Your Money and Earmarks in Utah: The Utah State Budget Process
Part One in the “Dollars and Nonsense” Series. Click here for part two. In a recent op-ed we highlighted the importance of paying attention, pointing out that government’s actions, whether transparent or...
Government Force: the Byproduct of Well Meaning Government Expansion
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” —H.L. Mencken Henry Louis...
Protecting The 4th Amendment In the Digital Age
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or...
Playing Chicken with Property Rights
“The great and chief end, therefore, of men’s uniting into commonwealths, and putting themselves under government, is the preservation of their property”—John Locke, Second Treatise of Civil Government Last night the City...
How Utah Conservatives Are Helping Progressives Grow Big Government
“Here I encounter the most popular fallacy of our times. It is not considered sufficient that the law should be just; it must be philanthropic.”—Frederic Bastiat, The Law This week during debate over HB 96 (to fund preschool...
Potential Court Reform in Utah
As we explained in our asset forfeiture policy analysis, “policing for profit” is a problematic element in law enforcement. Similarly, there is a concern that local justice courts in Utah can prosecute and adjudicate for profit...
Increased Transparency for Search Warrants Considered by Utah Court System
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or...
Deadbeat Dad, or Deceived Dupe? How Utah Legalizes Conspiracy and Kidnapping
Yesterday, a group of fathers from around the country filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Utah in federal court for “legalized fraud and kidnapping.” For years, Utah law has allowed biological mothers to leave biological...