A few months back, we did not expect a solid report for fourth quarter venture capital investment in Colorado given the uncertainty created by the left’s War on Capital Formation.  But, we did expect to see a nice rebound in 2013, given an early resolution on the tax code, a low interest rate environment, and a mountain of cash on the sidelines.

The state’s 43.8% contraction in VC investment during the quarter placed the region a scant two percentage points above the bottom quartile for the 18 regions that PriceWaterhouseCoopers surveys in its quarterly report.

And who can really blame entrepreneurs and investors who seek more permissive business environments.  This theory plays out in practice:  by a wide margin, the business-friendly Southeast outpaced all of the other regions in the PwC survey during the first quarter.  Texas came in a solid third behind the venture capital-rich New York Metro region.

Further, who could blame VC firms for viewing Colorado as a risky investment?  The gun control legislation has proven that Democratic legislators are willing to, ahem, take aim at any industry they find personally distasteful.  If one industry is in the crosshairs, all industries are in the crosshairs.  This is the Magpul Effect.

As this year’s legislative session draws to a close, the Democrats’ talking points about job creation have turned out to be meaningless platitudes and empty promises, just as we expected.  While their hard-left social agenda for the state took center stage, the interests of Colorado middle-class families and businesses were relegated to the cheap seats.