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Global Economic ABCs
Utah economist Jeff Thredgold’s Tea Leaf economic update this week features “Global ABCs,” an A-Z rundown of global economic trends and issues. Sample: “Asia—still expected to be the location of roughly two-thirds of all additional global economic growth over the next 20 years; Budget Deficits—a serious issue in the U.S. and around the world. The French, the Germans, the Italians, the Japanese, and many others have similar challenges; China—powerful economic growth continues, with leaders still trying to slow the economy down. China could challenge Japan’s position as ‘number one’ in the Pacific Rim within a decade.”
Thursday Profile
Ed Alter: The Billion-Dollar Man
By GM Jarrard
 Of all the faces from the 1981 political scene, only one remains the same: Utah State Treasurer Ed Alter. When he and President Ronald Reagan were swept to power, Saddam Hussein was America’s friend, Yugoslavia’s Josip Tito had just departed, and Kim Il Sung remained in the cat bird seat in North Korea. Twenty-seven years later, only Ed Alter remains in office and is still alive and kicking.
To those obsessed with term-limits, Utah is an Altered State, a place where one man defies the odds and like the Energizer® Bunny keeps running and winning, putting up the same old tattered signs and getting re-elected over and over again. Six Democrat opponents have long been forgotten (one actually ran against him twice), like old 6-inch floppy disks and eight-track players and other discarded items boxed up and sent to DI.
What’s his secret?
He’s created a top-notch financial reputation for the Utah, and he’s made the state lots of money. Lots and lots of it. And people like money so, ergo, voters like him. Or so the argument goes.
“When I first took office, I was struck by the size of the state retirement fund, about $910 million at that time. It seemed like such a heavy responsibility. So much money, so many people’s retirement nest eggs to manage. Today that fund has grown to over $20 billion, quite a sum for a state the size of Utah,” Alter reflects.
In his 1988 race for the office, his second re-election effort, his bus signs — a modest expenditure in a year dominated by other candidates’ spending huge sums on television — attracted some attention. As a result, Alter made a few headlines and grabbed for himself a modest little moniker: The Billion-Dollar Man. The bus boards were teasers with the line, “State Official Admits Making a Billion Dollars in Office.” No identification was included on the signs at first, then overlays with his name were later added to the signs. A few of cranky old voters called his office and yelled at him for profiting at the state’s expense, asking why he hadn’t been hauled off to jail. (Read entire profile.)
Gordon Smith Fundraiser
Gov. Jon Huntsman is hosting a fundraising luncheon for Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith on June 18, noon, at the home of Sam and Diane Stewart. Contribution is $1,000 per person or $5,000 per PAC. For more information or to RSVP, contact Paige Marriott, 902.540.2558 or paige@marriottgroup.com.
Future of Utah Fund of Funds
The fifth and final installment in a series of short articles has been posted here, describing the vision, purpose, structure, direction and progress of the Utah Fund of Funds), one of Utah's most significant ongoing economic development programs. Written by Jeremy Neilson and Kimball Thomson, the first installment provided an overview of the UtahFoF; the second described the program’s structure and financing; the third described the program’s current portfolio of the venture/private equity funds; and the fourth described the importance of the Utah Fund of Funds, from the perspective of leading Utah entrepreneurs and national investors. The final installment discusses the program’s progress to date, with a brief look to its future. The entire series can be accessed on the UtahFoF website by clicking “In the News.”
Local Politics
Christensen Supports Bond
Salt Lake mayoral candidate Keith Christensen supports the proposed $191 million bond for an overhaul of Salt Lake City’s public safety facilities, according to a press release.
The 20-year bond, presented at a City Council meeting by Police Chief Chris Burbank would yield $14.1 million per year, said the press release, for facility renovations, improvements and expansions, including a public safety campus for police and fire headquarters and an emergency operations center. The bond would also fund a new east-side joint police and fire station, a west-side fire training facility, and a crime lab, among other improvements.
“Chris Burbank is right. It is past time we improve the police and fire facilities in our city,” said Christensen. “I believe that we should never get to the point of urgency when it comes to providing our police and fire departments the facilities, equipment and technology they need to ensure the public’s safety. Better communication will help. It is in our city’s best interests to have open and honest dialogue between police and fire professionals, the mayor and the City Council. As mayor, I will open these lines of communication to better address first responders’ needs.”
Today in Political History
May 31, 1955: In "Brown v. Board of Education II", the U.S. Supreme Court orders school integration "with all deliberate speed". (Source: perspicuity)
May 31, 1989: House Speaker Jim Wright, D-Texas, dogged by questions about his ethics, announces he will resign. (Source: NBC5)
Wise Words
“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anyone else expects of you. Never excuse yourself.”
-- Henry Ward Beecher (Source: Quote Garden)
Political Trivia
The Utah Legislature is sending a delegation to China in early July this year consisting of 14 legislators and 2 staffers. What is the cost to the taxpayer for this event?
Answer: Airfare, $26,000; Rooms, $9,000 (Source: Tribune)
National Politics
-- Washington Post: "Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) echoed familiar Democratic themes on Tuesday in calling on businesses, insurance companies and lawmakers to reject the 'failed politics' of past debates and overhaul the nation's health-care system to cover every American. Obama ... offered few new ideas in laying out his plan to expand health insurance and to greatly reduce health-care costs. Instead, he cast his proposal in the themes that have defined his candidacy: optimism and a desire to move beyond partisan politics" (see also related Bloomberg story and Ronald Brownstein column).
-- New York Times: "Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Bill Clinton have delivered another one-two punch that reflects their combined political power: corralling the endorsement of Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, one of the most powerful Democrats in California and among the most influential Hispanics in the nation."
-- New York Daily News: Columnist David Boaz: "Behind Rudy Giuliani's impressive lead in the polls is one fact that puzzles the pundits: Many cultural conservatives are backing a pro-choice, pro-gun control candidate. But what should be equally surprising is the strong support Giuliani is finding among libertarian-leaning Republicans, who also make up a big slice of the GOP base. Here's why: Throughout his career, Giuliani has displayed an authoritarian streak that would be all the more problematic in a man who would assume executive powers vastly expanded by President Bush."
-- The Hill: Columnist John Fortier: "President Bush's supporters have likened him to Harry Truman, an unpopular president who will be vindicated by history. But for congressional Republicans, the Truman parallel may be all too real: an unpopular war and an unpopular president not running for office lead to congressional losses for the president's party. ... Someday, historians may laud Bush and Truman together. Perhaps even in the short run, Bush will turn around his popularity and his party will benefit. But if he remains in these long doldrums of public opinion, his party may suffer more congressional losses as Truman's did 55 years ago."
Lighter Side
Best of Late Night Humor
David Letterman: “Top Signs Fidel Castro Is Fully Recovered”: Every morning, 45 minutes of torture followed by 45 minutes of cardio; His coat is shiny and his nose is wet; Organized six guerillas to rob Mick Jagger’s apartment; His 1959 Chrysler Imperial was spotted at IHOP; In NFL draft, was picked before Brady Quinn; Recently pimped out his MySpace; Returned to favorite hobbies of his youth, like tennis and kidnapping; He’s put on 30 pounds, he’s wearing fatigues, he’s spewing propaganda—no, that’s Rosie O’Donnell.
Jay Leno: Congratulations to Republican presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani—he celebrated a wedding anniversary today. He also has another one tomorrow, and two on Monday, if I’m not mistaken. ... Giuliani has been paying his wife $10,000 a month to help write his speeches. That’s every wife’s dream, isn’t it? To put words in your husband’s mouth, and get paid for it. ... In a related story, President Bush gives his wife, Laura, $5,000 a month to teach him how to pronounce some of the bigger words in his speeches. ... President Bush was caught driving his truck without a seatbelt on at his ranch, but that’s not even the dangerous part, the dangerous part is Dick Cheney was riding shotgun. ... It’s starting to get nasty out there on the campaign trail. A new book out by veteran Democratic strategist Robert Shrum claims when asked about gay rights, John Edwards said he was “not comfortable around those people.” Do you believe that? How does a guy who spends 400 bucks to get his hair styled not like gay people? ... The third largest company for daily oil production is in Mexico. See, this is how we break this immigration deadlock—make everyone sneaking across the border carry just one barrel of oil. |
