Blog Posts
Insight: The next 50 years will be a test of community leadership for a growing Utah County
By: Natalie Gochnour Originally published in the Deseret News The numbers are hard to ignore. A mountain of economic and demographic data as high as Mount Timpanogos shows Utah County on the rise. Economic, demographic and political power are shifting south, and Utah’s second largest county is the epicenter of growth and change in the Beehive State. The only question is are we ready? The state’s most recent employment report shows Utah County’s economy growing at more than twice the state average and nearly three times the national average. This isn’t a surprise given the extraordinary tech-sector job growth currently[...]
Insight: Lessons learned from Washington, D.C.
By: Natalie Gochnour Originally published in the Deseret News I visited our nation’s capital last week with a delegation of community leaders from the Salt Lake Chamber. The chamber puts on a remarkable program, including face time with members of the Utah Congressional Delegation, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, the Secretary of the Air Force and policy experts with the U.S. Chamber. We also visited the Federal Reserve, toured the Pentagon and witnessed a profound Honor Flight ceremony hosted by Herbert. D.C. is teeming with activity right now; I took abundant notes so I could share highlights. The most important lesson[...]
Insight: The Economics of Public Lands
By: Jennifer Robinson A new article in Land Economics examines the fiscal implications of transferring public lands from the federal government to the states. This article notes that federal land management has always been contentious – just think of the Sagebrush Rebellion in the 1970s. In recent years, there has been an increase in demands from policy makers to transfer federal lands to state control. Legislatures in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming have passed or debated bills aimed at transferring lands to the states over the past few years. Advocates of state control advance[...]
Insight: Utah’s growing cost-of-doing business problem
By: Natalie Gochnour Originally published in Utah Business The Utah economy celebrated its eighth anniversary of economic growth in June, the second-longest in state history. Currently, the state economy is creating about 45,000 jobs a year. Unemployment remains low at 3.2 percent and inflation-adjusted wages continue to rise. The nice economic winds have been blowing and business is strong. I sense a change in weather in the next 12 to 24 months led by a tight labor market, rising interest rates, the end of the “Trump rally” and something no one is talking about—the rising costs of doing business in[...]
Insight: A Look at Utah in 50 Years
By: Pamela S. Perlich This week, we released our county level demographic and economic projections for Utah for the next half century. These projections are the culmination of two years of research and development work by our team at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. Given my long history and deep involvement in this projection work, my inclination is to share stories about and lessons from the past two years. I will resist this impulse and focus instead on what the work has taught us about Utah’s next 50 years. […]
Insight: Our fight against violent crime begins at home
By: Natalie Gochnour Originally published in the Deseret News It’s been a violent summer in our community and country. A disturbed man gunned down a mother, her sons and another child as they returned home from school. A drunken fight turned into a murder in Murray. A drug bust in the basement of a Cottonwood Heights home revealed garbage bags full of cash and hundreds of thousands of fake opioid pills. Road rage incidents seem to be a weekly occurrence. And now members of Congress can’t even practice baseball without being targeted with a gun. […]
Insight: Major trends with the potential to reshape Utah
By: Natalie Gochnour Originally published in Utah Business Alvin Toffler was a futurist who wrote extensively about the digital revolution. He popularized the term “information overload” and wrote the landmark book Future Shock, which has sold millions of copies and remains in print today. He died last year, but left a legacy of compelling ideas. I thought about him and his words recently as I led a discussion with the executive committee of the Salt Lake Chamber Board of Governors. We discussed major trends impacting Utah. I thought Utah Business readers would enjoy a quick synopsis of our discussion. […]
Insight: ‘What to Expect When You’re not Expecting’
By: Natalie Gochnour Originally published in the Deseret News In a very real way, June means weddings. The end of school and great weather motivate young couples to tie the knot and schedule summer weddings. Back in the old days, summer weddings meant an uptick in births 10 months later. This is less true today. Utah’s fertility rate is at a historic low, and state demographers are asking, “What to expect when no one’s expecting?” I didn’t come up with that clever turn of phrase. Journalist Jonathan Last wrote a book with that title, which is a twist of the[...]
Insight: Homeownership Rates for Young Households Are Declining
By: James Wood In the early 1970's, I was a graduate student and my wife a school teacher. We had limited income and a limited credit history but our bank had no worries about loaning us $5,000 ($29,000 in today’s dollars) for a building lot in Salt Lake County. A few years later, we had a home built and became homeowners. We were in our early thirties and compared to most of our friends latecomers to homeownership. At least in retrospect, the shift from renter to homeowner seemed a natural and relatively stress-free transition. Economic conditions, despite comparatively high interest[...]
Insight: Three Utah counties among fastest growing in the nation
By: Emily Harris, M.S. Utah made national headlines last December when the Census Bureau identified Utah as the fastest growing state in the nation. Today the Census Bureau released the county-level estimates for July 1, 2016, and Utah continues to make headlines. Three Utah counties, San Juan, Wasatch, and Juab, were in the top 10 fastest growing counties in the nation. […]