This week you will dig in and work on the root of the issue. Write a 1,100- to 1,400-word paper in which you discuss the development of your public policy plan. Use topics below as paragraph headings.

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Public Policy Issue Identification

August 5, 2019

Peter Reeves

The state of Colorado has recently been under the limelight for the increase in public and domestic policy issues. There has been scrutiny of powers in terms of developing effective policies for combating issues of violence and rising crime rates. The potential issues being faced in the assembly sessions are not only hot topics for discussions, but on a larger level, the impact of these issues on the population, is cited as a major concern for the political agendas. Amongst a number of national and state issues, the three issues that have been a large implication in decision making are as follows:

Healthcare

The world is mindful of the declining medical and healthcare standards that the United States offers. Although policies like Medicaid and Medicare were offered as a solution to work in the longer term, the implementation produced varied results in each state. In the state of Colorado, the expansion of Medicaid and its reliance on the insurance has been dismissed by the Republicans, after acquiring state control. The health care system can only sustain the structure if payrolls were to be deducted both from the employees and employers, which would mean an increased burden and potential loss of jobs (Garcia, 2019).

Energy

The energy crisis that is being experienced in the United States (and around the world), has been an issue for a long time. The natural resources of the earth are under constant strain from the overuse and overreliance of a larger population. The resulting scarcity has replicated in the falling prices of oil. Colorado, being one of the most affected states of this decision, is trying to balance out the results by making workers redundant, slowing the production of oil. Another blow has been added by the rising costs of extraction and production. The multiplier effect has reduced the benefits for the states, the taxes have risen to cover up the costs. The most alarming aspect is that oil is a major commodity that the state of Colorado has relied upon, since after the recent recession in the economy (Frank, 2019).

Infrastructure. Although, with issues like budgets and taxation, the transportation network seems to be a smaller problem, but recently, the popularity of the issue has grown. The state of the road networks around the state has been subjected to ignorance where the government has been concentrating on bigger problems. But this issue is creating extended issues with increasing traffic and congestion for the populations. The government needs to allocate funds to the dilemma (Garrison, 2017).

Conclusion

The state of Colorado prides themselves in the natural beauty within the state. The policies that have been presented to the administrators are an important part of the environmental maintenance of Colorado. The health care, the energy crisis, and the infrastructure concerns in Colorado are not only an issue in Colorado but they are concerns for many states around the United States. Environmental issues should be a concern for all individuals among all communities around the world and be a priority for the governmental administrators as well.

References

Frank, J. P. (2019, 1 4). The top 10 issues to watch in Colorado’s 2019 legislative session. Retrieved from coloradosun.com: https://coloradosun.com/2019/01/04/2019-colorado- legislature-issues-important/

Garcia, N. (2019, 1 3). These 6 issues are going to be front and center at the Colorado General Assembly in 2019. Retrieved from denverpost.com: https://www.denverpost.com/2019/01/03/colorado-general-assembly-issues-2019/

Garrison, R. (2017). 6 major problems facing Colorado and how they're being tackled. Retrieved from thedenverchannel.com: https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/6- major-problems-facing-Colorado-and-how-they’re-being-tackled