August 11, 2021(UtahPolicy.com) - Housing options, employment services top list of unmet needs Today, the Utah Foundation released Mending the Net: Exploring Homeless Service Gaps in Salt Lake County. The third report in the Utah Foundation’s Homelessness Series draws from a wide-ranging survey of homeless service providers to explore the overarching service gaps. In particular, the report identifies areas where there is the greatest need for service expansions or enhancements. It also explores whether adequate collaboration is occurring to … Continued
August 11, 2021(KSL Radio) - SALT LAKE CITY — With the increase in property values over the past couple of years, some Utah residents are worried property taxes might rise just as fast. But Utah’s Truth-in-Taxation law means local governments don’t get an automatic windfall. Former State Senator Howard Stephenson is one of the architects of Utah’s Truth-in-Taxation law. “If you’re seeing a huge increase in values because home prices are skyrocketing,” Stephenson told KSL NewsRadio, “the certified tax rate … Continued
August 03, 2021(Daily Herald) - Excellent effort by Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) to establish a Congressional Energy Storage Caucus, to promote “advanced energy storage through legislation and advocacy.” A recent report from the Utah Foundation indicates that transitioning to clean energy will improve health by improving air quality and is a tremendous economic opportunity for the state, including rural counties. The Foundation suggests establishing a state commission to address our worsening climate challenges, promoting clean energy innovation (including advanced battery … Continued
July 29, 2021(Deseret News) - Record heat and the drought this summer are putting the issue of climate change on Utahns’ minds. While a run of unfavorable weather measured in weeks or months does not in itself equate to climate change, it does invite us to pay more attention to the issue. The causes and effects of climate change, as well as the proper responses, remain matters for some degree of debate. And those debates, by the way, are worth … Continued
July 28, 2021(UtahPolicy.com) - Today, the Utah Foundation released Going for the Green: How Utah Can Thrive in the New Clean Economy. Innovations and other measures from corporations, along with new policies and investments from the federal government, provide states with a range of opportunities to capitalize on the transition to an economy that prioritizes climate-focused strategies. Going for the Green analyzes job-creating opportunities by economic sector, explores opportunities from the public and private sectors, and looks at ways … Continued
July 22, 2021(UtahPolicy.com) - The Utah Foundation was honored with several awards by the Governmental Research Association, a national association of government research professionals. The GRA presented the awards at its annual conference, hosted by the Civic Federation of Chicago. The honors include three award-winners and two certificates of merit.
July 16, 2021(UtahPolicy.com) - Lockdowns. Social isolation. Unrest. Soaring drug overdose deaths. Health worries. Economic anxiety. This decade is off to a challenging start for our nation’s sense of well-being. On August 26, the Utah Foundation will hold an important Breakfast Briefing focusing on the Beehive State’s mental health challenges and what we can do to address them. Panelists include Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Mark Rapaport and Doug Thomas.
July 07, 2021(City Weekly) - Economists interviewed say they believe the worst of the worker shortage will fade in the coming months, as higher wages, declining COVID risks and a return to in-person school lures more people back to the workplace. However, researchers point out that worker shortages in Utah have been brewing for years—and likely won’t disappear anytime soon. Back in 2015, the Utah Foundation—a nonprofit, nonpartisan, policy research organization—surveyed 151 local employers and found that a shortage of … Continued
July 07, 2021(KSL) - This spring, the Utah Foundation said an analysis found that Californians moving to Utah don’t seem to be the reason for steep increases in home and rental prices. “Why are we seeing these increases? The Utah Foundation has looked whether it might be due in part to any influx of Californians. That does not seem to be the answer,” the report stated. The rate of people moving into Utah’s larger metropolitan areas is actually down, … Continued
July 07, 2021(Salt Lake Tribune) - From 1940 to 1980, a higher percentage of Utah women were earning at least a bachelor’s degree than U.S. women, according to a 2006 Utah Foundation report. Although Utah women continued to earn more degrees, they fell behind U.S. women in 1990 and 2000, the report shows.
July 07, 2021(UtahPolicy.com) - Economy When stimulus checks came, Utahns were more likely to sock money away: https://www.utahfoundation.org/2021/07/when-stimulus-checks-came-utahns-were-more-likely-to-sock-money-away/
July 06, 2021(Rod Arquette Show) - 6:20 pm: Peter Reichard, President of the Utah Foundation joins the program for a conversation about his piece for the Salt Lake Tribune in which he discusses why the current drought highlights the importance of water management
July 05, 2021(KUER) - Since the start of the pandemic, the federal government has issued three different rounds of stimulus checks to Americans. According to a recent analysis by the Utah Foundation, a nonpartisan research organization, Utahns were more likely to put that money into savings than people living in other states. The study found 11% of Utahns surveyed used their stimulus checks for savings or investments, compared to 7% nationally. Generally, though, residents of the Beehive State spent … Continued
July 05, 2021(Salt Lake Tribune) - It’s when your throat is parched and you’ve been baking in the hot sun that you most appreciate a glass of cool, clear water. We appear to be in such a moment at a statewide level. As of May 1, the 2020-21 winter snowpack in most of the state’s measured basins was well below median, and in some cases less than half of the median level. While one bad year may not plunge the whole … Continued
June 24, 2021(Salt Lake Tribune) - But it’s not just the Californians — or the Vermonters, the New Yorkers and the Texans — who are affecting the market. Recent research by the Utah Foundation noted that the Salt Lake metropolitan area saw the fifth most extreme growth rate of 100 cities measured, but added that fewer people arrived in 2020 than in past years. Rather, more people are staying in the state. “Is it Californians driving that growth? Not likely,” Christopher … Continued
June 18, 2021(UtahPolicy.com) - Many Utahns may not be aware of how dynamic the aerospace industry is in Utah – and how badly it needs workers. I wasn’t fully cognizant of it either, until I attended (via Zoom) a meeting of the Utah Foundation board earlier this week and heard presentations from industry, education and military leaders. One indication of the vigor of the industry is the number of current job openings – thousands of them. Northrop Grumman alone, … Continued
June 17, 2021(The Salt Lake Tribune) - In recent comments on Utah’s water usage, a large elephant in the room seems to have been ignored. According to the Utah Foundation’s 2013 study, public uses account for only 10% of Utah’s water consumption. The largest single consumer is agriculture, responsible for 82% of all water used.
June 13, 2021(Standard-Examiner) - According to a 2019 report from the Utah Foundation, state and local tax incentives are often seen as controversial. Critics view them as public subsidies that distort true economic growth and cause local governments to (at least for a time) forgo tax revenue. Proponents see certain tax credits as a necessary tool to spur development when the private sector can’t. The nonpartisan, nonprofit public policy research firm says the post-performance tax incentives carry less risk … Continued
June 11, 2021(Deseret News) - A little over two decades ago, I learned how lucrative the pharmaceutical industry could be. The father of a friend of mine, who was nearing retirement after a career with a drug company, was discussing how nice their recent company picnic had been. He went on to mention that they brought in a well-known band to play the event. The band? U2. At a company picnic. That’s what giant profit margins can do for you. … Continued
June 01, 2021(KUTV 2) - …Utah education funding expert Shawn Teigen, with the non-partisan research organization Utah Foundation, says Utah does do a lot more with less. For example, Utah’s graduation rate of 87% is better than nearly half the states in the U.S., including education big spender New York. However, Teigen is quick to point out that during the past three decades, Utah lawmakers and voters have made significant changes to state law, the state constitution and taxes that … Continued
May 27, 2021(KUER) - Utah is no longer last in the country in per-student funding, according to the latest census data on public education funding. The state spent $8,014 per student for fiscal year 2019, barely nudging past its long-running rival Idaho. The national average was $13,197. Since the data lags two years behind, it does not account for the significant increase in education funding lawmakers passed earlier this year. That could have a further positive impact on the … Continued
May 27, 2021(KUER) - Utah is no longer last in the country in per-student spending, according to the latest census data on public education funding. But the state has gotten worse in it’s funding effort compared to previous years — that is, how much money the state spends on education relative to personal income. But rather than compare Utah to other states, Shawn Teigen with Utah Foundation said a better strategy is to look at the gaps between students … Continued
May 25, 2021(Deseret News) - Put on your fancy clothes. Grab your top hat. It’s time to party. Maybe this should be declared a state holiday. For the first time in at least two decades, Utah no longer ranks dead last in per pupil spending for public education. The new last-place loser? Idaho. Sure, it’s a difference of only a few bucks per student (Utah spend $8,014, and Idaho $7,985), and yes, ranking 50th instead of 51st is kind of … Continued
May 19, 2021(Salt Lake Tribune) - For the first time in more than two decades, Utah is not ranked last in the nation for its per-pupil spending — edging out Idaho to claim the No. 50 spot. The state allocated $8,014 per student for fiscal year 2019, the most recent year of data compiled nationally and released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. That moved Utah up from its longtime place at No. 51, behind Idaho. Utah spent $29 per student … Continued
