College Affordability

The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education put out its annual report card on states and higher education. On affordability, Utah and California received top honors. With C-minuses. As you might guess by that, the report argues that all states are doing a horrible job. Trailing Utah and California, five states received a D or D-. All the rest failed.

Nationally, the reports states that, while median family income increased 127% since the early 1980s, college tuition and fees increased 375%. By contrast, the CPI increased 95% during that time, and even medical care increased a “mere” 223%.

Other People's Money

The D-News reports that 60% of Utahns would rather give money to public education than have an income tax cut.

Under J2 (the dual-track system), Utahns can do exactly that. They can calculate their taxes, and pay the higher amount, if they choose. That money would go to public education (and a little to higher education).

Anyone wanna bet whether 60% of the people opt to pay the higher amount?

"Clumsy, deliberately self-defeating, ineptitude"

It looks like some who are rabidly critical of the way President Bush is handling his ultra-complex tasks can't even organize a protest.

Walking for Walker

I joined a sizeable group of volunteers to knock on some doors in Sandy for Rep. Mark Walker. It was a tremendously successful event.

Two of the things I appreciate most about Rep. Walker are (1) his natural leadership abilities and (2) his independence. It’s impossible to lead by following, and Mark has shown that he is strong enough to stand on his own and capable enough to bring people to his position. And that is the combination that makes for a great legislator.

Sandy has produced more than its fair share of legislative leaders, and Mark will continue that tradition.

Iraq, Free Speech, and Secretary Rumsfeld

One thing I love about my family is that it takes up a lot of bandwidth on the spectrum of political thought. Recently, we have been having a robust exchange on Iraq, free speech and Secretary Rumsfeld. My brother-in-law is a Major with the Rough Riders in Iraq. He weighed in with the following e-mail.

The world is not as black and white as many in academia and politics see it. Those in academic circles usually see the world along much cleaner lines than most, and it’s a good thing, because it allows for debate. Debate would be very boring if everything were seen as shades of gray, because the differences would be too obscure to lend any meaning to the argument.

However, when taken to extremes, debate becomes unproductive. Polemics in debate leads to a kind of blindness, because it causes people to believe without question anything that supports their thesis (ask Dan Rather and his producers). We see this on both the left and right in our political landscape today; it is evident in the labels used to describe both. Words like evil are used by folks on both sides of the aisle. The far right uses the word evil when they talk about the “liberal agenda” and its support for a “godless society, gay marriage and abortion.” The left uses the word evil to describe the current administration’s war on terror. Thus the goodness that should come from these debates is stifled by a sort of mania, which in turn leads to exactly what I see here in Iraq every day. The Shia hate the Sunni, and the Sunni hate the Shia. No lie or fabrication with regards to some atrocity being committed by one group or the other is too fantastic to believe. Thus the blind hatred and killing continues (over 1800 killed last month in Baghdad alone). In the end, if Iraq fails it will be because of this hatred, rather than any mistakes / blunders the Bush Administration has made.

I do not believe the rhetoric from the left that the Bush Administration is exaggerating the threat to our country in a bid to remain in power. The great thing about America is no matter what the current administration does, it cannot remain in power. I don’t see the Constitution being amended anytime soon to allow for more than 2 presidential terms, and anyone who thinks that the next administration will keep the same SEC DEF or other cabinet members from an administration with a 35% approval rating knows nothing about politics in America. I for one will welcome the change.

Finally, don’t be fooled by those on the far left who say there is no reason to be afraid. They are wrong. There is much to fear.

First, we should fear terrorism, specifically radical Islamic Terrorists. They have no mercy and will not be deterred from doing all they can to cause us harm. I face this threat every day here. Does this mean we need to be in Iraq? Maybe. Maybe not. But just because you think it is wrong to be here does not mean the threat to America is not real. The Bush Administration did not concoct the recent plot to blow up US airliners in the UK. The threat is very real, and will not go away once we leave Iraq.

Second and more importantly, we should fear the rhetoric of polemics. It caused the failure of the Athenian Democracy, and leads to the loss of freedom of speech and expression (perhaps even the freedom to think) that many on the left are so rightly concerned about.

Utahns Want Tax Cuts

Spending interests often argue that Utahns don't want tax cuts. They even buy polls to support that position. Don't believe it.

Here's all the proof you need, from a Deseret News article describing Rep. Carol Moss's new-found support of the proposed tax cut:

A retired teacher, Moss said it's clear the $70 million taken off the table during the 2006 Legislature for tax cuts will not "go back to education now." Since the only alternative is a tax cut -- and since at least $30 million is going to spread the brackets in the current system -- she figured she would vote for it and hope for more true tax reform later.

I'm sure you'll hear that kind of story often in the next few weeks. It's nonsense. Ask the representative if he/she understands that the tax cut applies every year, meaning that the money will be taken off the table every year, not just this year. Therefore, if it is just a question of what will leave the most money available for spending, why isn't the representative opposing the cut? (Yes, $70 million currently is off the table for this year; but the cut means that $700 million will come off the table over the next decade). Answer: that representative likely is in a tight race and realizes that Utahns want tax cuts.

If a representative votes for the tax cut, it means one of two things. Either (1) the representative believes that lowering our tax burden will stimulate the economy or (2) that representative understands that his/her constituents believe that it will stimulate the economy.

It's a philosophy that several representatives oppose -- that cutting taxes will generate more opportunity and, ultimately, more government revenue for schools, roads, Medicaid, etc. -- until an election looms around the corner. Don't believe me? I invite any representative to send out a campaign brochure with a huge "I oppose tax cuts" splashed across the top. It would be a great way to free up lots of time next January and February.

Special Session -- J2

The income tax bill that will be on the special session contains three elements: (1) an optional flat tax alternative, (2) stretching the brackets and reducing the top rate under the current system, and (3) a $70,000,000 tax cut.

I like all three items, and will vote “yes.” A bit of personal history to explain my enthusiasm: during the tax reform task force, some of us pushed for Utah to adopt a flat tax. Though the motion passed out of the income tax subcommittee, it quickly died thereafter.

At that point, I advocated that we cut taxes by simply stretching the brackets and reducing the top rate of the current system. But, in the swamp vapors of “reform,” the idea of sticking with our current system (which system makes sense and is quite simple once federal taxes are calculated) was not sexy enough. (Note: putting the word “reform” in the title of any working group suggests too strongly that policies thoughtfully formed over prior decades must be scrapped).

I was never convinced that the various iterations of income tax reform that surfaced out of the task force had very solid footing. The determining factor was the many calls I was receiving from senior citizens, saying they had calculated their prospective taxes on the calculator at the Governor’s website and were shocked to learn that they would receive huge increases. Though another representative and I told the Governor’s advisors that something was very wrong, those concerns were never adequately addressed. As it turned out, something was very wrong with the numbers.

So here we are: a flat tax (check), stretching brackets and reducing the top rate (check), and a tax reduction (check). Thank you, Gov. Jon Huntsman and Rep. John Dougall, for bringing us to this point. In honor of Governor Jon and Representative John, I’ll refer to this bill as J2.

Income Tax Cut

I had my gubernatorial tutorial this morning on the income tax proposal. I can’t emphasize how much I appreciate Governor Huntsman getting out and visiting with the House members in advance of the special session. Believe me – it’s a tough crowd.

The members are strong, independent and loyal to their constituencies (which differ greatly throughout the state). Getting a big project across the goal line requires lots of meetings and conversations. And during those meetings and conversations, the job is to listen. Members bring questions and concerns that come from their unique backgrounds and the input of their constituents. Rather than regard the meetings as sales pitches, it is better to regard them as learning opportunities (for the project proponent). The collective wisdom of the members is remarkable. They will instruct the proponent where the bill should be.

On the income tax issue, Governor Huntsman did a fantastic job of listening to legislative concerns over the past several months, while still pushing his agenda for reform. As a result, the process took us to a point where we likely can get something worthwhile accomplished. And as for going around the state visiting with members on policy issues, I haven’t seen a Governor do anything like it during my time in the Legislature. Great leadership!