Our Programs

The highlight of the year for the Limited Government Forum is Limited Government Week, an annual celebration of America's founding ideals co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Government and the Individual at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Timed to coincide with Tax Freedom Day, which marks the date each year when Americans stop working for government and begin working for themselves, LGW is undoubtedly the most visible of our economic and civic literacy projects.

The highlight of our 2008 event had to be "Freedom and its Enemies," the keynote speech delivered by synicated columnist, author and ABC News correspondent John Stossel. Nationally-syndicated editorial cartoonist Chuck Asay — whose cartoon archive we proudly host on this site — also played to a packed house, entertaining and educating the audience by bringing his cartoon creations to the big screen. We rounded out LGW with a daylong series of forums on healthcare and the Civic Innovation Lunch, at which Dr. Randy Simmons, mayor of Providence, Utah, and head of the political science department at Utah State University, shared his experiences with the outsourcing of municipal services.

Plans already are underway for Limited Government Week 2009.

On a smaller scale, LGF helps advance the cause of civic and economic literacy by hosting intimate, issues-oriented lunches, organizing a public policy book club, co-hosting public forums and working with organizations and individuals to improve the teaching of history, economics and civics in area schools.

Our local government program aims at creating something we call “the Colorado Springs model,” premised on the idea that this city’s greatness, economic vitality and opportunity don't come through government, but by reducing government's influence and unleashing the freedom, creativity and civic-mindedness of average people. The Colorado Springs Model calls for modest, efficient and innovative government, whose limited activities are supplanted by highly effective private institutions, including charities, nonprofit organizations and the business community. All our local institutions - city and county government, the charitable sector, public school districts, UCCS and PPPC - should serve as incubators for new ideas, fostering a city-wide enthusiasm for embracing new paradigms.

We believe Colorado Springs should strive for a business and regulatory climate that doesn't depend on bribing companies to come or to stay, but creates the ideal conditions for the entrepreneurial spirit to flourish, building its economy from the ground up. Lower taxes, less regulation, a much-improved public school system and modernized infrastructure will produce an opportunity-oriented atmosphere. That, combined with many natural and recreational amenities, will make the city a desirable place to start or relocate a business.

We hope to keep Colorado Springs a city where the American dream remains within reach of average people. There's a place for reasonable planning. But we won't hand professional planners and anti-development activists the power to tell our residents how and where they should live. We'll put the emphasis on opportunity and affordability, rather than regimentation; on personal creativity and consumer choice, rather than command and control. This will make us a magnet for people and companies that share these values.

Rather than thinking of this as an anti-government agenda, we think of it as a pro-people, pro-opportunity, pro-self reliance agenda. Government will always have its place. But confining it to its core functions will leave more money and control in the hands of average people, which they can use to support their families, build businesses, contribute to the causes and charities that strengthen civil society.