Blog

Op-Ed: The turn of the decade brings political redistricting. It’s not as simple as it sounds

Written by: Peter Reichard

It’s a new decade, and that means it will soon be time to play everyone’s favorite political game, redistricting. This time, however, it comes with a new player in Utah: a redistricting commission armed with a set of principles for redistricting. The commission and principles come compliments of a citizen referendum approved in 2018, with legislative changes in 2020. The recently approved legislation calls for the creation of a seven-member redistricting commission to draft and … Continued

Op-Ed: How will the coronavirus change us?

Written by: Peter Reichard

The reactions to coronavirus range from prudence to panic, and there’s reasonable debate about which reaction fits where. But regardless of your view, and leaving aside the economic issues, the virus will probably change the way we live and operate. To begin with, the crisis is exposing businesses, government agencies and vast swaths of the population to new ways of working. Utah Foundation, with support from UCAIR, has undertaken a study of telecommuting in 2020. The sudden shift to telecommuting … Continued

Op-Ed: Coronavirus, an earthquake and lessons learned from a past crisis

Written by: Peter Reichard

The impacts surrounding the coronavirus, coupled with a significant earthquake, have me thinking back to a dark period. In New Orleans in 2005, I watched a piece of American civilization fall into confusion, the city half-destroyed (and my own house looted). But I was lucky, with “only” about $40,000 in damage from floodwaters. This was the Katrina disaster and its aftermath, and I watched it from the front row, working at a public policy organization … Continued

Utah Thrives Podcast: The State Auditor’s Take on How to Get Utah’s Fiscal House in Order

Written by: Peter Reichard

In this episode of Utah Thrives, we sit down with Utah State Auditor John Dougall to discuss his views on the state’s fiscal challenges, particularly in light of the recent tax reform effort. We also discuss the transportation funding questions that he suggests stand at the heart of the matter. The conversation touches on both of Utah Foundation’s most recent reports, Now What? A Citizen’s Tax Reform Troubleshooting Guide (February) and EDTIF Elevated? Utah’s Evolving … Continued

Op-Ed: Tax reform may be on pause, but the issues roll on

Written by: Peter Reichard

Writing on tax reform back in December, I quoted Thomas Jefferson: “Politics … holds up the torches of martyrdom to the reformers of error.” Well, apparently state political leaders saw the glow of firelight coming over the hillside, because the tax reform in question was quickly thereafter thrown out. This leaves the issues that motivated reform unresolved. To give Utahns a better idea of what that means, Utah Foundation recently released “Now What? A Citizen’s … Continued

Op-Ed: Utah incentive program keeps evolving, which goes with the territory

Written by: Peter Reichard

Having followed economic development incentives nationally since the turn of the millennium, I’ve seen some eyebrow-raising deals go down. There were “big fish” relocation bidding wars that caused countless hours of wasted civic energy at the state and local levels. There were deals set to last far into the future, saddling future generations with an investment for which there was a murky long-term return at best. There were big tax breaks for projects that failed … Continued

Video: How Utahns Pay for Water

Written by: Christopher Collard

Utah Foundation’s first short video of 2020 is an overview of five reports from 2019 that make up the Paying for Water series. The series outlines the pros and cons of a greater reliance on water rates, and how this might affect certain areas of concern. Paying For Water Series This series contains an executive summary and four main parts: Executive Summary: Paying for Water: A Brief Summary of the Series Part 1 – Background: … Continued

Utah Thrives: Alternative Fuel Vehicles

Written by: Dan Bammes

The number of vehicles powered by electricity has been growing steadily in Utah, but they’re still only 1.6% of new vehicles sold in the state. Eventually, they’ll have an impact on air quality, but that’s years away. A new research report from Utah Foundation shows there may be opportunities to have a bigger impact sooner by focusing on trucks and buses powered by electricity or other alternative fuels such as natural gas. In this edition … Continued