February 22, 2015(Deseret News) - In 2010 and 2012, the Utah Foundation conducted a survey of Utah voters and party delegates. In both surveys the foremost concern for voters was “improving the quality of K-12 education.” Yet for delegates this issue only ranked eleventh in 2010 and sixth in 2012. Given this disconnect it should not be surprising that by a margin of more than 2-1 Utahns want our school board elections nonpartisan.
February 20, 2015(Deseret News) - One laudable trait is that our legislators tend to be fiscally conservative. The Utah Foundation recently reported that our taxes now take the lowest share of our income in the last 20 years, moving us down to 21st among states from 13th in 2007. The 2007 tax cuts have left hundreds of millions of dollars a year in Utahns’ pockets to spend, save or invest. Our tax structure has been hailed as one of the … Continued
February 19, 2015(Fox 13 News) - Utah schools have less money per student than any other state in the nation, including the District of Columbia. What would it take to spend as much as the national average? The answer is daunting. Utah’s K-12 public education system currently spends about $3.9 billion dollars a year. Divide that by our student population, and we’re spending about $6,206 dollars per year for each student. The national average is $10,608 per year per student, and … Continued
February 12, 2015(The Salt Lake Tribune) - Days after a House committee smothered a bill to slightly increase the state’s income tax rate and raise an additional $420 million a year for public education, a Senate panel approved a measure that would net a comparatively paltry $75 million annually by boosting a statewide property tax levy. The bill that was killed would be a much better idea, both in terms of ends and means, than the bill that is still alive. The … Continued
February 12, 2015(Fox 13) - What would it take to clean up Utah’s air completely? “The way we do that is everybody has to leave,” said Research Director of the Utah Foundation, Shawn Teigen. And if we want to stay? “Every once in a while, people say we should cut down the mountains or install big fans,” said Kerry Kelly, Associate Director of the University of Utah’s Program for Air Quality, Health and Society. In other words, air along the … Continued
February 08, 2015(The Independent (St. George)) - At least 82 percent of city and 95 percent of county respondents, ranging from engineers and managers to mayors and council members, expressed a belief that current transportation funding is not adequate. The study, conducted by The Utah Foundation, collected responses from 40 percent of Utah’s cities and over two-thirds of its counties. St. George and Washington County were considered to be urban and outlying cities and towns of the county were classified as suburban … Continued
February 04, 2015(KSL.com) - Our roads, public transportation services and trails are the same way. That’s what a new Utah Foundation research report entitled, “The Roads Less Traveled” has found regarding Utah’s local transportation systems. The report found that every dollar invested in preventative road maintenance saves $10-$25 in costly future rehabilitation work. When the benefits to preventative care are so significant, why aren’t cities and counties keeping up?
February 04, 2015(Iron County Today) - In addition to dealing with the already declining water levels, officials in Iron County must look to the future and plan for growth. According to a report by the Utah Foundation published in September 2014, Iron County is expected to see a population increase of 129 percent between 2010 and 2050. The population is projected to jump from 46,163 to about 105,797.
February 01, 2015(Deseret News) - So how can we clean out and freshen up the garage? Utah’s Division of Air Quality creates an inventory of pollutants from each of three main categories: transportation, industrial and homes. Cars and other forms of transportation account for 57 percent of the particulate matter, 32 percent of it comes from homes (and small businesses and localized sources), and only 11 percent from major industrial sources, according to a report last year by the Utah … Continued
February 01, 2015(Salt Lake Tribune) - Alarmingly, “A new study says 82 percent of Utah cities and 95 percent of counties report their transportation funding is insufficient, causing half of their roads to deteriorate into their current poor or fair condition. The Utah Foundation also said that fixing such poor roads is three to five times more expensive than regular maintenance of good roads, akin to how regular brushing of teeth can prevent a high cost root canal.” Now, delete the … Continued
February 01, 2015(The Spectrum) - City and county-owned roads make up more than three-quarters of Utah’s transportation network, but a new survey of transportation managers in local government indicates there isn’t enough money to keep up with the demand. Ongoing maintenance and demand for new infrastructure are outpacing available funding, according to 82 percent of city and 95 percent of county respondents in the survey, conducted by the Utah Foundation.
January 29, 2015(KNRS TalkRadio) - Well it’s kind of undeniably true that Utah has some pretty terrible roads. Maybe not the worst in existence, but when you can tell that you’ve crossed the border to another state simply because the roads are suddenly smoother, then you know you’ve got a bit of an issue. But the question remains, we’ve been paying a whopping 24.5 cents per gallon for over a decade on state gas taxes, and yet our roads are … Continued
January 28, 2015(UtahPolicy.com) - Most Utah cities and counties say they aren’t getting enough funding to properly maintain their roads. A new study from the Utah Foundation finds 82% of Utah cities and 92% of Utah counties say their transportation funding isn’t sufficient to meet their current needs. Despite the recent focus on expanding and maintaining the freeways, that’s just a quarter of the roadways in the state. The other 3/4ths are under local jurisdictions. The foundation study revealed … Continued
January 29, 2015(Deseret News) - City and county officials convened Wednesday to discuss the findings of a new study that shows a drastic need for more local road funding across Utah. The Utah Foundation study released Wednesday, authored by research analyst Mallory Bateman, found that 82 percent of city respondents and 95 percent of county respondents consider their current transportation funding is lacking.
January 28, 2015(Standard Examiner) - Funding for city and county road maintenance and upgrades falls woefully short of needs, according to a new study released Wednesday by the Utah Foundation. The independent Salt Lake City-based research organization surveyed engineers, managers and elected officials, and 82 percent of city and 95 percent of county respondents indicated they believe that current transportation funding is insufficient, according to the 20-page “The Roads Less Traveled: Survey Analysis and Research Regarding Utah’s Local Roads.”
January 28, 2015(Salt Lake Tribune) - A new study says that 82 percent of Utah cities and 95 percent of counties report their transportation funding is insufficient, causing half of their roads to deteriorate into their current poor or fair condition. The Utah Foundation study released Wednesday also said that fixing such poor roads is three to five times more expensive than regular maintenance of good roads, akin to how regular brushing of teeth can prevent a high-cost root canal.
January 26, 2015(Deseret News) - A 2013 Utah Foundation study found that had there been a 9-cents-per-gallon increase in the gas tax in 2010 that was indexed to inflation, an additional $6.8 billion would be collected over 30 years. Adding a 4.7 percent sales tax to gas purchases over the same time period would raise at least $10 billion. Utah Foundation President Steve Kroes said changing the per-gallon tax to a sales tax is risky because of the unpredictability of … Continued
January 25, 2015(Daily Utah Chronicle) - After a 12-and-a-half-year career as a radio journalist with KUER, a charter radio station for NPR, Dan Bammes, who has also taught as an associate instructor in the U’s Department of Communication, has decided to join the Utah Foundation. The Utah Foundation is a public policy-researching group. Bammes is not a stranger to the Utah Foundation, which he said led to his excitement to get involved.
January 23, 2015(Deseret News) - The numbers reveal a sobering trend. Last year, 86 percent of high school graduates said they intended to graduate from college, but only 40 percent of them who didn’t leave for a church mission or military service enrolled, according to a recent Utah Foundation report. And currently, only 47 percent of college students end up graduating within 6 years.
January 23, 2015(Deseret News) - It’s important to remember that Utah’s tax burden is the lowest it has been in 20 years, according to a study by the respected Utah Foundation. If we have the most students, percentagewise, in the nation, and we’re spending the least amount per student in the nation, a falling tax burden is not a sign of good health. It probably means we’re failing our young people.
January 16, 2015(Salt Lake Tribune) - But it is not time to simply raise taxes on everybody. Instead, Utah leaders must continue to be inventive. They have to balance the state’s success in being a low-tax state for business against the inevitable demand those same businesses have for effective services and well educated workers. The just-released report from the Utah Foundation makes that clear in its conclusion: “With the lowest tax burden in the past 20 years, state and local governments … Continued
January 16, 2015(UtahPolicy.com) - A new Utah Foundation study of tax burdens in Utah released Thursday shows that the current 22.5-cent per gallon tax equates to $3.75 on every $1,000 of personal income earned. That ranks Utah’s gasoline tax burden 15th in the nation. While some may say that is too high, it’s about the same as fuels tax burdens among the geographically large states in the West.
January 15, 2015(Utah Business) - Utah’s tax burden is the lowest in 20 years, according to a report released Wednesday by the Utah Foundation. According to the study, Utah’s tax burden is at $111.60 per $1,000 of personal income, the lowest level since the early 1990s. The low level is more significant when compared with the last such study, done in 2007, which showed Utah’s tax burden being at its highest level in 20 years, with $125 per $1,000.
January 15, 2015(KNRS TalkRadio) - A new report says Utah’s tax burden is the lowest in 20 years, due to pre-recession tax cuts. The Utah Foundation says our burden — for taxes and fees, by state and local governments — was 111 dollars per thousand dollars of personal income in 2012.
January 14, 2015(Standard-Examiner) - Utah Foundation has released “Easing the Burden: Utah Taxes Taking Lowest Share of Income in 20 Years.” The report by Utah Foundation Research Analyst Christopher Collard examines two decades of Utah’s state and local taxes, as well as the impact of recent events such as the 2007 tax cuts and the 2008 recession.
