Great Day for Weber State...

After my last post about the Utah State Legislature, I guess some thanks are in order. First Thank You for repealing HB477. That vote will restore the people's confidence that their government has their best interests at heart.


Also, Governor Herbert signed into law two bills that authorize the issuance of bonds to build a new classroom and engineering building on Weber State University's Davis Campus. As someone who helped out in a very small way, I am very excited to see the building becoming a reality.

A great day for Weber State. Go Wildcats!

A Political Abomination

Mistakes happen...its a part of life, but when you are a elected official and your mistakes curtail the freedom of your constituents for your own political expediency, then that mistake is a political abomination and must be corrected. I am speaking of Utah's House Bill 477. This bill was passed in the last two days of the legislature with no deliberation or public input.

If you have not yet heard, House Bill 477 guts the Government Records Access and Management Act. Most notably it classifies emails and text messages sent by members of the State Legislature on publicly funded computers and cellphones as private information. This means that media and citizens will not have access to these communication. It also increases the fee for filing a GRAMA request significantly to make those pesky reporters and activists go away. Finally it requires us (the citizens) to prove why we need access to public (i.e. funded by MY tax money) records.

Although Governor Herbert should have vetoed this bill (thus abdicating his check on legislative power), he has decided to hold a special session tomorrow (March 25, 2011) in order to repeal this awful piece of legislation. While the Governor and the House of Representatives are on board, the Senate has stated that they will not vote for reform.

So what can you do? For those friends and family who live in the state of Utah, please contact your state legislators, most notably members of the Senate. You can find your legislators' information below:

House

Senate

Governor (keep the pressure up)

If you are not sure who represents you, please call or email me (or post a comment) and I will provide you with that information.

As an insurance policy, find out where you can sign a petition to put this bill on the ballot.

Remember the first three words of the U.S. Constitution, "We the PEOPLE". Our republic is about everyday citizens. It does not say, "We the State Legislature" or "We the Elites of the American Continent." Never underestimate the power of an individual willing to speak out.

My thoughts exactly...

George Will published an interesting column this week regarding the 2012 GOP candidates. He implores these candidates (mainly Huckabee and Newt) to get off the birther and other nonsense issues and tackle true problems of the day.

He is exactly right. If we as Republicans want to regain the White House, we need to develop sensible, free market alternatives to the President's agenda. Sadly we have buried our heads in the sand regarding key issues that matter (i.e. entitlement reform, health care, and climate change) and instead squander political capital on short term potshots such as the President's birth certificate. If we want to regain prominence and relevance then we need to offer solutions not rhetoric and govern not bicker.

As a side note Mr. Will narrows down the GOP field to five candidates including Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, Jr.

Higher Education vs. Medicaid

An interesting perspective from Dr. Matthew Holland, president of Utah Valley University. He wrote an op-ed piece in the Deseret News describing the coming choice between two demand sections of Utah's (and any other state's) budget. This brings us to a fork in the fiscal road: do we choose to invest in ourselves and future economic growth or avoid the entitlement spending problems that threatens to "crowd out" every other public concern.

Where was the economist with this policy?

Okay this bill really irks me. It may be a small thing, but it shows how instead of tackling real budgetary issues, legislators are picking at small programs with little monetary payoffs but may come with big bragging rights around election day.

Case in point, Utah House Bill 206 which will eliminate all special license plates devoted to fund raising for groups like University scholarships funds, Boy Scouts, etc. This newly passed bill requires that the DMV axe any plate that does not sell at least 1000 registrations.

How much money will this save the state? Is this the magic cure that will fix any structural imbalance? Well how does $400 a year right back to the state's coffers sound. Wow, forget CHIP, teachers' unions and the like. Wisconsin I found your answer!

Now the economist in me takes over. What about the opportunity cost or forgone income that may come from the sale of these plates. Well, here is sampling:
This plate comes with a donation of $25 to the Division of Wildlife Resources which is funded out of the State Budget.

This plate donates $25 to the Utah Association of Public Education Foundation which uses the money to buy school supplies for K-12 kids which otherwise would be paid for by (you guessed it) the state budget.




Here donors give $25 to their respective college and universities' scholarship funds which are used to educate our future workforce and thus generate more revenue for (drum roll please) the state budget!

So if you do the math, you will find that if at least 16 total Utahns buy these plates the state comes out even.

But no fear this plate was saved:

Which allows allows a state legislator to break the speed limit when they are late to the session. Which reduces speeding tickets issued by the highway patrol and thus reduces funds to the state budget!

The Perfect Answer...

Recently Mitt Romney appeared on Piers Morgan's new talk show on CNN. Piers Morgan asked Mitt Romney about his Mormon faith and whether or not it would be an issue in 2012. Mitt Romney had the perfect answer.

Romney is absolutely right. We should not expect him to deny his faith for political office. What would that say about his integrity? Many bloggers and political commentators talk about his "Mormon Problem". Frankly, it should not even be an issue. American was founded on religious freedom. If Romney does decide to run again then he should not deny his faith, but voters need to reconsider their prejudices.

Utah Legislature on Colbert Report

I couldn't help myself... The Colbert Report recently spotlighted/heckled a bill that is being presented in the Utah State Legislature. The bill proposes legalizing the killing of feral animals. The bill's sponsor is Rep Curt Oda from Clearfield.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Mr. Smith Goes to the State Legislature Then Later Possibly Washington - Curtis Oda
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> Video Archive

In interest of full disclosure, when I was involved with government affairs, I got to know Rep Oda. He is a very down to earth person and a great representative. But like I said, I couldn't help myself.

Should History be Profitable?

The Salt Lake Tribune reported yesterday that the Utah State Legislature is considering closing five state parks: Edge of the Cedars, Green River, Utah Field House of Natural History, Frontier Heritage, and the Territorial State Capital. If the legislature chooses to close these parks, they will save around $3M. Which raises the question: should historical sites turn a profit and is it responsible to preserve them for history's sake. As an economist (and a grad student), I understand the nature of budget constraints (especially for states who must balance their budgets) but I believe that it is important to preserve history in order for educational and cultural reasons. Although these parks represent Utah history (which is terribly taught in our schools), they are important reminders of who we are as a people and the sacrifices that our Utah pioneers made in order to colonize the state.

Imagine if our Federal Congress decided that Gettysburg or Independence Hall just wasn't brining in the profit margins and should they be closed down as well. We would lose a huge chunk of our national identity. This is the beauty of the state and national park idea: protecting areas of high intrinsic value even if it does not have a huge monetary value.

Huntsman in 2012?

After a month long winter break (recovery period?) from school that was extended by the "snowocalypse" (4 inches in Georgia), I finally decided to get back in the swing of things and so is speculation about the 2012 GOP Presidential primary. There has been a burst of news reports indicating that former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. may challenge his boss (President Obama) for the presidency. Huntsman is currently the ambassador to China.

First was a Newsweek article where Huntsman declines to comment when asked if he would challenge Obama. He does concede however that "there may be one more race in our bones." Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal described his somewhat unorthodox approach with the Chinese and again raised the question of a possible bid. Now at a press conference with the Chinese president, Obama actually jokes about the possibility of Huntsman running against him. Finally the Deseret News unveiled a poll where Huntsman would easily win in a Senate race against Orin Hatch and Jason Chaffetz.

I have met Huntsman two times and both times I found a politician that was level headed and ready to listen to new ideas (even from a young political nerd like myself). I was impressed with his desire and ability to work across the aisle: all attributes that are missing from our politicians on both sides. I would love to see him run but I question if tea partiers would accept someone with moderate views even if he would make a great president.

(picture from the Deseret News)