Kumba-Yeah! Workforce measures draw bipartisan support. #copolitics #coleg pic.twitter.com/D6WjAIMxYP
— Colorado Senate GOP (@ColoSenGOP) March 5, 2015
As the Denver Post's Joey Bunch reports, Republicans and Democrats at the state capitol are swaying to the same sappy tune when it comes to developing Colorado's workforce to meet the needs of the future:
Dozens of Colorado legislators from both parties stood together Thursday afternoon at the Capitol to tell the middle class that help is on the way…
The package would give employers financial incentives to take on interns and apprentices and would develop programs that coordinate high schools and colleges with companies willing to help train and eventually employ workers, bill sponsors said…
The industries targeted by the legislators pay well: engineering, research and development, manufacturing, aerospace, bioscience, electronics, energy and natural resources and other skilled trades.
In a separate blog post, Bunch details the workforce development bills introduced so far and on the way. Just about every legislative session features a similar moment of bipartisan camaraderie over a package of mutually inoffensive economic development legislation, but with so many nasty fights swirling on a host of hot-button partisan touchstone issues this year, both parties felt the need to make an extra show of it yesterday. And why not? Especially in a non-election year, voters love to see this and reporters love to write about it.
Legislators present #bipartisan workforce development bills arm to arm, literally. #coleg pic.twitter.com/S3tuxT6PUF
— CO Senate Democrats (@COSenDem) March 5, 2015
Yes, folks, that's Democratic Rep. Mike Foote (D) with his arm around Sen. Laura Woods (R). If you're thinking that this doesn't happen very often, you're right.
Enjoy it while it lasts, because the gun magazine limit repeal and Rep. Gordon "Dr. Chaps" Klingenschmitt's "right to discriminate" bills are up for debate Monday! At which time Kumbaya will be over.
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It is nice to see them working together on the economy, but the issues that divide are many.
This is what the legislature should be. Focused on what's important, with checks and balances against excesses on both sides. Bravo.
Oh please. I'd hate to see what it would look like with GOPers in charge, but I know your dumb ass would love it.
You don't have to venture far. Just look at the federal side that the Monkeys are controlling…
They're not going anyplace… most of them are dead on arrival at the WH, and can't override the vetoes..
bullshit.
There is a free market solution, we all now it will be better, far far better, than anything the legislature could waste our mony on or jam down our throats.
Let the Free mArket be Free. We don't need, and I don't want, Big Governent getting in the way of develping the workforce.
Freaking RINOs.
Happy to get a tax break for doing something we already do (hire numerous interns).
But if the legislature really wants to actually help local business – do something about CenturyLink. CenturyLink is doing its best to destroy business in Colorado. I don't know if they're being paid by the State of Texas to hurt businesses here or if it's rank incompetence. But the end result is killer.
We've been going on 5 weeks now of being told we'll have new phone lines in "tomorrow." What does this delay cause? It means my sales people make less money and therefore have less to spend locally. It means less income to my company which slows down when we can hire additional people – you know that think called reducing unemployment.
And I doubt they have a rule of handle my company incompetently, handle all others well. So this is being done to every company in Colorado that is trying to grow – they're all being held back by CenturyLink. It means that if someone is thinking about where to place a new call center – not here.
So if the legislature wants to have a positive impact on companies like mine, implement very expensive penalties for not providing new service quickly. That will help growing businesses here a lot. And it's more income for the state.
And at a minimum, could the appropiate committee in the legislature at least have hearings about the scope & severity of CenturyLink's incompetence and its impact on business. I would love to have my company testify at that hearing.
Dave, why do you need CenturyLink for phones anyway? Can't you get VOIP from a local or regional provider? Support Colorado businesses and all?
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We're on a contract (when you get lot's of business lines you generally sign a multi-year contract). We switched to another vendor (that uses a microwave link) for our internet the last time the contract came up because Qwest had been horrible any time we needed to increase the speed.
But we stayed with Qwest because previously we did try a smaller alternative provider and it was awful. Basically everyone was using their cell phones for all calls (major problem for the sales reps) for 2 weeeks until we pulled the plug and went back to Qwest.
And since then no problems until now. I get the feeling that the people working there just don't care. Fundamentally we've been waiting 5 weeks for someone there to flip a switch (I assume in their software, but you never know).
Anyways, CenturyLink is the major provider in the state and their ineptitude is impacting businesses across the state. I think it would be very helpful for the legislature to look. If they can do something to effect improvement, that could have a significant improvement for businesses across the state.
And Xcel – we've had 3 power outages in the last 6 months, one for 2 days. I'm guessing there's parts of Baghdad with a better track record. (When batteries get a bit better, offices across the state will go to solar/batteries due to the regular outages and Xcel will wonder why they're losing all that business.)
I'll even testify that Centurylink's "Gig" service is nothing but fraud – as it has never happened in Denver.
I will not do business with CenturyLink under any circumstances.
Free market solution for that too. Why would you want government to get int he way?
Freakin' RINOs.
So what agency does regulate internet service providers? Not the FCC. The PUC. has some regulates telecommunications in Colorado, but seems mostly concerned with deregulation to benefit the providers, rather than consumers. Shocking, I know.
Century Link was the best of a bunch of bad deals for internet – only service in my neighborhood, but they still gouge customers for $12 month for tech support – a charge you can onliy get rid of by calling and waiting through their language-challenged customer service for a half hour.
Yet the PUC does not seem terribly concerned with price-gouging practices, such as this, or Comcast's outrageous and escalating fees for services and deliberately confusing billing practices. We really do need to get PUC members elected, not appointed by our corporation-friendly governor.
Why does the legislature not have hearings on the impact of all these monopolies?
Legislators get beaucoup contributions from telecom providers.
Centurylink gives more than $5 million nationally, 3 million of which is to state legislatures. They're pikers next to Comcast, which gave 36 million nationally, 13 M at the state level. It would take a powerful citizen movement to overcome the influence of these campaign contributions. So, another reason why the PUC must be accountable only to voters, i.e. consumers.
There is a reason why our communication bills are so high.
If you (or someone) puts together a credible initiative to fix this, I'm happy to make a donation.