Written by: Mallory Bateman
This post continues our blog series on concerns that many Utah voters expressed in our survey that didn’t make the cut for our top ten list. In the mid-2000s, Utah cities began emerging as some of the fastest growing places in the country. This contributed to “dealing with growth in Utah” being ranked 8th in 2004. By 2008, it had dropped to the 10th spot, 2010 saw the topic fall out of the top 10 and by … Continued
Written by: Christopher Collard
This post continues our blog series on concerns that many Utah voters expressed in our survey that didn’t make the cut for our top ten list. This topic has appeared as a concern four of the past five election cycles.1 In every cycle, it ranked either last or second to last. This year it ranked 20th out of 21 concerns. In truth, equal protection for LGBTQ people is a complex issue in Utah. While Salt Lake City boasts … Continued
Written by: Dan Bammes
Homelessness and poverty rank 9th on the 2016 Utah Priorities Project top ten list, based on a survey of voters conducted earlier this year. Utah Foundation’s research brief issued July 6th, 2016 shows, among other important facts, that domestic violence is an important contributor to homelessness, involved in 21% of the cases and nearly as significant a cause as substance abuse and mental illness. In this edition of Utah Thrives, Dan Bammes speaks with Shauna … Continued
Written by: Christopher Collard
While Utah Foundation’s Utah Priorities Project highlights the top ten most important issues to Utahns, there are just as many priorities that did not make the list. These lesser priorities, while not highlighted through most of our reporting process, are still important to many Utahns. These other concerns and associated survey data will be briefly covered in a series of blog posts and will be released roughly once every other week leading up to the … Continued
Written by: Dan Bammes
Utah voters identified air quality among the top ten issues facing the state in this year’s Utah Priorities Project survey. The notorious winter inversions that plague the Wasatch Front come to mind — but ozone pollution in the summertime is also a significant concern. And it turns out our use of gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment is a contributor to the problem. In this episode of Utah Thrives, Dan Bammes talks with Bryce Bird, Executive … Continued
Written by: Christopher Collard
As the field of presidential candidates among major parties has dwindled from 23 to 3 over the past 9 months, the apparent nominees have become clear, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Unfortunately for Utah, its preferred nominees, Ted Cruz among Republicans and Bernie Sanders among Democrats, do not appear to be likely candidates (although who can say how this will all really play out in the end). As part of a small survey following up … Continued
Written by: Dan Bammes
Early in 2015, Utah Foundation issued a research report showing Utah’s tax burden had dropped to its lowest level in 20 years. That was based on 2012 data from the Census Bureau and other sources, the most current available at the time. When 2013 data was available, we posted an updated version on our blog. Then we asked some experts on Utah Foundation’s staff and outside the organization for their thoughts on where Utah’s tax … Continued
Written by: Christopher Collard
Explore the state and local tax burden of residents across the United States. Hover over markers for more information about levels, rankings and year-over-year changes of the tax burden. Click and drag to move around or zoom in on states on the eastern coast for a better view. Early 2015 you might have seen news coverage from several outlets on a Utah Foundation report which showed that in 2012, Utah had its lowest tax burden … Continued
Written by: Dan Bammes
Utah once had an enviable voter turnout rate, but that’s dropped into a range among the lowest in the country in some recent elections. The research report Voting in Utah: Analyzing Current Practices and Future Options for Utah Voters, published in December, looked at some of the reasons for that as well as possible solutions. In this edition of Utah Thrives, we’ll hear from Utah Foundation Research Analyst Mallory Bateman, Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie … Continued
Written by: Dan Bammes
Utah Foundation Research Analyst Christopher Collard joined KSL’s Doug Wright on Wednesday, April 6th to talk about the Utah Priorities Project candidate survey. This second report in the 2016 Utah Priorities Project looks at the answers given by seven candidates for governor to a set of questions about issues of concern to Utah voters. The questions are essentially the same as those posed to voters in the first report, which identified the top ten issues … Continued