By any honest measure, none of this should come as a surprise. The recent wave of reporting about businesses leaving Colorado, corporate offices relocating, and national companies choosing to grow elsewhere is being treated like breaking news. It isn’t. It’s the result of years of drift that too many people chose to ignore.

We should have known better.

For those of us who have built and operated businesses in this state, the warning signs were not subtle. Rising costs, increasing regulatory complexity, shifting political priorities, and a growing disconnect between policy decisions and economic reality all pointed in the same direction. Companies don’t leave on a whim. They leave when the math no longer works.

And yet, only now — at the tail end of a governor’s tenure and in the middle of broader political and budgetary strain — are we seeing a more honest accounting of what’s been happening. Why now?

That question matters.

Because this isn’t just about politics. It’s about accountability. It’s about whether we are willing to acknowledge that decisions made over time have real consequences. When businesses leave, it doesn’t just affect executives or shareholders. It impacts jobs, local economies, tax revenue and the broader perception of Colorado as a place to invest and grow.

It also sends a message far beyond our borders. When established companies quietly move operations out of state — or decide against expanding here — others take notice. Capital is mobile. Talent is mobile. And once a state develops a reputation as a difficult place to do business, reversing that perception is not easy.

What’s frustrating is that none of this required hindsight to see. Colorado has a strong network of business leaders, industry groups and local publications that track these trends closely. The information was there. The conversations were happening. But they rarely broke through in a meaningful way, and when they did, they were often minimized or dismissed.

That’s where the media has to take a hard look in the mirror.

A healthy press doesn’t just report what is convenient or politically aligned — it asks tough questions early, not years later. It challenges narratives, examines data and gives readers a full picture of what’s happening on the ground. When that doesn’t happen, important signals get lost until they become unavoidable.

And yes, policymakers bear responsibility as well. Public officials don’t need to be business owners to understand that economic vitality requires balance. Growth, regulation, environmental priorities and social policy all matter — but they have to coexist with a realistic understanding of how businesses operate and compete. When that balance is off, the consequences don’t show up overnight. They show up gradually, and then all at once.

That’s where we are now.

The risk is not just what has already been lost, but what may be lost going forward. If Colorado continues to be perceived as a state where the cost-benefit equation is unfavorable, fewer entrepreneurs will choose to start here. Fewer companies will expand here. And the long-term impact will be felt well beyond any single news cycle or political term.

None of this means Colorado can’t correct course. It remains an extraordinary place to live, with a talented workforce, natural advantages and a strong culture of innovation. But those strengths are not immune to erosion.

The first step is honesty.

We should have known better. The signs were there. The data was there. The voices were there. Ignoring them didn’t make the problem go away — it just delayed the moment we had to confront it.

That moment has arrived.

Michael Mastous lives in Lafayette.