Economy

Welfare in Utah: What Programs are Available and How Have Federal Reforms Affected Them?

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

In 1996, promising to “end welfare as we know it,” President Bill Clinton signed into law The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). By so doing, the landscape of government assistance to the poor was radically altered. Low-income individuals were no longer provided with lifetime monetary subsidies from the federal government. Instead, state governments were given block grant funding to implement programs to assist this population.

Economic Recessions, Taxes, and Utah: Lessons Learned From the Past

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

During times of economic recession, it can be challenging not only to predict where the economy is heading, but even to understand the current state of the economy. It is difficult for citizens, business leaders, government managers, and policymakers to know how to respond when they aren’t even certain how significant the problem is. This is currently the situation in America and in Utah.

Economic Report to the Governor 2002: Executive Summary

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

Utah’s economy slowed during 2001, especially after September 11th. Since 1994, the rate of job growth has fallen from 6.2% to 0.9% in 2001. Utah’s slowdown is part of a global recession. Current expectations are that the recession in the U.S. will be relatively short and growth will resume at a moderate rate during the second half of 2002. In Utah’s case, a short pause in growth should occur in the months after the 2002 … Continued

Economic Report to the Governor 2001: Executive Summary

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

Utah’s economy performed well in 2000, with growth continuing on a moderate track. The decline in Utah’s job growth rates bottomed out in the third quarter of 1999. Since 1994, the peak year of the current cycle, the annual rate of job growth has fallen gradually from 6.2% to 2.4% in 1999. This orderly deceleration has now stabilized, and the rate of job growth increased slightly in 2000 to 2.6%, and is expected to be … Continued

Utah’s Implementation of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

Unlike most developed countries in the world, the United States does not have nationalized health insurance. Rather, health insurance is largely provided by the private sector in the U.S. with national health insurance for certain segments of the population, namely the elderly (Medicare) and poor (Medicaid). One of the concerns of many Americans with this approach is that there is a segment of the population that remains uninsured. Many of these uninsured earn too much … Continued

Household Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in Utah

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

The Utah economy experienced a decade of growth and expansion during the 1990s that is unparalleled in Utah’s peacetime history. The United States economy is also performing extraordinarily well. Unemployment rates reached 30 year lows around 3 percent in Utah and 4.1 percent nationally. In October of 1998, Utah Foundation reported that the growth in the economy was having a positive impact on the lives of low and middle income Americans in general and for … Continued