In recent days, area news outlets have reported that Colorado ranks fiftieth in these United States when it comes to places oil and gas executives would like to invest. But these stories tend to either underplay or omit entirely important context about the organization that issued the report: The Fraser Institute, a Canadian outfit that promotes "a free and prosperous world through choice, markets and responsibility." It doesn't take a code breaker to realize the group dislikes regulations of the sort that were recently imposed on the energy industry in Colorado, not to mention other impediments to government-imposed limitations. Indeed, the FI website's "What We Think" section also rails against the lack of competition in education, high taxes, liberal immigration policies and the alleged exaggerations of environmentalists when it comes to global warming. It's no surprise, then, that prominent among the entities thanked on the report's "Acknowledgment" page is the Colorado Oil & Gas Association, which sponsored a March rally near the state capitol opposing the new, stricter rules.
With that in mind, how can Colorado move out of last place on the institute's ignominious roster? By eliminating all government regulations in favor of a new, tax-free "dig and drill anywhere" policy. Betcha lawmakers of a certain stripe are working on such a measure right now.