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Poverty, the new poverty data, and definitions

Written by: Shawn Teigen

U.S. Census poverty data for 2015 were released this week. Utah Foundation has particular interest in poverty since it was part of the 2016 Utah Priorities Project. Homelessness and poverty was the 9th most important issue to voters in 2016. These issues are closely linked in that poverty is cited as one of the major reasons of homelessness, particularly when it is experienced in conjunction with unaffordable housing situations, losing a job, or experiencing a … Continued

Priority #16: Transportation and Traffic

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. Transportation and traffic ranked 16th in this year’s Utah Priorities Project, a similar to the 2010 and 2012 surveys. The highest ranking transportation and traffic has garnered was 9th place in 2008. This year, 49% of respondents gave this topic a 4 or a 5 on a 5-point scale., … Continued

Priority #17: Higher Ed

Written by: Shawn Teigen

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. Higher education ranked 17th on 2016’s Utah Priorities Project. That ranking came from the main survey question which asked about respondents’ level of concern about “higher education – that is colleges and universities.” About one in five respondents were “very concerned,” which is a “5” on the 1- to 5-point scale. … Continued

Utah Thrives — Crime

Written by: Dan Bammes

Utah voters rated crime as the #7 issue of concern in this year’s Utah Priorities Project. A research brief from Utah Foundation shows that rates for most crime have been going down both in Utah and across the nation. But there’s serious concern about the way police officers relate to the communities they serve – and about the large numbers of offenders incarcerated in both prisons and local jails. In this edition of Utah Thrives, … Continued

Priority #18: Marijuana Laws

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. This year, marijuana laws made a first-time appearance in the Utah Priorities Project survey, coming in at 18th place. Its appearance was likely due to several bills touching on marijuana being proposed in the Utah legislature, as well as seeing the positive fiscal impact on neighboring Colorado after their legalization of … Continued

Utah Thrives — Haven Barlow Looks Back

Written by: Dan Bammes

Partisan politics – the seemingly irreconcilable conflicts between political leaders that seem to characterize all our public discourse – has been a significant concern for voters the last two times Utah Foundation has conducted the Utah Priorities Project. Voters placed it at Number 8 on the top ten list in 2012 and put it again in 8th place in 2016. Yet it wasn’t so long ago that cooperation between officeholders in Utah’s legislature and elsewhere … Continued

Priority #19: Utah’s Increasing Population

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

Priority #20: Equal Protection for LGBTQ People.

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

Utah Thrives — Addressing Homelessness

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

The Other Priorities: Priority #21 Liquor Laws

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