Category Archives: Budget

Why Utah should expect ongoing drops in federal funding

Posted on March 21, 2013 by

Tweet With sequestration now in place, federal funding for low-income and special education students, national defense (read: Hill Air Force Base), and for local government programs and services will be decreasing, with impacts which have yet to materialize. The impacts … Continue reading →

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Budget deal? It’s just more spending

Posted on January 3, 2013 by

Tweet In these weekly commentaries I try to stay pretty even-keeled but the whole “fiscal cliff” mess has driven me over the edge. The nation – the American people – are $16 trillion in debt – $16 trillion with no … Continue reading →

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Spending pledges vs. spending limits

Posted on December 5, 2012 by

Tweet As Congress begins to drive America off the fiscal cliff, the politics of taxes and spending will reach new levels of absurdity. Over 20 years ago a young upstart in Washington, D.C., Grover Norquist, began an anti-tax campaign calling … Continue reading →

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Interim Day: Grim impact of fed spending cuts on schoolchildren

Posted on September 21, 2012 by

Tweet At the Education Interim Committee on Capitol Hill this week, the committee heard a presentation about the potential impact of the pending federal sequestration policy on Utah’s public school and higher education systems. The sequestration policy would be enacted … Continue reading →

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State tax revenue update shows a “marginally” improving economy and outlook

Posted on August 15, 2012 by

Tweet The latest tax revenue estimates reported to the Legislature’s Revenue and Taxation Interim Committee today showed that general and education fund revenues (mostly sales & use tax and personal/corporate income taxes, respectively) for fiscal year 2011 came in $80 … Continue reading →

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Limited government = more jobs, higher incomes, better services

Posted on October 11, 2011 by

Tweet   Would you support an amendment to the Utah Constitution that means thousands more jobs for Utahns, lets Utah families keep more of their income, and ensures that important state government services are prepared for natural disasters or emergencies? … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Government Spending, Limited Government | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Today’s government-bungled finances echo economist’s warning of 65 years ago

Posted on August 10, 2011 by

Tweet   Standard & Poor’s recent decision to downgrade the credit rating of the United States government from AAA to AA+ contributed to the biggest drop of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since December 2008. Gross national debt is at … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Limited Government, Taxes | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Budget deal: Utah still addicted to the federal trough

Posted on August 3, 2011 by

Tweet   A year and a half ago I wrote an article for the Standard-Examiner about how Utah is addicted to federal dollars. Since then, nothing has changed. The federal budget deal has again brought this issue to our attention. … Continue reading →

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Education spending and the danger of narrow policy thinking

Posted on July 6, 2011 by

Tweet   On Friday we wrote about not trying to “keep up with the Joneses” in regard to public education spending. Today I’ll make a few more observations about recently released spending data. A story from the Salt Lake Tribune … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Education, Taxes | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Don’t mind the Joneses; do what’s best for Utah

Posted on July 1, 2011 by

Tweet   Trying to keep up with the Joneses can be damaging to one’s home environment – and to a state. Oft-expressed concerns about Utah’s public education funding highlight what I mean. According to a new Utah Foundation report, Utah … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Education | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

‘Free’ lunch for all Utah children this summer – at your expense

Posted on June 28, 2011 by

Tweet   This summer, many government schools (and parks and rec centers) in Utah are offering free meals to anyone under age 18 who shows up, regardless of their need, using federal tax dollars. Check out this video report to … Continue reading →

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West Valley City to own $30 million hotel

Posted on June 16, 2011 by

Tweet West Valley City is providing a loan of $30 million to a private developer to build a hotel as part of the city’s Fairbourne Station project. If the hotel fails, then the city will be responsible for covering any … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Economic Development, Free market | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

So … what about that $25 million building?

Posted on May 25, 2011 by

Tweet In Monday’s post, “Is this really a $40 million problem?” we wrote about the news that Salt Lake County might build a $40 million “community corrections center.” We noted that only $4.5 million of that would go towards the … Continue reading →

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Is this really a $40 million problem?

Posted on May 23, 2011 by

Tweet The Salt Lake Tribune reported yesterday that Salt Lake County is considering building a “‘community corrections center’ designed to help convicted wrongdoers who wrestle with drug addictions or mental health problems break free from their criminal past,” a kind … Continue reading →

Posted in Alcohol, Budget, Criminal Justice, Drugs | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Alcohol Regulation: Moral Issue or Economics Issue?

Posted on April 28, 2011 by

Tweet In recent weeks, there has been talk of privatizing Utah’s liquor stores.  Most likely, this debate has gained traction with the announced closure of 10 state liquor stores (one closed, but the other nine will remain open).  As some … Continue reading →

Posted in Alcohol, Budget, Economic Development | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment