Politicians, or Economic Prognosticators? The Convention Center Bill Provides an Answer
Last year’s convention center subsidy proposal is back, and it passed unanimously out of committee yesterday. Remarks made during the discussion make clear our point, once again, that legislators should not be economic...
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...
Utah Spends Over $176,000 to Create a Single Job
Update: The article has been edited to include reference to a second audit conducted. We have often argued that government agents are not economic developers, though they often engage in the practice. And despite repeated...
BYU Law Professor Opposes Religious Exemptions to Obamacare
In an opinion piece at the Washington Post, BYU law professor Frederick Gedicks argues against business owners receiving religious exemptions to laws to which they morally object. The most well known case in this regard is the...
GOED Responsible for Doling Out Over $800 Million in Tax Breaks
Let’s get our biases out of the way first: we’re not fans of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED). While we all want to see new job creation, a healthy economy, and companies choosing to locate...
Another Public Transit Project Doomed to Failure?
Earlier this year we reported on a proposal by SLC Mayor Becker to further subsidize public transit. In that article, we noted that “those who ride UTA buses pay 15% of the total cost through their fare, whereas those who...