Op-Eds

Op-Ed: How will the coronavirus change us?

Written by: Peter Reichard

The reactions to coronavirus range from prudence to panic, and there’s reasonable debate about which reaction fits where. But regardless of your view, and leaving aside the economic issues, the virus will probably change the way we live and operate. To begin with, the crisis is exposing businesses, government agencies and vast swaths of the population to new ways of working. Utah Foundation, with support from UCAIR, has undertaken a study of telecommuting in 2020. The sudden shift to telecommuting … Continued

Op-Ed: Coronavirus, an earthquake and lessons learned from a past crisis

Written by: Peter Reichard

The impacts surrounding the coronavirus, coupled with a significant earthquake, have me thinking back to a dark period. In New Orleans in 2005, I watched a piece of American civilization fall into confusion, the city half-destroyed (and my own house looted). But I was lucky, with “only” about $40,000 in damage from floodwaters. This was the Katrina disaster and its aftermath, and I watched it from the front row, working at a public policy organization … Continued

Op-Ed: Tax reform may be on pause, but the issues roll on

Written by: Peter Reichard

Writing on tax reform back in December, I quoted Thomas Jefferson: “Politics … holds up the torches of martyrdom to the reformers of error.” Well, apparently state political leaders saw the glow of firelight coming over the hillside, because the tax reform in question was quickly thereafter thrown out. This leaves the issues that motivated reform unresolved. To give Utahns a better idea of what that means, Utah Foundation recently released “Now What? A Citizen’s … Continued

Op-Ed: Utah incentive program keeps evolving, which goes with the territory

Written by: Peter Reichard

Having followed economic development incentives nationally since the turn of the millennium, I’ve seen some eyebrow-raising deals go down. There were “big fish” relocation bidding wars that caused countless hours of wasted civic energy at the state and local levels. There were deals set to last far into the future, saddling future generations with an investment for which there was a murky long-term return at best. There were big tax breaks for projects that failed … Continued

Op-Ed: When it comes to tax reform, time may be the best teacher

Written by: Peter Reichard

One of my all-time favorite movies is a holiday picture, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” I doubt I’m alone in that. Even at the time of its release, it was a smashing box office success, and won Academy Awards for best picture, best director (Frank Capra) and best actor (Jimmy Stewart), right? Wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong. The 1947 film was a box office disappointment, and all those awards went to a movie few can remember … Continued

Op-Ed: Air quality is a leading issue in Utah, but can Utah lead on clean vehicles?

Written by: Peter Reichard

Along the Wasatch Front, there may be no quality of life concern more urgent than clean air. Utah Foundation’s own survey work finds again and again that air quality is a top concern of citizens. The single biggest culprit in our air quality woes is us – driving around in cars, trucks and heavy-duty vehicles that convert gasoline and diesel fuel into unhealthy ozone and particulate matter in our air. It follows that promoting alternative … Continued

Rapid growth brings challenges – and the opportunity to leave a legacy

Written by: Peter Reichard

This state’s powerhouse economic growth has made it the envy of other states and is one of the key features of life in today’s Utah. But with that growth comes challenges and a constant stream of pivotal development decisions. It puts land use decision making at center stage in the theater of public policy. Utah Foundation addresses the importance of development decisions in a new report, Building a Better Beehive: Land Use Decision Making, Fiscal … Continued

Taking a closer look at economic development incentives

Written by: Peter Reichard

Necessity is the mother of invention. Back in the 1950s, California policymakers were faced with the challenge of coming up with matching funds for federal redevelopment grants. They concocted a revolutionary idea: They would set the pre-development property tax revenue from the subject site as a baseline, then use the new incremental revenue generated as a result of the redevelopment as a means of financing the local match. Local taxpayers wouldn’t be asked to pay … Continued

Taking on the sales tax offers opportunities, brings challenges

Written by: Peter Reichard

George Washington once observed that “No taxes can be devised which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant.” Like most states, Utah depends primarily on a three-legged stool of more or less unpleasant taxes: the property tax, the income tax and the sales tax. Property and income taxes seem to chafe the public most. Paying these taxes serves almost as a rite of passage into full participation in the economy and the burdens of … Continued

After 30 years of Truth in Taxation, how are property taxes looking?

Written by: Peter Reichard

When the subject of property taxes comes up, local officials are apt to bring up Utah’s Truth in Taxation law. As the name of the law implies, Utah’s Legislature created the law as a means of ensuring transparency to decision-making about taxes. But one practical effect of the law was to limit local governments’ ability to reap windfalls from increasing property values. And from the perspective of some local officials, the law has stunted revenue … Continued