Denver7 reports that a new poll commissioned by The Women’s Foundation of Colorado found that a majority of Colorado women are struggling financially. The poll surveyed 725 women from different backgrounds, and 84% said the cost of living is rising faster than their incomes.
The article says financial pressure is forcing women to cut retirement savings, take on debt, delay having children, put off health care, and postpone retirement. One woman said that to retire, she would have to sell her house, so at age 70, she is still working. That is not a spreadsheet problem. That is a Colorado affordability siren screaming through the kitchen window.
This is a Colorado affordability story, not a gender-studies seminar with a grocery receipt taped to it. Rent, groceries, gas, child care, insurance, utilities, the boring stuff has quietly mugged the middle class while politicians posed at ribbon cuttings and called it progress.
The Bullet Point Brief
- The poll says 84% of surveyed Colorado women feel costs are rising faster than income. That is not a messaging challenge. That is household math punching the ruling class in the nose.
- Half of Colorado women are cutting back on retirement savings or taking on debt just to cover basic expenses. Apparently “Colorado is thriving” looks different when you are staring at the grocery total.
- Women are delaying kids, health care, retirement, and major life decisions because the money does not stretch. That is not empowerment. That is exhaustion with a checking account.
- The article says affordable access to quality health care is also a concern, with one-third of women saying it would help them get ahead. Fine. But do not hand us another panel, task force, grant program, and commemorative tote bag. Fix the cost disease.
- The Women’s Foundation is using the poll to shape questions for gubernatorial candidates. Good. They should ask every candidate one simple question: what have your policies done to the price of living here?
My Bottom Line
My guess is many of these same women have pulled the lever at the voting booth for Democrats. If so, they are living in the results of Democrat policies. That is not cruelty. That is accountability. When the same political team keeps running the state and the bills keep getting worse, voters should be allowed to connect the dots without being scolded by someone with a laminated name badge.
Colorado Democrats have spent years layering on fees, mandates, energy fantasies, regulations, and bureaucratic schemes, then acting shocked when regular people cannot afford rent, groceries, child care, insurance, and utilities. Affordability is not a slogan. It is math. And math does not care how compassionate your press release sounded.
Barb Kirkmeyer has been that single mom trying to make ends meet. She has walked a mile in these women’s shoes. She knows the struggle is not theoretical. It is not a breakout session at a nonprofit luncheon. It is the grind of making dollars stretch, kids fed, bills paid, and tomorrow somehow work.
Maybe the women in this poll should give Senator Kirkmeyer a long, hard look before they decide to vote for more of the same from Democrats. Because rent does not care about party loyalty. Groceries do not care about good intentions. And tired Colorado women do not need another lecture from the people who helped make the state unaffordable and now want applause for noticing the wreckage.
Source: Denver 7
Share your thoughts...