As Utah continues to grow, demands will increase on certain government functions like infrastructure, water, and education. However, we need not grow the state government. We need to find efficiencies in government to maintain and even continue to reduce the tax obligations on Utah families. The fiscal responsibility of Utah has led to a long run of economic expansion, business and entrepreneurial growth, and prosperity for Utah families.
Our number one resource is our children. Utah needs to find ways to continue to appropriately invest in education for all children. With that said, the best indicator of success for a child’s education is support at home. We need to prioritize policies that encourage parent and family responsibility for children’s education in any learning environment.
For all the reasons that we love Utah, our state will continue to grow. We need to appropriately address that growth with investment in infrastructure and water conservation. We need to continue to respect private property rights and local zoning while finding ways to encourage proper housing development to address serious affordability problems.
An accessible and transparent government best serves the people. We must continue to encourage open meetings rules, budget accountability, and proper oversight and reporting of government expenditures.
Utah has done well in developing policy that encourages entrepreneurship and business investment that create jobs, opportunity and an increased quality of life for all Utahns. Utah should continue to lead in creating a friendly business environment for new and emerging technologies and businesses as well as our traditional industry and historic businesses.
The family is the fundamental unit of society. Our state should do whatever it can to focus on policies that strengthen the family. When families are functioning, there is less need for government – which is a good thing. Education works better; there is less demand on the criminal justice systems; substance abuse, mental illness and homeless issues are minimized; social safety nets are less necessary; etc. We need to embrace the many cultures that contribute to our state and cultivate family ties.
Health care has become too complex and too expensive. Utah should lead the way in streamlining medical billing; innovating ways to inform patients before incurring significant healthcare costs; and, supporting strategies to reduce prescription costs. At that same time, we should implement programs through care providers and insurance companies that encourages and rewards healthy behavior and preventative care.