Colorado This Week: Vaccine Confusion, Tariff Trouble, Space Command Move & Taxing the Wealthy

September is certainly starting off with a bang in Colorado. On the day after Labor Day, the announcement came from the White House that Space Command will be leaving Colorado, the Governor announced the tariff impact has grown sevenfold here in Colorado… and there’s the confusing back and forth as to who can get COVID Vaccines. The vibe is soo tense that there was even a benches-clearing brawl in the 1st inning of a Rockies game, which ended with the team’s 100th loss of the season. When things are tense, it’s good to talk it out…so that’s what we did on this week’s Colorado Inside Out.

Vaccine Confusion:How Colorado Negates Federal COVID Vaccine Rules

This week, the state’s top medical director voided new federal guidelines that only Coloradans with a doctor’s prescription can go to a pharmacy to receive a COVID vaccine. Last week, the federal government narrowed in the recommendations as to who should receive a vaccine, which has prompted complaints about access. This new ruling from the state permits pharmacists in Colorado to give the COVID shots to all who ask, but the order falls short of requiring them to do so.

Luige del Puerto, Editor at Colorado Politics and the Denver Gazette, describes the back & forth: “Our state law actually says we are going to follow the recommendations of the federal government. If the recommendation of the federal government says ‘you need to get the vaccine,’ then we allow our pharmacies in the state to give the COVID vaccine without a prescription. What has happened … the FDA approved the vaccines recently only for older residents and for people who have underlying conditions… otherwise, you need a prescription to get vaccinated. And now, the standing order issued by the state health department is ‘no.’”
Marianne Goodland, Chief legislative reporter for Colorado Politics, Denver Gazette and Colorado Springs Gazette, is concerned about who pays for these vaccines: “Insurance companies are the ones who pay for this and we’re not hearing from them… it used to be the government was paying for the vaccine. Insurance is covering it now… but, will they? And I think that’s a big question.”
Kristi Burton Brown, Executive Vice President at Advance Colorado and former Chair of the Colorado Republican Party, appreciates the federal government looking into vaccines: “There are a lot of moms across the political aisle who are my age, who say ‘we need a little more accountability when it comes to vaccines and medications.’ And so, I think we see that coming out right now in the COVID vaccine conversation with the federal government stepping back a little bit and saying, ‘let’s prioritize the people who need this vaccine, teachers and people with underlying conditions.’”
Marianne Goodland has other worries: “I think there’s a real concern here over the precedent this sets. Today, it’s COVID. Is the next one going to be measles? Are we going to stop vaccinating for other, highly infectious diseases?”

Tariff Trouble: Beef Exports Drop as Polis Warns of Recession Risk

This week, Governor Polis presented data that shows the real impact on Colorado from Trump-era tariffs.

Marianne Goodland covered the Governor’s press conference: “One year ago, the, tariff level on the United States from other countries was about 3%. It has increased sevenfold… we’re now at about 21% tariffs from other countries.” In regards to the state’s economy, Marianne says: “Colorado’s GDP before the tariffs was about 2%. It is dropping and it’s dropping fast. By next year, it’s predicted to be a half percent…. that’s stagnant GDP growth. And that’s with the tariffs at the current level that they’re at… if they escalate, the prediction is that we will be in recession, real-quick.”
Kristi Burton Brown wonders what Governor Jared Polis is planning to help Colorado through this time: “He’s the Governor of Colorado. What is he going to do to take steps to help businesses in Colorado? We just saw a special session where he signed bills that raised taxes on businesses across Colorado. … some of these same businesses he’s now claiming are affected by tariffs. You can’t really throw all the blame on the federal government and say, ‘oh my goodness, we have a recession here in Colorado.’”
Patty Calhoun, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Westword, expects we’ll hear more from the Governor: “We know things are grim. He had warned that it was going to be grimmer, that there’s a 50% chance of recession. I’d suspect he does have a plan. He doesn’t normally just do a press conference at this time of year just to do one.”

Space Command Uprooted: Jobs, Politics and Mail-In Voting

This week, the Trump Administration ordered the move of Space Command out of Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama. The move will result in the loss of between 1,400 and 1,700 Space Command jobs and the loss of a billion-dollar economic impact on Colorado. While this had been talked about by the Administration for a while, the reason the President gave was new.

Luige del Puerto: “One of the major factors was our Mail-In voting system. As you know, Colorado is among several states that allow for Mail-In voting. The President said it is ‘ripe for fraud.’”
Patty Calhoun counters that premise: “Alabama has Mail-In voting, too, not quite as robust or competent as Colorado has.. but to use that argument just shows there was no real reason to move this now, except Trump wanted to.” Patty also points to the expense this move will create: “The administration has been sort of going back and forth between cutting spending and spending money on things like a new ballroom at the White House or paving over the Rose garden. One of the things that that, I think is really interesting about this is… it’s going to cost about $2 billion to move Space Command down to Alabama.”
To that Marianne Goodland questions where that funding will come from: “Congress hasn’t appropriated the money for this. It’s not in the federal budget. Is he planning to write the check himself? I don’t think he’s got $2 billion.”

Taxing the Wealthy: A 2026 Ballot Showdown

A ballot proposal was announced this week to raise $2B+ a year for health care, child care, public safety, etc. through a progressive income tax, which means those individuals and businesses making over $500,000 annually will see an increase in income tax. On the flip side of this, everybody under $500,000 in yearly income would get a tax break.

Luige del Puerto questions if this idea will even get put on to the 2026 ballot: “I can surmise that behind the scenes, they’re doing a lot of testing, a lot of focus groups, a lot of polling to see if this one would actually pass or what the chances of it passing are. The kind of the rule of thumb is about 60% support right off the gate. If they don’t get that 60% or up, it’s going to be very dicey.”
Patty Calhoun also wonders if this will make the ballot: “If it does, that means there’s going to be someone with a lot of money behind it, and we’re going to hear a lot of arguments pro and con about this, and it’s going to take a deep dive to really figure out what it might do, because we’re still figuring out the ramifications of the Big Beautiful Bill on businesses.”
Kristi Burton Brown is opposed to doing away with the flat-tax principle that currently exists in Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR): “You look through Colorado’s history and what happens when people try to raise income taxes in Colorado, voters strike it down. You look back to 2016, 2018, there were attempts very similar to this to change our flat income tax rate that’s required by TABOR …and to do this graduated income tax rate and, as they would say, tax the wealthy more. It’s also taxing businesses more that create jobs. There was a ballot measure in recent years to do this, and they said it was for education….the same claim they’re making now. Voters struck it down by 29 points.”
Patty Calhoun thinks the idea might have a chance: “Some voters might like it this year when they’re seeing the billionaires who are getting more access in the White House and more access to federal government. You might see that people would be more inclined… you know, ‘tax the wealthy’ does sound good to some people.”

Although I started this blog saying it’s been a rough start to the month, our Insiders disagree, mentioning fun events to take in this coming weekend. Patty Calhoun recommends the Denver Food and Wine Festival to support local restaurants and the Colorado Restaurant Foundation. Marianne Goodland recommends the Longs Peak Scottish Irish Highland Festival which is largest celebration of Irish culture in the United States. And for me, my husband and I will be celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary! It will be a super weekend for us and I hope the same for you as well!