These are classic discussions published back in July 2011

Open Letter to Congressman Jason Chaffetz

July 30, 2011
Jason, In 2003, I was House sponsor of SB 154, which limited collective bargaining in teacher contract negotiations, allowed for alternative licensing, and provided for business input on state schoolboard candidates. It didn’t surprise me that Democrats wouldn’t help (though some conservative Ds said they liked a lot of it). But, I did learn a valuable lesson from a self-proclaimed conservative giant who told me he would vote against the bill because it didn’t go far enough. He, of course, had nothing in play, much less anything that might pass at that point. Because he wanted total victory, he wouldn’t help. He was very proud of his purity – as was the UEA. We managed to advance the ball without him. After the fray, the rest of us impure players were ragged. But our puritan was pristine. The equipment manager would have to use gallons of bleach to get the mud and grass stains out of our jerseys, but the puritan’s jersey... (read more)
18 Comments

Is Washington Broken?

July 27, 2011
Of course. But not for the reasons the media is throwing around this week. What we’re seeing right now regarding the debt ceiling is a sclerotic government trying to crawl out of bed and take a walk for the first time in years. Unlike what we’ve seen for so long, this actually is a government that is attempting to focus on an issue that matters: the size and scope of government. When you factor in the escalating national debt and all entitlement obligations that our government has created – all while it, presumably, was properly functioning – the grand total comes in at $50 trillion, give or take $10,000,000,000,000. All that money must be repaid someday with real dollars that come from real taxpayers. So, each Congress dips deeper and deeper into the pockets and futures of Americans (born and unborn). That’s not Government working; that’s a bunch of political hacks (Rs and Ds) avoiding tough decisions by stealing from the... (read more)
7 Comments

How Can Government Function Well?

July 21, 2011
Neil Walter (a constituent) is an expert on commercial real estate and real estate finance. He spotted an issue where he thinks the State of Utah can do better. He wrote an article about it. I called him, to get more information. Then, I called the state agency in charge of leasing space (DCFM), and invited them to respond. They’ve embraced the invitation, and will get Neil and me a response. Then, we’ll all meet together and figure out how to proceed. Crazy, huh? Neil took the time to inform the public and me. He knows far more about real estate than I ever will. He shared his expertise with me, so that I can do a better job in representing the community. We’ll have good talks, and we’ll get this figured out. (I also invited DCFM to answer a few other questions I have). We have good people working for the State. They want to do a good job, and they... (read more)
1 Comment

  • Twitter