McConnell on Supremes Short List?
Legal Times.com published an interesting story this morning about Michael McConnell, a judge on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and part time law professor at the University of Utah S. J. Quinney College of Law, whom it says is on the short list for a possible nomination to the Supreme Court. According to the report, McConnell (bio here) is difficult to label and consequently both loved and hated by liberals and conservatives alike. Nonetheless, Legal Times.com asserts that Senator Orrin Hatch is McConnell’s biggest fan, which improves McConnell’s ratings among conservatives.
The Week Ahead
Busy week for legislative task forces. See legislative calendar for times, places and agendas. The Highway Jurisdictional Transfer Task Force holds its first meeting Tuesday at 9 a.m. Its mission is to sort out whether the state or local governments ought to own and maintain various roadways around the state. This is a big deal for cities, counties and the state.
Tax reform takes the spotlight on Wednesday, with several subcommittees meeting after the full task force meeting at 9 a.m. Six organizations will provide perspectives on tax reform: The Utah Foundation, the Utah League of Cities and Towns, the Utah Association of Counties, the Utah State Tax Commission, the Utah Taxpayers Association and the Sutherland Institute. It should be a fascinating meeting. The Sales Tax Subcommittee delves into the controversial subject of taxing services.
On Thursday, Intermountain Health Care is back on the hot seat before the Health Care Task Force. IHC will provide an overview of its organization, including products, services and tax status of its divisions.
Aging Boomers: Big Public Policy Impact
An enormous issue facing Utah and all other states is the aging of the baby boom generation. As this largest generation in history gets old and retires (me among them), the impact on every area of public policy will be momentous. In its most recent Policy Perspectives newsletter,the U. of U.’s Center for Public Policy Administration focuses on the “gray tsunami” in several excellent articles. Writers Janice Houston, David Patton, Jordan Robertson and Kelli Polcha discuss the ramifications of the graying of American on tax revenue, health care, social support and employment. One article points out that the state faces a serious “brain drain” as nearly half of the state’s total workforce and 75% of the management force retires over the next 25 years.
Blog Watch
Carrie Ulrich, in her Democracy For Utah blog, about a new web site, Bridging the Religious Divide,
initiated by Mayor Rocky Anderson,“ . . . the project is designed to bring people from different faith and cultural backgrounds together for an honest, open dialogue on issues that bring us together, as well as those that divide us.” Ulrich also reports on the Democrats’ June Meetup meeting.
Rep. Steve Urquhart tells why he loves the push and pull of public policy and discusses tax reform.
A Reagan Republican
Don Guymon, Legislative District 18 Republican chair in Davis County, sent along a couple of his favorite Ronald Reagan quotes. Here’s one:
“It's time we asked ourselves if we still know the freedoms intended for us by the Founding Fathers. James Madison said, ‘We base all our experiments on the capacity of mankind for self-government.’ This idea that government was beholden to the people, that it had no other source of power, is still the newest, most unique idea in all the long history of man's relation to man. This is the issue of this election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American Revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.”
Guymon also wrote to remind Davis County Republicans about the Reagan Memorial Picnic on Friday (see calendar at right).
RDAs in Spotlight
Redevelopment agencies will be the focus of the Utah Intergovernmental Roundtable (UIR) annual summit on Aug. 5, 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., in the Delta Center. A stakeholder panel will discuss the pros and cons of RDAs and Chris Roybal, economic development advisor to Gov. Jon Huntsman, will speak. Click here for more information. The UIR is the successor to the Utah Advisory Council on Intergovernmental Relations, which was disbanded in 2003. Its mission is: “To facilitate discussion and promote understanding of intergovernmental issues in order to enhance the cooperation and interaction of governmental entities.” The UIR is administered by the Center for Public
Policy Administration at the University of Utah.
Cap Malpractice Awards, says Leavitt
U.S. Newswire reported on the findings of an HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) study, which said, “States that have capped malpractice lawsuit awards have seen a larger growth in the number of practicing physicians than those states without such caps.” U.S. Newswire quotes Mike Leavitt, Secretary of Health and Human Services: "Our nation's health care system should no longer be held hostage to frivolous medical lawsuits, which only drive up health care costs, lead to defensive medicine, and make it harder for America's doctors to provide safe and accessible care.” Tough Competition from India
Thomas L. Friedman, in his New York Times column, said Western Europe, land of aging population, short work weeks, long vacations, and anti-free market attitudes, has much to fear from emerging economic powerhouses China and India. An excerpt:
“Indeed, there is a huge famine breaking out all over India today, an incredible hunger. But it is not for food. It is a hunger for opportunity that has been pent up like volcanic lava under four decades of socialism, and it's now just bursting out with India's young generation. ‘India is the oldest civilization, the largest democracy and the youngest population -- almost 70 percent is below age 35 and almost 50 percent is 25 and under,’ said Shekhar Gupta, editor of The Indian Express. Next to India, Western Europe looks like an assisted-living facility with Turkish nurses.”
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