Gazette report on Colorado Self-Sufficiency Standard omitted "free-market" agenda of critic

Summary: The Gazette of Colorado Springs on March 20 reported on a Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute study examining "the cost to get by in each of the state's 64 counties" and quoted Ari Armstrong as disputing some of the figures used in the institute's online calculator. But the article omitted that Armstrong was a researcher at the "free-market" Independence Institute and runs a website that "provides original news and views from a perspective of free markets and individual rights."

In a March 20 article about "Colorado's working poor families," The Gazette of Colorado Springs reported criticism of the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute's (CFPI) online Colorado Self-Sufficiency Calculator lodged by "Ari Armstrong, a Denverarea (sic) resident who writes online about political issues." The Gazette did not disclose that Armstrong was a contributing author and research associate at the "free-market" Independence Institute and founder of a website that "provides original news and views from a perspective of free markets and individual rights."

In the article, headlined "Working poor slipping," the Gazette quoted Armstrong as disputing some of the figures used in the calculator, which also are contained in CFPI's report The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Colorado 2008: A Family Needs a Budget.

From the March 20 article in The Gazette of Colorado Springs, "Working poor slipping":

The institute Wednesday also unveiled an online Colorado Self-Sufficiency Calculator, a Web tool that lets users plug in family scenarios to examine the cost of living in different parts of the state.

"I don't care how much you get paid or how much you think your income is working for you, we as individuals have a real misunderstanding of what it takes to live in this state," said Tracey Stewart, a coordinator of efforts to promote the self-sufficiency standard.

Advocates say the calculator should guide policymakers as they ponder changes to tax laws and welfare programs. They recommend more support for programs designed to help people keep working, such as child-care assistance, food stamps and restoring Colorado's Earned Income Tax Credit.

Ari Armstrong, a Denverarea resident who writes online about political issues, said the calculator -- at least for him and his wife -- is flawed.

"The calculator suggests that my wife and I need to spend $666 per month for housing," Armstrong said. "We actually spend more than that, including utilities and HOA fees, but we could spend less if we needed to. For example, for several years we rented out the basement of my wife's parents for considerably less. I've checked into local apartments that rent for less."

Armstrong took issue with other estimated monthly costs, including $358 for food and $453 for transportation -- too high -- and $317 in taxes -- much lower than reality.

"I'm all for reducing taxes across the board, and especially for the poor," he said. "If we're really interested in helping the poor be self-sufficient, no single measure could be more useful. Welfare expansions do not promote self-sufficiency. They promote dependency."

The study cites government sources for its figures.

As Colorado Media Matters has noted, KMGH 7News similarly failed to fully identify Armstrong when on October 14, 2007, it aired a report on Armstrong's participation with his wife in a Food Stamp Challenge "to make a point about government handouts."

Armstrong is the founder and editor of the website the Colorado Freedom Report, which "provides original news and views from a perspective of free markets and individual rights." He has authored several editorials for the Independence Institute, including "Message to Congress and General Assembly: Government Meddling Undermines Individual Health Insurance" and "The Left's Superiority Complex." Articles identifying Armstrong as a senior fellow or as a research associate for the Independence Institute also appear on the website of Dave Kopel, the organization's research director.

—E.B.