November 28, 2016(The Spectrum) - Two decades of declining tax obligations has taken Utah from one of the states most invested in public education to a state that ranks well below average, according to new report released Monday. In the last 20 years, Utah has fallen from having the nation’s seventh-highest K-12 education funding effort — or the percentage of personal income spent in schools — to having the 37th-highest, thanks to what amounts to a 29 percent decrease in tax … Continued
November 29, 2016(Salt Lake Tribune) - Two decades of Utah tax policy has cost public schools $1.2 billion a year, according to a report released Monday by Utah Foundation. Between 1995 and 2014, the amount of school-supporting taxes Utahns paid for each $1,000 of personal income fell from $39 to $28, the report states. And while lawmakers have added hundreds of millions of dollars to the education budget in recent years, Utah Foundation research director Shawn Teigen said, those increases have … Continued
November 20, 2016(Standard-Examiner) - The Utah Foundation determined that this threat was the No. 1 concern for Utahns prior to the election. The concern: Health care. We all know the parable of the Good Samaritan. A certain free-market, non-Medicaid expanding, up-by-your-own-boot-straps-I-can-do-this-myself gentleman is walking down the road when he is stricken with a severe asthma attack due to the winter air quality. (The second biggest concern for Utahns.) Select Health sees the stricken man on the sidewalk and walks … Continued
November 20, 2016(Salt Lake Tribune) - Monday’s poll released in The Salt Lake Tribune about Utah’s liquor laws misses the point. The poll specifically asked whether newly licensed restaurants should have a “Zion Curtain” to hide the preparation of alcoholic drinks. The truth is, Utah voters just don’t care that much about liquor laws. In Utah Foundation’s Utah Priorities Project Survey, we asked over 800 Utah voters to rate their top priorities. Out of 21 policies, liquor laws came in dead last. It … Continued
November 16, 2016(Heal Utah Podcast) - Matt chats with Shawn about the work he does as the Research Director for the Utah Foundation, a local think-tank. Shawn talked about his journey to work at the foundation, which included a stint in Kazakhstan. He described the Utah Priorities Project which asked voters this year what their top policy priorities are, such as healthcare and air quality. Matt and Shawn then drill down deeper on how Utahns think about a few environmental issues, including … Continued
November 08, 2016(Deseret News) - That’s a good question, one that our own Dennis Romboy looked to answer in his latest report. The United States has to choose between some of the most divisive candidates in recent history, which has political experts worried. “It doesn’t help that the campaign has been the most angry campaign that I can recall in my 53 years of life,” Steve Kroes, who heads the Utah Foundation, told Romboy. “It’s going to leave a lingering … Continued
November 08, 2016(St. George News) - Sixty-nine percent of the more than 800 Utah voters surveyed for the Utah Priorities Project earlier this year ranked healthcare as an issue of top concern, rating it a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale, according to a research brief published by the Utah Foundation. That was enough to push it to the top of the Project’s top 10 list as the most significant issue in the survey, ahead of air quality, K-12 education … Continued
November 07, 2016(KUTV) - When it comes to regulations on businesses Congressman Chris Stewart and his Democratic challenger Charlene Albarran have contrasting views. Stewart says new regulations from the Department of Labor requiring employers to pay overtime to salaried employees will hurt small businesses. “We’re trying to preclude them from implementing those rules,” Stewart said. “We’re trying to protect these mom-and-pop shops.” Stewart says he will try to insert language into the federal budget to void the rules. Albarran … Continued
November 06, 2016(KSL.com) - Nearly 70 percent of Utah voters surveyed this year about their top priorities said health care is their biggest concern. It is the No.1 priority among voters, shooting from fourth place in years past, above air quality, K-12 education, taxes, and jobs and the economy. “It’s maybe not so much that the interest in health care has risen, but some of the other issues previously considered more important aren’t as much of an issue this … Continued
November 03, 2016(Deseret News) - Nearly 70 percent of Utah voters surveyed this year about their top priorities said health care is their biggest concern. It is the No.1 priority among voters, shooting from fourth place in years past, above air quality, K-12 education, taxes, and jobs and the economy. “It’s maybe not so much that the interest in health care has risen, but some of the other issues previously considered more important aren’t as much of an issue this … Continued
November 03, 2016(Utah Political Capitol) - A 2015 study reported that the Utah cities and counties which voted by mail increased voter turnout. And, cities with numerous options including SDR are more likely to have a higher turnout. The Utah Foundation sampled 70 cities providing VBM and found that Utah cities conducting all VBM elections saw an average increase in turnout from 21 percent in 2011 to 38 percent in 2015. VBM has been criticized in that it mobilizes people already … Continued
November 02, 2016(KTVX) - As many begin enrollment in the healthcare exchange under the Affordable Care Act this may not come as a surprise that healthcare is the number one concern among Utahns. As ABC4 reported, during this election cycle Utahns are most concerned about the rising cost of health insurance. That’s the finding of a year long study of top priorities of 2016 by the Utah foundation. On Wednesday, researchers released details of those findings. Researchers at Utah … Continued
November 02, 2016(KUER) - A new survey out by the public policy group, the Utah Foundation, found that there’s one issue that tops the list for voters in 2016. More than energy issues, more than the environment, more even than K12 education, this year Utahns are thinking about healthcare. That’s according to a report released Wednesday by the Utah Foundation’s Christopher Collard. “When asked what is your priority concerning healthcare? 60 percent of Utahns responded cost,” Collard said. Collard says concern over healthcare … Continued
October 28, 2016(Skagit Valley Herald) - The quality of the environment is extremely important to Utahns. Three of the top 10 voter priorities identified by the Utah Foundation were air quality (#2), water supply and quality (#6) and the environment (#10). This suggests there is a broad swath of voters in this state care about the outdoors. The question is, how do we make sure the people we vote for represent our views? One advantage of voting by mail in Utah … Continued
October 26, 2016(Urban Milwaukee) - Historically, millennials have not shown up to vote. But that does not mean the generation hasn’t influenced political institutions. The millennial population overtook baby boomers as the largest generation in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In Utah, the millennial generation has been larger since at least 2000, according to the Utah Foundation, a public policy research firm. Salt Lake City is home to the second-highest percentage of 25- to 34-year-olds in the country … Continued
October 25, 2016(KUER) - Weinholtz and Herbert have battled it out over a number of issues during the election cycle including public lands, healthcare and the economy. But Utahns have always ranked K-12 education as one of their top three concerns, according to annual reports form the non-profit research group Utah Foundation. Several polls put Weinholtz behind Herbert by double digits. The Democrat hopes his education proposals can help close the gap between him and a very popular incumbent.
October 23, 2016(The Post-Crescent) - Historically, millennials have not shown up to vote. But that does not mean the generation hasn’t influenced political institutions. The millennial population overtook baby boomers as the largest generation in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In Utah, the millennial generation has been larger since at least 2000, according to the Utah Foundation, a public policy research firm. Salt Lake City is home to the second-highest percentage of 25- to 34-year-olds in the country … Continued
October 23, 2016(The Cap Times (Madison, Wisconsin)) - Historically, millennials have not shown up to vote. But that does not mean the generation hasn’t influenced political institutions. The millennial population overtook baby boomers as the largest generation in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In Utah, the millennial generation has been larger since at least 2000, according to the Utah Foundation, a public policy research firm. Salt Lake City is home to the second-highest percentage of 25- to 34-year-olds in the country … Continued
October 14, 2016(Spectrum) - Air pollution along the Wasatch Front and growing concern over how Utah’s population increases might impact iconic natural spaces like Zion National Park have made air quality a top priority for Utah voters, according to a new election-year survey. Air quality ranked as the second-highest priority among voters surveyed this year by the Utah Foundation, a nonpartisan think-tank based in Salt Lake City. The issue finished just behind healthcare as voters’ top issue. “Studies show … Continued
October 19, 2016(UtahPolicy.com) - According to the Utah Foundation: “elementary and secondary education is the largest of all the major state and local government spending categories.” However, the Utah Foundation has provided additional statistics to more adequately show the discrepancy in education funding: “Utah’s tax burden is at its lowest level in 20 years, about $10 lower per $1,000 of personal income than in 1995, when education funding was at its peak. However, over this same period, public education … Continued
October 12, 2016(UtahPolicy.com) - The top issues in the Utah Priorities Project share a very strong concern among Utah voters. If Utah Foundation’s statewide voter survey had been limited to just those residing on the Wasatch Front, air quality would be the top issue. It’s #2 on the top ten list when you include the rest of the state. 68% of the voters surveyed ranked air quality 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale as an issue of high concern. The … Continued
October 12, 2016(KUER) - A new study names air quality as the second-highest priority for Utah voters. More than two-thirds of voters who were polled by the non-partisan Utah Foundation say they are pretty concerned about the issue. The last time the Utah Foundation developed its Utah Priorities list was four years ago, and the environment ranked 7th. But this year the importance of clean air shot up — maybe because the polling was being done after an especially … Continued
October 12, 2016(KUTV) - A new poll suggests that Utah voters are highly concerned about air quality, so much so that many are willing to change the way the commute. The study found that 41 percent of Utahns are willing to change the way they get to work or school to help clean up the air. Twenty-seven percent said they would not. In the research, the non-profit, non-partisan Utah Foundation found that voters living along the Wasatch Front consider … Continued
October 05, 2016(St. George News) - Candidates included Democrat Dorothy Engelman, who is running against Republican incumbent Sen. Don Ipson for Senate District 29, and Democrat Chuck Goode, running against Republican incumbent Rep. Brad Last for House District 71. Other Republican incumbents in attendance included Reps. Lowry Snow of House District 74 and Jon Stanard of House District 62. Rep. Walt Brooks, who is running for House District 75, was also at the forum. Brooks was chosen to fill the position … Continued
October 05, 2016(The Spectrum) - Tuesday’s event was likely the only debate-style forum voters will see this year for local legislative seats, with no others scheduled before the Nov. 8 election. Engelman and Goode have argued they want more time in front of voters with a chance to debate, but local groups that have scheduled events in the past have said they’ve struggled to find dates that will work, especially with the Republican candidates who are already busy with their … Continued
