Politics

When Utah’s economy was roaring along in the middle of the decade, then-Governor Jon Huntsman and legislative leaders were looking for ways to reduce the burden of taxes on Utah’s economy.  It seemed as though there was plenty of new money to raise pay for teachers, build new roads and expand the reach of social services.

The top rate for state income taxes had been 7.5%. That was reduced to a flat rate of 5%.  The state sales tax on food was also reduced, and the state was still showing big surpluses in revenue – until the recession hit and the bottom fell out.

Republican candidate for Utah’s 2nd Congressional District Chris Stewart was endorsed Friday by the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). 

Stewart staged his press conference at Utah Metal Works – a small business that repurposes scrap materials.  Behind him, a mini excavator fed a pile of insulated wires into a machine that chops them into small pieces, so the valuable copper can be separated.  Stewart told KUER that as a small business owner, he understands what businesses like Utah Metal Works need to thrive. 

Higher education dropped out of the Utah Foundation’s survey of voter concerns over the past couple of election cycles, but it turned up again in its 2012 poll.  It’s risen to the 6th position in the ranking of top ten issues identified by the Utah Priorities Project.

U.S. Senate Candidate Scott Howell says he has a plan to cut half a trillion dollars from Medicare and Social Security without gutting benefits. He announced his strategy this morning at the South Town Expo Center in Sandy where hundreds of senior citizens gathered for the Utah Senior Expo. 

Concern about the environment moved up a notch this year in the Utah Foundation’s survey of issues important to voters.  And while there are many aspects of that issue to look at, voters insist air pollution is at the top of their environmental agenda

Salt Lake County Mayoral Candidate Ben McAdams says he believes county government does have a role in Education. 

McAdams says while the state legislature, state school board and local school districts dictate key funding and policy decisions, the county has a role of its own. 

“My platform is as mayor, I’ll provide the leadership, partnerships, programs and services that support children outside of school so they can be successful in the classroom,” McAdams says.

The increasing polarization of the political process in Utah and across the nation is the next issue identified by the Utah Foundation as part of its Utah Priorities Project.  In their open-ended survey, voters ranked partisan politics the 8th most important concern.

A former president who also served for many years in Congress once said, “Truth is the glue that holds government together.  Compromise is the oil that makes government go.”  Over the past several years, it has seemed at times that government was pretty low on that oil -- about ready to seize up.

Salt Lake County Mayoral candidates Ben McAdams and Mark Crockett squared off in a debate Tuesday during a Salt Lake Rotary club meeting at the Little America Hotel.

Both candidates said they’ll support the renewal of Salt Lake County’s Zoo Arts and Parks tax in 2014. But GOP candidate Mark Crockett said following several years of new recreation projects in the county, it’s time to take a second look.

In the second part of KUER’s series The Utah Priorities Project, Utah Foundation researchers take a look at poverty in Utah.  It’s an issue that is new to the list of top ten issues identified by voters in a statewide survey, coming in at #9. 

The recession is partly to blame for the number of people in Utah living in poverty. That total is significantly lower than the nation as a whole, but people living below the federal standard for poverty has continued to grow even as the state’s employment numbers have recovered over the past two years.

The Salt Lake County Clerk’s office has requested Salt Lake County Mayoral Candidate Mark Crockett refund a portion of his campaign funds to his donors, following a decision that the republican violated campaign finance rules.

The non-partisan Utah Foundation surveys voters every election cycle to find out what issues concern them most.  It's called the Utah Priorities Project, and KUER is presenting a series of programs examining these issues with the help of Foundation researchers.

Talk to the candidates and they'll have a list of issues that they say their constituents respond to.  But Utah Foundation President Steve Kroes says the Utah Priorities Project lets voters set their own agenda.

New Dynamics in U.S. - China Relations

Quansheng Zhao, Professor of lnternational Relations & Director of the Center for Asian Studies, American University.

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