Utah State Senate approves bill to restore a full sales tax on food.

The six readers that follow this blog know that we are fairly consistent in our opposition to this.  The State Senate has passed the bill.  The action is still pending in the House.  For those in our Utah State Legislature who do not get it...let me spell this out in plain and simple language.

-A restored tax IS a tax increase!

Those of you in the legislature who voted in favor of this bill have violated your "No Tax Increase" pledge.

Please sign this petition asking Governor Herbert to veto this bill.  Please tell all of your friends to sign the petition as well.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/utahfoodtaxrestoration/Publish Post

Here is the list of members of the Utah State Senate who violated their "No Tax Increase" pledge and voted for this bill:

Howard Stevenson
Stuart Adams

Kudos to those who stood pat:

Michael Waddops

Lists will be updated.

Because the action is still pending in the house, we urge you to contact your state representative asking him or her not to support this bill.  Please follow this link to do so.

Pulse on Obama's Reelection, how is it going?

I found six point that would cost Obama's chances at reelection in 2012.  Here is how he is doing as of February 2011.


How is Obama doing?


1.  He must avoid a serious primary challenge. So far, no one serious from the Democratic party has risen to challenge Obama.  This would need to be a state governor, senator or cabinet secretary.  So far, Hillary Clinton seems to be serious about her current job.  Obama grade so far A-

2.  He must unite his party. The aggressive republicans in the House and in the various state houses are giving the Democrats something to unite about.  The Dems do a better job at uniting when the opposition is strong than the Republicans do.  Obama grade so far A.

3.  He must not let the campaign get too personal. Stuff like this will not help the President.  Obama grade so far D+

4.  The economy needs to improve and Americans need to return to work. U3, the traditional employment number is at 9.7 percent in March.  The U6 rate, which includes those who are marginally looking for work and those who have taken part-time jobs to help pay the bills is at 16.9 percent for the same period.  It does not count those who have completely given up.  This is still above where it used to be.  Obama grade so far D+.

5.  Perceived popularity of his policies.  You can be the judge of that right now.  Obama grade so far C.  I improved his grade slightly with the capture of bin Laden, but that will be a memory next November.  If this had been the October surprise of 2012, it would be much better.  B-

6.  Try to keep a strong left-leaning third-party challenger out of the race. Bloomberg is leaning toward getting into the race as an independent.  This will not be good for the President.  Obama grade so far D+

Obama so far: C+

How are the Republicans doing?

1.  Picking a strong candidate.  Michelle Bachmann and Ron Paul, who won the straw poll at CPAC,  have popular policies but there is no historical precedent for their candidacy.  History is against them.  Trump was also strong until his tirade of F bombs and until Seth Meyers put him into place.  Right now, Romney holds a slight lead over Huckabee.  Both would be strong nominees for the GOP.  Neither is the clear front-runner.  GOP grade B.

2.  Non-economy strategies?  How about a bill requiring insurance companies cover physicals, smoking cessation,  physician supervised exercise plans, early cancer screenings and other methods to lower heath care costs?  Right now, the GOP alternatives to Obama policies really do lack creativity. GOP grade C-.

3.  Avoiding wedge issues like immigration and gay rights?  You be the judge on that one.  Right now, the GOP is stepping into it with both feet.  GOP grade D-.

4.  Pushing the President on unpopular items?  GOP grade B+.

5.  Tone?  Some one needs to silence Governor Palin or at least she needs to learn that she does not need to voice her opinion on every issue.  Trump silenced Palin, Newt and Bachmann for a while...but not for long.  B-.

GOP so far: C+

As of May, 2011, there is a slight edge to Obama.  Once the GOP decides on a candidate and a message, things get a lot tougher for the President.

Utah Should Stop Sending Taxpayer Funded Work Overseas

I am sure that some of you have missed this report, after all it was only reported on ABC4, the news report that almost no one in Utah watches except for the mothers of the anchors and reporters.  It is about the University of Utah contracting medical transcription jobs to overseas firms.  This will idle about 200 of my fellow Utahans.  My knee-jerk reaction is, no fair.  They can not do this.  But after sleeping on this, I have calmed down about.

There is really no economic sense to move jobs overseas.  The dollar is weak right now and only becoming weaker due to rapid government borrowing at the Federal level.  Because of the weak dollar, you have to pay more money for overseas work than you did three or four years ago.  It takes more dollars to purchase what ever currency is used in whatever country these jobs are being sent to.  There has got to be other reasons and costs for shipping these jobs overseas than just wages.  There are other factors making this economically feasible for so many firms.  This could include factors like lower overhead due to lower property values and energy costs and lower taxes.  Our government is not doing a good job at identifying and dealing with these factors.  As such, our jobs are being exported and more people are becoming unemployed.  The more that this happens, the weak the economy in the US becomes.  There will be fewer and fewer people who will be able to afford the niceties of life.  The US economy will spiral into oblivion.

One such factor that is making jobs more expensive is how unemployment insurance is charged.  In most states, including Utah, we do not charge money to companies when they lay people off.  There is not a deductible when an unemployment insurance claim is filed.  This is a big mistake.  We should charge companies when they involuntarily separate people without cause.  We need to provide an incentive for companies to keep people on board.  Since unemployment insurance is just that, insurance, it is perfectly justifiable to charge a deductible for separating an employee without cause.  Doing so would allow the state to charge a smaller premium in unemployment insurance.  Companies that find ways to keep employees would be rewarded with a smaller premium.  Perhaps the state can even provide an unemployment insurance discount to firms that have a history of not laying people off.

Specifically about this issue.  This company is the University of Utah Hospital.  It is an extension of the University of Utah which is an extension of Utah State Government.  It is as if the State of Utah themselves were off-shoring work.  It is as if the Governor himself authorized it.  This should be a personal embarrassment to Governor Herbert.  And it should be a personal embarrassment to every state senator and every member of the Utah House of Representatives whether Republican, Democrat or otherwise.  These men and women have the opportunity to fix this problem right now, while the legislature is in session.  They can stop the current action by the University Hospital and prevent other state entities from making similar personnel moves.  They can make this type of outsourcing against State Policy.

I also find it interesting that this story broke on the Saturday of a Holiday Weekend and is only reported on the #4 news channel in the market.  It is as if someone wants to keep this news on the down-low.

As a Republican, I believe in staying out of the way of private business.  The state can not and should not stop a private corporation like IHC, Mountain Star or any other private medical company from sending work off-shore, but the State of Utah and the Hospital of the Flagship University of our state should be different.  They must lead by example.  The fact that the University Hospital off-shores work will make it easier for other firms to justify their similar actions.  We can not expect private companies to keep work on our shores if entities of the government send their work off-shore.

The majority of funding received by the University Hospital comes from the state in one form or another.  Not only does the hospital receive money from the state for regular operations.  It also receives funds from the state in the form of Medicare and Medicaid payments.  This money all comes from the tax payers.

This move hurts the state fiscally.  They money that the University Hospital saves with this contract will be lost in other areas of state government.  The 200 people that are losing their jobs will file unemployment insurance claims.  They may become eligible for food stamps, WIC and perhaps other forms of state welfare.  They will put off purchases of new clothes and other items that are eligible for sales taxes.  They may not be able to pay their bills and could lose their homes to foreclosure.  This reduces property values and puts a dent in property tax revenues.  If enough firms in the state follow-suit, it could lead to another economic avalanche.  This will not only cost the state money in the long run it will also cost the city and county governments in lost revenue.

I ask of my readers the following.  First, tell all of your friends about this travesty and second contact both your state senator and your state representative and ask them to put a stop to this.  The State of Utah must lead by example and learn to show all enterprises, both public and private, how to keep jobs in the United States.  Also, ask your congressman, either congressman Bishop, Matheson or Chaffetz to fund a study to identify the reasons so many firms off-shore labor and to identify and implement counter measures at the Federal and State levels.  We must keep Americans working.  We must remove the obstacles that keep Americans from working.  We must find ways to keep jobs on our shores.  Our economic future depends on it.

Sales Tax on Food?

I thought that we had gone a day in our legislative session without a Republican legislator saying something stupid...but I spoke too soon.

State Rep Mike Noel has proposed a return of the sales tax on food...again.  Here are the arguments for it to return.

1.  It is a stable source of revenue.  Even in tough economic times, people have to purchase food.

2.  It is a tax that even poor people pay...it is fair.  Everyone contributes.

3.  Rural areas in Utah do not have many other sources of revenue.

Here are my counter arguments.

3.  Rural areas need a better source of revenue, but every one gets shut down by the Federal Government.  Today, I will not go into a history of it, but it is well documented.  The Feds control too much of rural Utah, and it is here that the State's Rights arguments carry the most weight.  Whether you are speaking about recreation, energy production or land use, the Federal Government has too much power.  Mike Lee has promised to do something about this.  Let's make sure he does.

2.  All taxes are unfair.  There is no way to create a tax that will hit an even number of people proportionally.  For some, any tax is more of a burden than others.  It is not the most poor, those who qualify for food stamp assistance, that will suffer the most from the sales tax on food.  There is no sales tax when paying for your purchases with the Horizon Card.  It is those who make just enough not to qualify for Food Stamps that are hurt the most by a tax on food.  Think about this when asking about the motivation people have to get off of these programs.

3.  Certainly, people will not completely cut back on food, but they will limit their purchases in tough economic times.  In times like this, people purchase less steak and more hot dogs.  Parties are less extravagant and there will fewer fancy desserts.  There is a certain degree of steady revenue in taxing food, but it is not a complete panacea.

How is it that we can not live without what 31 states in our country do...a sales tax on food?  Here are some answers to our problems...but it will take some help from Mr Hatch and Mr Lee to get it done.

1.  Utah needs more tax revenue from energy production.  Let's stop talking about it and get it done.  Our country needs this energy and we need that tax revenue more than OPEC does.
2.  Utah needs less Federal ownership of our land.  We need to release some of our land to developers including land that is in a certain controversial national monument.  We need to have the courage not to let the Feds continue walk all over us.  This was one of my main problems with Bob Bennett when he was in the Senate.  It is certainly a problem that I have with Hatch.  Mike Lee personally promised me that he would do something about this issue if he were elected.  But he has only been in office for a month...so I will give him the benefit of the doubt for now.
3.  Utah needs more general and diverse economic development statewide.  We can not be a state, like we are now in some counties, completely dependent on tourist dollars.  We have good communities all over this state with talented and hard working people whose talents are going to waste.

It is certainly easy to tax food.  But we can not go after easy solutions to our problems.  We have to find better, more permanent solutions to our problems.

Global Warming?

If global warming is a fact, how come science can't agree on an explanation for such weather phenomena as this winter?


Fox News Article.

Some of the stuff spewing from our legislators mouths.

The Utah State Legislature is in session and some of the things that are being said are making Utah look like a back-woods fly-over state.  Here is an example of some of the short sided things our legislators have said.

The Debt Limit Amendment...

This is a proposed constitutional amendment that will require that the Congress get approval from the majority of states in order to raise the federal debt limit.  Sounds like a great deficit fighting tool until you realize what some of the unintended consequneces could be.  For Example:

-The Congress could hold programs important to states, like highway funds, in order to get the states to approve a debt limit increase.

-The Congress could pass on unfunded mandates if the states refuse to raise the debt limit.

-The Congress can use the states as a scape-goat from run-away spending.

It looks like a good idea, but really a poor idea that instead of giving more power to the states would actually give more power to the Feds.

State Veto Amendment

This is a proposed consitution amendment that would give states the power to veto any legislation by a super majority of the state legislatures.

Um, guys...that is what we have Senators for.  If anyone should have a direct line to a member of Congress it should be our state legislators.  If Orrin Hatch will not answer a phone call from Chris Buttars or Howard Stevenson then Hatch is not doing his job and we the poeple should hear about it.

Speaking of Howard Stephenson.

I read what he said about how the ATC's do a better job at placing our kids in jobs.  This is true for SOME kids.  Some kids are better off earning a degree at the ATC than going to one of our fine Universities.  SOME kids simply do not belong there.

SOME kids belong in the military.  SOME kids belong at culinary school and SOME kids should go directly to work right after high school.

But the data shows that MOST kids will be better off by earning a college degree.  For SOME jobs, any 4-year degree is better than nothing.  So many kids, not myself, end up working in a job that had nothing to do with their major.  The reason this is even possible is because our colleges and universities do such a good job at giving our young people a well rounded education.

SOME four-year college degrees are worthless and should be curtailed.  We know that degrees in Liberal Arts, for example, are not in as great of demand as a degree in Marketing.  But even the Liberal Arts grad has a better chance at becoming a senior manager at an accounting firm than someone with an associates degree in electronics.  Although that person with the associates degree in electronics may rise up and run his own firm, and hire the guy with the degree in accounting to work for him.

In America, anything can happen.

However, study after study, and here is one, shows that on average a person with a Bachelor's Degree will earn about 1.5 times more than someone with some post-secondary education and no degree and twice as much over a lifetime as someone with only a high school diploma.

It is not hard to dispute Stephenson's comments with the facts.