Dynamic Range

The New (and Improved) Governor

Let's be honest.  Utahns love Jon Huntsman Jr.  He's a nice guy.  Very personable. Highly articulate.  Great musician.  Courteous, kind, obedient, ... OK you get the point.

But as of a few months ago he still hadn't acquired that gubernatorial swagger.  He served as a respected ambassador for Utah.  He was an effective cheerleader for the State.  He just hadn't quite mastered the up close and personal, hand-to-hand legislative process.  At times he relied too heavily on legislative leadership to promote his agenda, as if the legislature were a top-down corporation, rather than a very dynamic, bottom-up affiliation   (Note: The members of the legislature elect legislative leadership.  Leadership serves at the pleasure of each legislative body.)  At other times he relied on his loyal staff to convey a message that only he could communicate to the legislature.

Well all that has changed!  And it's a great improvement for Utah (and for the legislature).  Probably the most important result of the process leading up to, and including, the special session is that Gov. Huntsman really experienced the success of effectively conveying his message for change to the rank and file members of the legislature.  Being willing to meet with each legislator, taking the time to travel the state, and look each legislator in the eye and ask for his or her support, showed the Gov's passion and sincerity, both for tax reform and, more significantly, for the legislative process.  I know that he has gain significant respect with the members of the House.  Respect that will serve our State well for years to come.

Horse to Nowhere?

The summer started with a frantic push by the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce promoting an urgent special session to address transit funding.  That was then followed up by the misstep of the Salt Lake County Council that voted to place a deceptively worded question on the  November ballot that, if passed, would raise property taxes to fund expansion of TRAX to the tune of almost $900M.  The council then seemed to have buyer's remorse, begging the legislature for a sales tax option, but being stuck with the property tax.  After much pleading on the part of many individuals and businesses, members of the legislature, despite their better judgment, began to grapple with this tar baby (or is it more politically correct to say "try to solve this fiasco").

So it's with complete disgust that I read Joe Hatch's attacks on Monday.  Now I don't know Joe Hatch.  I don't recall ever meeting him.  For all I know he could be well intentioned, but completely uninformed or he could be a Rocky-lite, partisan hack.  The one thing I do know is that if the legislature wanted to "screw" the SL Co. council, the transportation bill currently before us isn't the way to go about it.  Probably the best way to let the council flap in the breeze (pardon me, learn from its mistakes) would be to leave it with its proposed property tax increase (still a viable option).  That would have been an easier approach and would have saved many of us a huge amount of time, several weekends, and a holiday.  The current transportation bill is about providing an opportunity to protect homeownership while also moving Utah's transportation policy forward in a broad, comprehensive manner.  It's not about catering to every whim and impulse of the SL Co. council.

Sen. Killpack has provided a good summary of the key points of the bill (Prioritizing Transportation).  Let me give some additional background.  Anyone who knows me knows that I oppose wasteful, pork-barrel spending.  I also hate knee-jerk patches, particularly targeted exclusively at a single city or county.  I appreciate policies that will provide long-term benefit; that empowers individuals to address their own needs.  As Sen. Killpack, Rep. Lockhart, and many others looked at the problem, we determined that the best approach to this bad situation would be to (1) craft fair and balanced legislation that would be applicable across the state, (2) develop legislation continuing our policies of providing greater transparency of the transportation project selection process and focusing on letting the scientific data, rather than political clout, target the limited transportation funds to the most critical regional transportation needs, and (3) ensure that necessary transportation corridors are preserved in perpetuity.

These are significant and beneficial policy decisions, providing a better funding tool while empowering local governments within each county to create the prioritization process and then select those transportation projects that will provide the greatest benefit to their constituents.  It also has the possibility of securing the 2/3 vote required to take effect before the election.  Without being able to clear that high bar, we might as well just wait for the general session in January.  (Personally, I'm in no particular hurry.)

It's an option that the council could choose to adopt, if approved by the legislature.  Otherwise they could stay with the horse they are currently riding.  Despite the inaccurate report, no one is forcing the council to make the change (or pulling the rug out from under them).

So, here we are, getting ready to debate the future of transportation in Utah -- a topic that now overshadows income tax reform.  Should we provide tools to develop the roads,rails, and airports to the future or should we leave SL Co. riding their horse to nowhere?

Happy Constitution Day!

Today, September 18, 2006 is officially Constitution Day (since September 17th fell on Sunday this year).  Constitution Day celebrates the signing of the Constitution of the United States of America which took place on September 17, 1787.  Here's a few recommendations for celebrating:

1. Read (or reread) the U.S. Constitution in its entirety
2. Discuss the purpose of the Constitution with your family and friends
3. Identify what you are doing to preserve the Constitution
4. Watch the BYU production "A More Perfect Union: American Becomes A Nation"
5. Assist your local school teach students about the Constitution
6. Tell your Congressman how the federal government has exceeded its Constitutional authority
7. Read "The Proper Role of Government" by Ezra Taft Benson
8. Read "An Enemy Hath Done This" by Ezra Taft Benson
9. Read "The Making of America” by Dr. Cleon Skousen
10. Read "The Federalist Papers"
11. Participate in the Conversations On The Constitution (Convocon) with my good friend Oak Norton
12. Contribute to The Constitutional Sources Project (ConSource)
13. Visit the National Center for Constitutional Studies
14. Read "Miracle At Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention" by Catherine Drinker Bowen
15. Read "The Law" by Frederick Bastiat

The U.S. Constitution is one of the greatest documents ever written.  It has served as a shining example for good throughout the world.  It's vitality and viability  is dependent on our vigilance in upholding its principles.

Happy Constitution Day!

Money Shuffle

Many idealists (myself included) still believe that governments were instituted to protect people's liberties.  Unfortunately, that role seems to be disappearing in the rearview mirror, overtaken by government's more popular role -- money shuffler.  And the more money that is shuffled, the greater the desire to shuffle even more money.  Shuffling money takes a lot of work and adds a great deal of cost and complexity, fraud, and frustration  Government has become a manic Robin Hood that is continually taking from one group to give to another group -- and it's not just the romanticized notion of taking from the rich to give to the poor.  Government takes from the old to give to the young (education), but it also takes from the young to give to the old (Medicare, Social Security, deficit spending).  Government takes from the rich to give to the poor (welfare), but also takes from the poor to give to the rich (certain itemized tax breaks, transportation subsidies).  It takes from "business" to give to the "people" (minimum wage, employment taxes), but also takes from the people to give to business (corporate welfare/government subsidies).  We're just a baby step or two away from having everyone puts everything into the communal pot for the supposed elite to redistribute.  (If you're like me, all combined, the majority of your income already goes out through this process.)

What causes us to play this corrupt and pointless game.  Society has naively bought into the "feel good" notion that government-driven income redistribution will solve societal ills (and without us having to get our hands dirty personally addressing these ills).  Unfortunately, this is a false notion that only creates greater ills, causing failed program to be piled upon failed program.  By way of example, one key reason for the recent push to raise the minimum wage (or to create a living wage) is being driven by concerns that Wal-Mart employees (to name the favored target) are too dependent of government welfare programs.  So, because of the failures of the current welfare state, the proposed solution is to enlarge its reach even more, resulting in job loss for some individuals, which would then demand a greater expansion.  Even a democrat like Mayor Daley, of Chicago, can do that simple math and see the failure in that approach.

It's taken America over 200 years to reach this point.  It's not hard to forecast the failures that result from continuing down the current path.  Since our government is just a representation of our society, ask yourself "Is this really what we want?"   Isn't there a better way?  I think there is, but it requires 2 key characteristics:  (1) greater individual responsibility and (2) greater charitable assistance, on the part of individuals (not government), for our neighbors in need (whether next door or across the world).

Hot Off The Presses, Part 2

It's been a busy week.  Here's the draft of the "Local Option Funding For Regionally Significant Transportation Infrastructure" bill that the legislature could see in a special session next week.  Happy reading.

RegionalTransportation_2006S40005.pdf

Not So Fast, Mary -- Pres. Bush on Line 1

Just when she thought she could settle into life in the private sector, President Bush nominated Mary Peters to replace the retiring Norman Mineta as secretary of transportation.  Mary was the former federal highway administrator, stepping down a little over a year ago.  She was also a former director of AZ DOT (and a coworker and friend of Utah's own Mr. Transportation, Tom Warne).

Here's a little excerpt from the DNews article:

Peters said that if confirmed, she would try to improve a transportation infrastructure that is showing signs of aging.

"We are experiencing increasing congestion on our nation's highways, railways, airports and seaports and we're robbing our nation of productivity and our citizens of quality time with their families," Peters said. "In some cases this is the result of systems and structures that are more suited to a bygone era than to the 21st century."

Peters is an advocate of user fees, or tolls, for building new highways. In a recent interview, she said that the federal highway program will run out of money by decade's end without substantial changes and, rather than raise taxes, some states are turning to toll roads already to fill gaps.

"You just can't depend on the federal government to bring the money in that was around when the interstate system was first built," Peters said.
(Bush picks former highway administrator as next Transportation secretary)

Based on Mary's comments, you can see why Utah has been taking proactive steps to shift our transportation policies in a forward-thinking manner.  With the highway trust fund scheduled to go bankrupt before 2010, it's important for states to address their transportation needs without heavy dependence on the federal governments.  Times are changing and strong leadership is needed.  Mary Peters is a great choice.