Colorado built one of the Mountain West’s great economies by attracting entrepreneurs, investment, and talented workers. Now there are increasingly visible signs that the state is surrendering that advantage, just as voters may be asked in November to choose between two ballot initiatives that would send Colorado’s business climate in sharply different directions.

Palantir provided the most dramatic warning. The technology company moved its headquarters from California to Denver in 2020, only to announce this year that it was leaving Colorado for Florida. Its departure became a symbol of a broader concern among Colorado business leaders about the state’s competitiveness.