I thought Gov. Spencer Cox’s State of the State address last week was a good speech… …There was only one study or poll that I could find in the last decade that explicitly sought to understand the issues that matter to certain age demographics in Utah. That came in the Utah Foundation’s report “What’s on Utah’s Mind: Voter Issues and Concerns in 2020.” Utah Foundation’s polling on what matters to Utahns by generation. (https://www.utahfoundation.org/uploads/rr778.pdf) … Continued
…At 34.7%, Utah ranks 14th in the nation for individuals with a bachelor’s or higher degree. The Utah Foundation reported in July 2022 that “Utah is in the top third of states when it comes to four-year degree attainment” and second in the Mountain States region for adults over 25 with bachelor’s degrees. Education is a Utah superpower, positively impacting our vibrant economy, quality of life, social capital and economic mobility of Utahns. It is … Continued
The Economic Report presents three visible economic scenarios for the coming year: Scenario 1: Continuing Growth – Inflation recedes, interest rate hikes stabilize, historically high financial reserves and low debt levels prop up consumer spending, employers work to retain employees considering recent hiring challenges, and international geopolitical and supply chain challenges stabilize, combining to create 2023 real GDP growth in the 2% to 4% range (similar to 2022 Q3 and Q4). Scenario 2: Shallow Recession … Continued
OK, OK, we get it. Utah is growing, and it’s not just because of the babies. Utah now counts more than 3.4 million residents—61,000 more just in the past year, according to a report from the Kem C. Gardner Institute. Utah and the rest of the nation have seen housing costs soar and people being displaced as development takes place amid a desperation that defies good planning. So, it’s good news that elected officials and … Continued
Negative perceptions are hurting police staffing. How can we get young Americans to support police? “Andy Griffith Show” reruns. “Kojak” on prime time. “Columbo.” “Starsky & Hutch.” Once upon a time, you could turn on the TV and find that the cops were almost always good guys. Crockett and Tubbs occasionally discovered that an officer was involved with the drug trade, but the “Miami Vice” duo stayed above the fray and took the bad … Continued
Today, the Chair of the Utah Foundation Board of Trustees, Art Turner, announces that Shawn Teigen has been appointed as the president of the organization. Teigen brings a wealth of experience to the position, from entrepreneur to Peace Corps volunteer to researcher at the Utah Foundation. He’s been focusing on public policy for the past 15 years, including as the Utah Foundation’s Research Director since 2014 and Vice President since 2017. Teigen also teaches a … Continued
When we think of growth, we often picture developers buying an old farm or ranch and building a subdivision. We picture a growing civilizational footprint, turning what was once green into something gray. But Utah can look within the existing footprint for opportunities to grow. That means identifying sites within developed areas that are vacant or underutilized. Development of these sites is known as “infill.” Multiple factors are now converging in Utah to make infill … Continued
Few people talk about building codes, let alone building energy codes. Let’s face it, things like window efficiency and air ducts are not spicy topics. Talking about a set of regulations that governs the construction of our homes and commercial buildings will not get you invited to parties. But it’s a shame. After all, Utah is the fastest growing state in the nation, and with this growth comes a frenzy of new construction. Energy codes are exactly the kind … Continued
Today, the Utah Foundation releases Filling in the Blanks: How Utah Communities Can Deploy Infill Development to Advance Quality of Life. The report addresses infill – the development of vacant or underutilized land within existing communities. It examines trends, the potential benefits of additional infill, obstacles standing in the way, and policy options to support infill development. Among the findings of the study: Multiple factors are now converging in Utah to make infill more imperative, including rapid … Continued
Utah was just named one of America’s happiest states but according to the Utah Foundation, the state’s overall well-being may very well be on the decline. A recent study from WalletHub found that Utah is the fourth happiest state in the nation, averaging a score of 62.41, placing it just below Hawaii (66.31), Maryland (62.60) and Minnesota (62.43). While the study gives Utah flying colors in happiness, leading the nation in positive work and community … Continued
Utahns just aren’t feeling as good about life today as they were four years ago. That’s one of the big takeaways from the latest Utah Foundation report, “The 2022 Utah Personal Quality of Life Index: Is the Well-Being of Utahns in Decline?” The report focuses on personal quality of life – based on a survey where Utahns rate their well-being on a series of seven factors. In 2022, the Personal Quality of Life Index stands … Continued
“Social capital matters tremendously,” says Peter Reichard from the Utah Foundation. “It determines how well we will live, what we can hope for, and how much money the government might try to spend to ameliorate the consequences of society’s failings.” Because of the importance of social capital, the Utah Foundation recently published a social capital index that makes it possible to compare social capital in Utah to other states. Utah’s score placed it at the … Continued
A report released Tuesday by the Utah Foundation says the well-being of Utahns has dropped in 2022. Personal quality of life is the focus of the report. It’s based on a survey in which residents of the state rate their well-being on a series of seven factors. In the report, the Utah Foundation examines 2022 data and compares it to a similar survey in 2018. Additionally, the foundation also analyzes responses by population group. It … Continued
Today, the Utah Foundation released The 2022 Utah Personal Quality of Life Index: Is the Well-Being of Utahns in Decline? The report focuses on personal quality of life – based on a survey where Utahns rate their well-being on a series of seven factors. In this report, the Utah Foundation: compares 2022 data with the 2018 iteration of the survey; analyzes responses by population group; compares Utahns’ personal quality of life with their community quality of … Continued
Katharine Garff and her late husband Robert will be honored with the Insight Award at Utah Foundation’s 2022 Annual Luncheon on November 16 at the Marriott City Creek Hotel. The purpose of the Insight Award is to recognize civic leaders who, through a career of service or philanthropic support, have worked with integrity to provide insights in the public policy arena with the aim of improving government. Recent honorees have included Gov. Mike Leavitt and … Continued
SALT LAKE CITY — Across the U.S., home prices declined 0.77% from June to July, marking the first monthly decline in nearly three years. That’s according to Black Knight, a mortgage software, data and analytics firm, CNBC reported Wednesday. While the price drop is slight, it’s the largest single-month decline since January 2011, and marks the second-worst July for home prices dating back to 1991. “We’ve been advising for quite some time that the dynamic … Continued
Most Western metros see price decreases from June to July The Federal Reserve increased interest rates four times in five months (March, May, June and July) in part to slow inflation. That seems to be having an impact in the housing market. Mortgage rates are the highest they’ve been since 2009, and U.S. year-over-year home price appreciation peaked at 17.3% in March, falling to 13.7% by July. When looking at the 50 largest metro areas … Continued
When it comes to the network of relationships people use to benefit themselves and the larger community, Utah stands apart from the nation at large. In late July, the Utah Foundation released the eighth report in its Social Capital Series, summarizing the findings of the series and tallying the metrics we deployed. Utah emerged with a strikingly high composite score of 94. This contrasts sharply with the national number, 54. Social capital comes in many … Continued
Today, the Utah Foundation releases To a Higher Standard: Building Codes, Improved Efficiency and Air Quality in Utah. Utah has kept up to date on commercial building code standards, but it has maintained older residential building standards that fall short of more efficient building practices. The report explores possible new standards with an eye toward air quality, examining costs and benefits. Among the findings of the study: Driven by Utah’s rapid population growth, over 12% of Utah’s … Continued
As the pandemic began, we predicted that Utah would emerge economically stronger than the rest of the nation. That’s what happened. On multiple measures, Utah tracks among the nation’s tippy-top performers. Take, for instance, the GDP growth from 2019 through 2021, the unemployment rate, population growth or the poverty rate. The Beehive State also leads the nation on multiple measures of community and family life, along with social mobility. The Utah economy has been roaring, … Continued
Peter Reichard spoke with Salt Lake Chamber President Derek Miller about the Utah Social Capital Series. KSL will broadcast it on Thursday, August 18th — airing at approximately 7:20am, 11:47am, and 5:21pm.
…The commission left what Shawn Teigen, the vice president and research director of the Utah Foundation, considers to be a “loophole” in the housing code. Instead of implementing an Energy Rating Index that would create a minimum energy performance standard for homes, they kept the current performance mechanism known as a REScheck. A REScheck essentially allows homebuilders to trade off what energy-efficient protocols to follow. For example, if a developer installs an energy-saving furnace, they … Continued
…As far back as 2016, number-crunchers at the Utah Foundation worked out that years of tax cuts cost Utah public education $1.2 billion a year. That’s a burden that gets shifted to local school boards, whose only tool is the property tax…
Spend it now or spend it later. In a tough housing market made tougher by inflation, should Utah update its building code to require builders to spend more on insulation, knowing it will raise the upfront cost? The Utah Uniform Building Code Commission will hold a public hearing Wednesday at 9 a.m. on updating the state’s building code for new housing in the state. Utah is only required to update its residential building code every … Continued
…To date, more than 98,500 degrees—including non-nursing programs, such as health informatics and health information management—have been awarded to students in all 50 states. To assess the impact it has had on nursing graduates—now more than 84,000—and the contributions those nurses have made in their communities, WGU tapped the Utah Foundation to conduct a research brief. Among the findings, the Utah Foundation estimates that of the 84,390 graduates since 2009, 79,181 are still active in … Continued
