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Transportation Funding was Justified,
says UTA
The Utah Taxpayers Association has issued a new e-mail newsletter,
Taxing Times, that focuses on three legislative issues: (1)
Sen. Curt Bramble’s RDA reform bill, SB184; (2) the small reduction
in the corporate income tax and a tax cut for active duty reservists
and National Guard members; and (3) the level of spending on transportation
approved by the Legislature.
The Taxpayers Association argues that the Legislature was unfairly
criticized for spending $120 million in general fund revenues for
transportation. It notes that transportation revenues were dramatically
cut during the recession period of FY2003-2005, while other areas
of state government, including health, higher education and public
education, did not experience such drastic cuts. Thus, the Legislature
was justified in restoring transportation funding to higher levels.
“ . . . Utah is a growing state with growing infrastructure needs.
Just as growing school districts have been building new schools
in recent years and will continue to build new schools to accommodate
enrollment growth, the Legislature will need to continue appropriating
additional funds for transportation as long as Utah's population
continues to grow.”
The on-going transportation funding serves as a "working" rainy
day fund, the Association said. “Appropriating ongoing revenues
for capital projects like roads is sound fiscal policy. If the economy
returns to recession and causes a revenue shortfall, the Legislature
can balance the budget by postponing road projects and transferring
the revenues initially appropriated for transportation to cover
operating costs in heath, education, and other areas of the budget.”
To see the full newsletter go to www.utahtaxpayers.org
and click on Taxing Times under Publications.
Blog Watch
Blogs are Hot, But Won’t Replace Old Media
William Powers in National Journal (subscription
required) has an interesting column on blogging, calling bloggers
“the hot media darlings of this feverish moment . . . these newcomers
are sharp, energetic, and fearless.” Blogs are about “taking power
and control away from the old brand names, tipping the bloated sacred
cows off their pedestals. Just as establishment media outlets have
always dreamed about bringing down presidents, bloggers dream about
bringing down editors-in-chief and news anchors.”
It’s a healthy phenomenon, Powers said, because the mainstream
news media need more scrutiny. “And why are we having all this intra-media
warfare, anyway? Because we can, and because it's good for us. Anyone
who isn't exhilarated by the bloggers and the havoc they're wreaking
has lost touch with what American journalism at its best has always
been about: making trouble to get at the truth. Turning the heat
up on powerful people, questioning their work, and undermining their
authority is the media's job. Of course, nobody ever expected we'd
do it to our own powerful selves . . . it's shedding new light on
a profession that's always been terrible at self-scrutiny.”
But bloggers aren’t going to kill mainstream media. “What independent
bloggers don't have is the resources or, in most cases, the skills
to do the heavy journalistic lifting that the big American outlets
still do better than anyone, and will continue to do for a very
long time. You can carp all you want about the toadying White House
press corps, but we'd miss them if they were gone -- and the bloggers
would really miss them. . . . media consumers are not about to abandon
their desire for solid, middle-of-the-road news from the old, largely
trustworthy, still impressive establishment outlets.”
Cable Wars
The New York Times has an interesting story
about how CNN is trying to win back viewers by doing less hard news
reporting and more “emotionally gripping, character-driven narratives
pegged to recent events.” CNN is being beaten badly in the ratings
wars by Fox News, so CNN is trying to put more of reporters’ personalities
into their reports. The story says CNN won’t try to appeal to liberals
to counter Fox News’ popularity with conservatives.
Freedom of the Press
"Freedom of speech and the idea of a free press are so intricately
woven into America's DNA that few of us give much thought to the
origins of our freedoms or ponder an alternative life without them.
With gratitude, we can admit that we don't worry much about jackboots
kicking in our doors at night because we've spoken ill of El Jefe.
Indeed, criticizing government is sport within our borders. Every
day, pundits, cartoonists, radio broadcasters, bloggers and others
take potshots at public officials with impunity, if not always with
logic or sound arguments. But so goes freedom, American-style. Even
the ignorant are invited to democracy's brawl." --Kathleen Parker
(Source: Federalist Patriot)
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