We thank Gov. Herbert for his State of the State address. It was good to hear about the healthy macro-economy and the state of revenue surplus Utah enjoys. However, it’s a shame all Utahns can’t enjoy the benefits from our overall fiscal health.
We agree that all Utahns are overtaxed. We agree in the principle of “investing in hard working Utahns.” That’s why we were surprised to not hear a commitment to raising teacher and first-responder pay. He stated he wants to “protect the vulnerable” but barely mentioned Medicaid expansion and gave short shrift to Utah’s opioid and suicide epidemic. His only mention of Medicaid expansion was in regards to the Legislature overriding the will of the people by changing prop 3 as it was passed last election.
If we are going to protect the “vulnerable” why not consider providing a real investment into providing elder care? Why not eliminate the sales tax on groceries? Utah is one of only a handful of states that still imposes this tax on its citizenry. Eliminating the sales tax all together on food would help the poorest of those amongst us keep some of their meager funds to use for other necessities like rent, transportation, and medical needs. We clearly have the money and Utah is a leader in the nation when it comes to finding effective, innovative ways to address social problems. Sadly, this emphasis was absent from the address.
We are happy to see that the governor finally acknowledged the environmental challenges our state faces. We would support further examination of the air quality issue, especially as they apply to rural areas. We agree that automobile pollution is the main cause of air pollution, but instead of playing “small ball” with state employees, perhaps it’s time to talk about expanding mass transit to Tooele, Summit and Box Elder counties.
Freeway expansions are good, but they will not ever be able to compete with the increase in traffic, given the growth Tooele County is poised to see in the years to come. Moreover, nowhere in the address was the issue of industrial pollution from companies like MagCorp who have been fined in past years, but still continue to dump thousands of tons of chlorine gas into the air. The GOP super majority in Utah’s Legislature has shown time and time again that they care more about protecting the interests of large corporations, than protecting our families from the pollutants and toxins that those very corporations put into the air we breathe.
We know that Gov. Herbert’s reputation as an advocate of education is well known and, again, he pledged millions in tax dollars for a list of programs and services that are currently underfunded. We give him kudos for thinking outside the box. But again, he ignores that all the programs and all the heavy-handed curriculum changes in the world are no good without devoted, competent, well-paid teachers to execute on that policy.
To that end, it worries us that the governor, and Republicans in general, demagogue remote dysfunctional third-world political problems to push their agenda. It should not worry us so much that socialism is mentioned in school, but why young people are drawn to socialism as an idea. Is it because they see the inequality? Does their own real world experience confirm market-based ideals? I would ask the governor and the Legislature to be a little more contemplative and introspective. I would ask that they question the root causes rather than jumping to conclusions.
In closing, we hope the governor and the Legislature will listen to the voice of the people they represent. We hope they consider the voice of the ordinary citizen, who has for too long been ignored. We hope they reconsider their current course and allow Propositions 3 and 4 to become law. Or, at a minimum, we hope that in future addresses the 150,000 citizens poised to end up without health coverage — again — might merit at least as much time in the governor’s annual address as his long passed kidney stones.