Cut or Spend: The Big Budget Surplus
Utah will have another large budget surplus for the Legislature to grapple with come January. Many groups will propose ways to spend the money, competing with each other and with proposals to provide tax relief to put money back into the economy and to prevent state government from growing too much.
Clearly, education is going to be a priority for the governor and for the Legislature, and a healthy share of new, on-going revenue should be spent there (packaged with some meaningful education reform measures). It would be very dangerous, of course, to build any one-time surplus revenue into base budgets. It makes sense to spend surplus money on one-time highway projects to get ahead of horrendous construction cost increases. That way when an economic downturn occurs the money won’t be part of base budgets so employee and program cutbacks can be avoided.
Lawmakers just provided a nice tax cut in the last general session and special session. No one is clamoring for another tax cut. Lawmakers do have reason to be wary of government growing too fast. But providing a much-needed boost to public education and using the surplus on critical infrastructure projects is the best way to meet the state’s needs while holding the size of government in check.
Video Voter Information Guide
A Utah County coalition of groups has put together a useful “Online Video 2006 Candidate Preview” featuring video of candidates talking about their positions and why they’re running. J. Max Wilson said the intent of the video effort is to help citizens “cast an informed ballot” and learn more about candidates and their positions.
You can view the videos at the Citizens’ Resource web site. The effort is sponsored by Orem City and Utah Valley State College, along with Citizens’ Resource. Also check out Wilsons’ personal blog entries at SixteenSmallStones.
Blog Watch
At the Senate Site blog, Sen. John Valentine says: "Back in the stone age (2005) we built The Senate Site to communicate and to engage the public a little better. Stumbling into a thriving, neighborly Utah blog community was a nice surprise. I think one of the most valuable aspects of that community is the perspective it offers.... Stepping away from the partisan election year fray -- just for a moment -- we can see that something good is beginning to happen, something unique in history: depth perception. For anyone with the curiosity to look. At the touch of a button. No one blogger has a monopoly on accuracy, but when issues are weighed and explained by independent sources from all points of the political spectrum, ordinary citizens have a better shot at discerning the truth of an issue. To this end, we just added a feature that allows folks to perform a keyword search strictly within the Utah Blog Community. We included the top forty or so political blogs in the state (let us know if we've missed yours).... I am hearing that the emerging Utah blogosphere is unique. We should value the good it offers and do all we can to promote a blog community that continues to be local, healthy, diverse, respectful, and independent"... Rep. Craig Frank notes: "A CNN poll recently showed what I have suspected for a long time ... government is doing for the people what they handily could be doing for themselves. An overwhelming number of respondents said they believed government often provides for its citizens when those citizens are quite capable of personal autonomy and self-reliance"... Congressional hopeful Steve Olsen says of his experience running as a Democratic candidate in conservative Utah: "So many [Utahns] go into the voting booth thinking that a vote for a Democrat is a vote for baby killers, loose morals, the destruction of marriage, the abandoning of America to terrorists, and a general outbreak of Iron Poor Blood. It takes a great deal of time and effort to break through this propaganda, and many of these good citizens don't have much time. Someone needs to speak the truth, even if it can be barely heard amid the cacophony of the Right. As difficult as this adventure has been, it's been an honor to speak for the many wonderful Utah Democrats I've been privileged to meet the last year"... Part of the Plan says of the Democrats' national electoral prospects: "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the only way the Democrats can win, and should win, is if they moderate their positions back to the center, in order to attract moderate Republicans who are most likely fed up with the status quo. If they let the Loopy Left dictate the message, they are doomed, once again, to political obscurity"... At Plato's Cave, George Pyle says of Utah's new early voting program: "Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert wasn't showing off those cute jammies just to be funny. That TV commercial is a sign of how desperate he and other state and county election officials in Utah are to get people to take advantage of the various early voting opportunities around the state.... [T]he fact that this is an off-year election is no excuse not to vote. There are many important decisions to be made, from the Congress to the Utah Legislature to county and school board offices. And, in Salt Lake, Utah and Summit counties, important local questions that aren't going to be overwhelmed by votes from anywhere else."
Washington Watch
Matheson Recognized by Farm Bureau
Rep. Jim Matheson says he's "gratified to be recognized by the American Farm Bureau Federation as a recipient of a 'Friend of Farm Bureau' Award. Matheson received the award for his record in priority agricultural issues in the 109th Congress. He was an award recipient for the 108th session as well" (see press release); Matheson announces "that 16 young men and two young women from Utah's 2nd Congressional District have been selected as nominees to the United States Service Academies. Their names have been submitted for consideration as members of the academy classes entering in July 2007" (press release).
Local Watch
Proposed SL Co. '07 Budget
Salt Lake County has posted links to Mayor Peter Corroon's proposed 2007 budget and his budget address on its home page.
National Politics
Phony Deficit Forecasts
The federal Office of Management and Budget is again likely to greatly overstate the size of the budget deficit for FY2008, says Stan Collender in his NationalJournal.com column on federal budget matters.
Election Night Problems
Voting problems could be widespread in next week’s election, says Eliza Newlin Carney in a NationalJournal.com column. “… a myriad of potential problems, from voting machine glitches to error-riddled voter lists, make this election look like an accident waiting to happen. With many races neck-and-neck, and control of both the House and the Senate at stake, the specter of lawsuits and recounts looms large over 2006.” |
