Look, the U-Haul report might paint a rosy picture of Colorado climbing a few rungs on the migration ladder, but let's call it what it is—a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. Sure, they claim a net gain putting us at 23rd, but that's like celebrating a participation trophy in a race where Texas, Florida, and other red-leaning states are lapping everyone else. Dig into the real data from United Van Lines' 2025 Movers Study, and Colorado cracks the top five for outbound moves—right behind perennial losers like New Jersey and California. We're bleeding people, folks, with a net population loss of nearly 9,500 last year according to migration reports. And why? Because liberal policies have turned this beautiful state into an unaffordable, unsafe mess that's chasing away hardworking families and businesses.

First off, the housing crisis is exhibit A in how progressive meddling wrecks everything it touches. Colorado's median home price is pushing $600,000 in places like Denver, thanks to endless regulations, zoning nonsense, and eco-warrior mandates that make building new homes a bureaucratic nightmare. Democrats in the statehouse have piled on with rent control experiments and "affordable housing" schemes that do nothing but drive up costs for everyone else. The Common Sense Institute reports net migration has plummeted 52.5% since 2015, with middle-income earners ($51,000–$100,000) making up 61% of those bailing out. Wealthier folks might still trickle in from coastal hellholes, but the backbone of Colorado—the middle class—is packing U-Hauls for cheaper pastures in Texas or Idaho. Why stick around when your property taxes are funding endless government boondoggles?

Then there's the crime wave that's turned Denver into a liberal dystopia. Soft-on-crime policies, inspired by the defund-the-police crowd, have let homelessness and drug addiction explode. Fentanyl deaths are through the roof, tent cities line the streets, and car thefts are a daily ritual. Governor Polis and his crew pat themselves on the back for "progressive reforms," but all it's done is embolden criminals while law-abiding citizens foot the bill for increased policing that never materializes. No wonder families are fleeing to states where law and order still mean something—places without sanctuary city nonsense that prioritizes illegal immigrants over veterans and locals.

Don't get me started on the tax burden. Colorado's progressive income tax hikes, combined with sky-high sales taxes in liberal strongholds, are squeezing residents dry. We're funding bloated programs like universal pre-K and green energy mandates that jack up utility bills while doing zilch for the average Joe. The state's obsession with climate hysteria—banning gas stoves, pushing EVs on folks who can't afford them— is just more nanny-state overreach that's killing jobs in energy and agriculture. Remember when Colorado was a haven for outdoor enthusiasts and entrepreneurs? Now it's a playground for tech elites and virtue-signaling bureaucrats, while the rest of us deal with congested roads, failing schools indoctrinated with woke ideology, and an economy that's stalled out with job growth ranking a pathetic 26th nationally.

In short, Colorado's "screwed up" because years of one-party Democratic rule have prioritized radical agendas over common-sense governance. We're victims of our own "success"—attracting left-coast refugees who bring the same failed ideas that ruined California. If we don't wake up and vote in leaders who cut taxes, enforce laws, and unleash free-market solutions, we'll keep sliding toward becoming the New Jersey of the West: overtaxed, overregulated, and overlooked. Texas is thriving because they keep government small and opportunity big—Colorado could too, if we ditch the liberal playbook before it's too late.