Utah Continues to Lead the Nation
– By Howard Sierer –
Utah continues to set the standard for the country in a number of ways: most recently, our growing economy, our low unemployment, our volunteer hours, and our freedom-to-choose K-12 education.
Once again, Wallet Hub ranked Utah as the best state in the union to start a business. Our combination of skilled workers, access to financing, and affordable office space, along with 24 other key indicators, make Utah “the most fertile ground in which to launch and grow a business.”
Moody’s Analytics calls Utah “a state that has been growing very quickly, adding residents at one of the fastest rates in the nation for a while, absorbing them into new jobs in high-wage, white-collar industries like tech and finance.”
Business thrives where state governments promote economic freedom. Utah’s total employment has grown by 6.7% from its pre-pandemic level, second only to Idaho. Both states are havens of economic opportunity.
Compare this to states where progressives continue to impose new taxes, costly regulations, and mandates. New York’s total employment is 2.8% below its pre-pandemic level; Illinois is down 0.7%, and California is down 0.5%. As a result, businesses, their owners, and their employees continue voting with their feet, emigrating to freedom and opportunity.
Utah had the lowest unemployment rate in the country at 2.2% in December, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Over a dozen states had unemployment rates below 3% at the end of 2022, but none as low as Utah. Our state also had the second-highest voluntary quit rate, reflecting workers landing new and better jobs.
The federal government’s Volunteering and Civic Life in America website once again ranks Utah as the national leader in volunteer service. More than 999,000 Utahns volunteered through organizations, contributing an estimated $2.7 billion in economic value to the state. In addition, more than 1.4 million Utahns informally helped neighbors during the height of the pandemic.
Utah First Lady Abby Cox’s “Show Up” initiative emphasizes volunteer service. Announced two years ago, it focuses on four areas where volunteer service can make a major contribution: helping students and teachers learn life skills, supporting foster children and families, expanding the Special Olympics, and creating new service opportunities.
Cox says, “Volunteerism isn’t just what we do — it’s who we are.” Her initiative is intended to complement UServeUtah, the State’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism.
I’ve long championed charter schools and am thrilled that Utah has joined 11 other states in enacting educational spending accounts that allow state K-12 funding to follow the student, not the school district. Utah’s implementation is more than vouchers, which only can be used at a charter or private school. In addition to these choices, Utah families can opt to use their spending accounts for homeschooling, tutoring, or homeschool supplies.
Utah’s bill makes $8,000 ESAs available to every student. There’s no income cap on families who can apply, although lower-income families receive preference, and the program is capped at $42 million.
Since state funding follows the child and not the school system, the intent is to empower parents rather than the unions and education bureaucracies that have dominated school governance and all too often cater to teachers rather than students. A painful example is the shuttering of schools during the pandemic when children were at little risk.
I’m pleased to reaffirm that Utah continues to be the best-governed state in the union.
Viewpoints and perspectives expressed throughout The Independent are those of the individual contributors. They do not necessarily reflect those held by the staff of The Independent or our advertising sponsors. Your comments, rebuttals, and contributions are welcome in accordance with our Terms of Service. Please be respectful and abide by our Community Rules. If you have privacy concerns you can view our Privacy Policy here. Thank you!
Click here to submit an article, guest opinion piece, or a Letter to the Editor
Interesting that in spite of the great situation you’ve detailed in your article, according to the “Consumer Sentiment” index tracked by the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, consumer sentiment in Utah dropped by more than 5 points in February, from 75.6 to 70.4. Sentiment rose sharply in the last months of 2022 but now has fallen off, as it has across the nation. The largest drop in confidence is seen in age group 35-54. Inflation and possible recession still weigh people down even in Utah where things appear to be rosy otherwise.
Lisa, even more interesting is the fact that the consumer sentiment index has dropped steadily both in Utah and nationwide since the beginning months of the Biden presidency. Could that be what is weighing people down? https://gardner.utah.edu/wp-content/uploads/ConsConf-Feb2023.pdf?x71849
According to an article in The Spectrum, “Utah’s consumer sentiment had been on the rise in recent months, having risen sharply in the last six months of 2022 after dropping to a low of 62.9 on the index in July. It had hovered close to 100 as recently as mid-2021 but dropped sharply in the back half of that year amid rising inflation and has struggled to recover since.” The chart in the link you provided shows that Utah’s sentiment has actually exceeded that of the entire nation since Fall of 2020.
Leading the nation in uncontrolled growth is nothing to brag about.