Jennifer Brown
The Colorado Sun
Colorado’s middle class is shrinking, and the lifestyle long associated with it — homeownership, a car, college savings and occasional vacations — is getting harder to achieve.
That’s been the economic trend in the state, and across the country, for decades. But new research suggests Colorado’s public investments — or lack of them — could be better directed to help people climb out of poverty and into a true middle-income lifestyle.
The takeaway from the latest Bell Policy report: When Colorado invests in education or judicial system programs meant to keep people out of prison, people’s ability to buy a home increases. And when the state pours more money into prisons, it declines, at least among communities of color.