Response to Governor Hebert’s speech provides more context
Salt Lake City, UT, January 31, 2013 — In response to the Governor’s 2013 “State of the State” address, given last night, Libertas Institute announced its own report describing and documenting the condition of Utah’s government.
“It’s common to hear flowery rhetoric and political sound bytes in speeches such as last night’s, so we thought we would offer a more complete and substantive report of how well things are going in Utah,” said Connor Boyack, president of Libertas Institute. “We should all celebrate the successes our state has achieved, but there is significant room for improvement.”
The report highlights several areas in which the Institute believes the state of the State is not at all “strong,” despite the Governor’s contention to the contrary last night. The following topics are covered:
- Utah’s lengthy state code and regulations
- The state’s dependence upon the federal government
- Nanny State policies within Utah
- Business licensure and economic protectionism
- The state’s debt obligations
- Utah’s large prison population and arrests of non-violent offenders
- Social welfare policies
- Free market violations
- No freedom to contract and associate
“Our hope is that Utahns will take last night’s gubernatorial address with a large grain of salt, and ponder more deeply what is really going on in government,” said Boyack. “Utah is a great place to live, but there are a lot of problems that need to be addressed and corrected.”
