a time.

That’s what we’ve been doing with a series of Plain Talk emails, which follow the release of our budget video (done in collaboration with ProgressNow Colorado) and a companion tool kit.

Our goal is to get Coloradans talking about the state budget.

We think the budget has structural problems and that Colorado has tied itself in fiscal knots. But we don’t want Coloradans to take our word for it. They need to learn the basics and start talking, because in our state, it’s voters, not lawmakers, who make major spending decisions.

That’s where the video, tool kit and now the emails come in. They share the same look and feel, and we employ a crusty ol’ general to embody our General Fund and guide the discussion. Hokey? Perhaps, but nobody said we couldn’t have some fun with this.

Check out our first two emails. The inaugural email is an introduction to the General Fund. The second is about how the General Fund, over the past decade, has been shrinking in purchasing power and in relation to other growth measures.

If you’d like to receive the emails, sign up on our home page. If you’d like more information about the video tool kit or presentations, email us at PlainTalk@bellpolicy.org.