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Time to Clean Out the Cobwebs
Walking my dog, Hayduke, on Saturday in the foothills above Davis
County, I saw what must have been one of the last of the bald eagles
floating lazily on the updrafts. The big birds have mostly all migrated
to Canada and Alaska after a winter of eating carp in the Farmington
Bay marshes.
Walking and hiking are terrific activities for clearing out the
cobwebs and getting some good thinking done. I come up with my best
ideas while tramping along a trail in the mountains. For some reason,
walking is conducive to clear thinking. And after a period of intense
focus on business or politics, walking seems to help put life’s
many activities and priorities back in proper context. This is a
great time of year to get outdoors, get active, and regain an improved
perspective of life.
Cato Hammers Spenders
The Cato Institute
recently released its rankings
of the fiscal performance of the nation’s governors. Former Utah
Gov. Mike Leavitt always got hammered by Cato’s rankings
because spending in Utah, except for a few bad years, has risen
quickly. Even when a state is not raising taxes and is putting significant
amounts of money into things like highways and buildings that don’t
increase base budgets, Cato doesn’t like it. So even though Utah
was being recognized as one of the nation’s best-managed states
and enjoyed the highest bond ratings available, Cato still gave
Utah bad grades.
The Institute didn’t include newly-elected governors in its rankings,
but Gov. Jon Huntsman isn’t likely to fare much better than
Leavitt, with spending rising around 9 percent in the recent legislative
session. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney received a C grade
from Cato.
The Cato grade is often inconsistent with other measures of state
fiscal responsibility. For example, Virginia Gov. Mark Warner,
current National Governor’s Association chair and a Democratic presidential
hopeful, received a D grade from Cato, as noted in a recent Wall
Street Journal editorial. Interestingly, in another story in that
same day’s WSJ, Warner was praised for being fiscally prudent. Facing
a $1 billion budget deficit, Warner pushed a tax reform plan through
the Legislature that raised enough revenue to cover the deficit,
preserving the state’s AAA credit rating. Virginia was the only
state in the country to win an A rating in five budgeting and management
categories in a recent analysis published by Governing magazine.
Blog Watch
John Yewell writes
about Preston, Idaho, and Napoleon Dynamite on NewWest.net.
He also summarizes the work of the Utah Legislature with some unflattering
commentary,
calling legislators “idiots” and making a sarcastic, almost bigoted,
remark about Mormons and ethics. From the tone of his piece, Yewell
clearly has a problem with Utah, its people, culture and predominant
religion.
Communications Tip
How to Write a Press Release
Here are some suggestions from Inc.com:
The
art of the press release
Press
release critiques
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