"Colorado can do better, Colorado deserves better."

from Steve Haro, Colorado Communications Director, Kerry Campaign

DENVER Ð Last monthÕs anemic job growth numbers once again exemplified the growing need to make dramatic changes to our countryÕs economic policies. In Colorado, economic expansion has given way to job contraction.

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A quick look at ColoradoÕs job numbers:

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¥ Total jobs change in July 2004: -3,100
¥ Total manufacturing jobs change in July 2004: -1,000
¥ Total jobs change under the Bush Administration: -77,000
¥ Total manufacturing jobs change under the Bush Administration: -35,000
¥ Total jobs created during the Clinton Administration: 262,000
¥ Total manufacturing jobs created during the Clinton Administration: 18,000

Upon reading these numbers, Kerry-Edwards Communications Director Steve Haro said: ÒFor far too long now, the economic policies of the Bush-Cheney Administration have stifled the can-do spirit of Coloradoans and paralyzed the potential of the Centennial StateÕs residents.Ê This continued insistence on gearing policies to benefit the ÔhavesÕ while forgetting and exploiting the Ôhave-notsÕ proves yet again why the optimistic, all-inclusive message being delivered by John Kerry and John Edwards is the stimulus this country needs to once again makes us stronger at home and more respected in the world.Ó

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It has been three years and eight months since President Bush was sworn in to office. Since that time, Colorado families have had to experience first-hand the failures of this administrationÕs policies.

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Facts include:

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Average Wages for Growing Industries Pay $17,691 Less in than in Contracting Industries.Ê In Colorado, average wages in industries that are growing pay $17,691 less than in industries that are contracting.Ê (EPI, ÒAverage Wages in Growing and Contracting Industries, End of Recession Through November 2003Ó)

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Family Income Dropped by $1,462ÊÊ Since George Bush has taken office, family income in America has dropped by $1,462.Ê(US Census Bureau)
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Bankruptcy Skyrocketed as 33,533 Households Filed For Bankruptcy in 2003, a 67 Percent Increase from 2000.Ê Last year, middle class families faced record numbers of bankruptcies.Ê 33,533 households in Colorado filed for bankruptcy, an increase of 67 percent from 2000.Ê (US Courts, Administrative Office, Bankruptcy Statistics)

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Family Health Insurance Premium Increased by an Estimated $2,787ÊÊ In Colorado, the total family premium for health insurance has increased by $2,787 to $9,583. (2000 MEPS Data from the Agency for Healthcare Quality Research projected forward using KFF National Premium Increase)

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100,000 Lost Health Insurance.Ê Since Bush took office, 100,000 people in Colorado have lost their health insurance.Ê(Census Bureau)

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Households with Teenagers Pay $720 More a Year For Gasoline.Ê Households with teenagers are paying higher prices for gasoline than ever before.Ê In Colorado, households with teenagers are paying $720 more per year for gasoline since George Bush took office.Ê They now pay on average $2,891 per year. (Department of Energy, Household Vehicles Energy Consumption 1994, Table 5.2, August 1997)

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Child Care Costs Increased by $2,050.Ê In 2000, a family with two children under age five in full-time daycare was spending $10,860 on child care.Ê By 2004, that figure increased to approximately $12,910. (Census Bureau, Consumer Price Index, Analysis by Amelia Warren Tyagi)

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ÒColorado can do better, Colorado deserves better,Ó Haro said. ÒAnd the Kerry-Edwards team has a tangible point-by-point plan to ensure that all Americans can share in the promise and prosperity of this country.Ó

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You have failed to realize that the bush* tax cuts are working and our economy is booming.

** Retail Sales Tax collections are falling below expectations forcing some Cities, like Boulder, to consider even more spending cuts.

** The State will be forced to trim another $165 million from the budget because consumer prices posted the first decline in Colorado in at least 40 years.

** The year to year percentage increase in Bankruptcy Filings in Colorado was the second highest in the Nation.

** Property Foreclosures increased 50% from June 2003 to June 2004.

** Per Capita income in Colorado dropped for the first time since 1992.

** The Metro Area Gang unit is being shut down due to budget cuts even though the estimated number of gang members in the city of Denver alone has doubled in the last 10 years to an estimated 14,000 members. The number one reason people are joining gangs? Money.

So, go peddle your pessimistic crap somewhere else buddy. I aint buying it.

Links? Yea, I got your stinkin' links...

http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=5fb711bc-0abe-421a-008a-b74d34a86e50&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~33~2341355,00.html

http://www.uscourts.gov/Press_Releases/ftable.xls

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/real_estate/article/0,1299,DRMN_414_2998028,00.html

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/business/article/0,1299,DRMN_4_2914265,00.html

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_2204553,00.html

While I thought it was a possibility that Kerry could take Colorado, right now, it looks stronger than I would have ever thought.