Editorial agenda 2008
There are no comments for this page [ Add Comment ]Sunday, January 6, 2008
We have a habit -- a good one, we think -- of reserving the first Sunday in the New Year for establishing the Standard-Examiner Editorial Board's annual agenda. This is the 12th in the series and we think it covers the essentials.
Looking out over the 400 -- give or take -- editorials we'll publish in this space during 2008, these are the topics we predict will stand out among the rest, and that we will have a tendency to return to time and time again.
Why? Because our job is to prompt positive change -- in government and in Utah society.
As we embark on another year of offering our opinions, we invite you to come along for the ride, to contribute letters and commentaries that offer your observations -- whether they agree with ours or take us to task. (Our agenda items are listed alphabetically, not according to importance.)
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Affordable health care
Are you paying more for health insurance and health care this year than you did last year? Of course you are -- if you're fortunate enough to have health insurance. Our nation's system of health insurance and care is broken, and has been for years. Costs have consumed or outstripped annual hikes in worker income, so families are falling behind in the quest to improve their standards of living. This election year will be a good one to pay attention to what candidates are promising to deliver on this vital issue.
Balanced government funding
Who gets what? And how much do they get? That's what our elected officials -- city, county, state and federal -- are hired to decide. Which items should be funded: education? Transportation? Social programs? It's an issue that affects each of us every single day.
Better government
A couple of years back, we called this one "ethical government," but we decided to expand it to include innovative, responsive and responsible government, too. The people look to our government institutions to serve them, not to be scorned by the politicians we've decided to employ. It's surprising how many elected officials think it's all about themselves, and not the people who put them there.
Economic development
This topic covers a large swath of ground. For our economies to be healthy, we need to make sure all the components are in place: vision, smarts, fairness, education, infrastructure and, well, lots more. The Top of Utah needs to be business friendly to be successful. It's a huge responsibility, but it's critical to our continued success.
Election 2008
Cynics may suggest it doesn't really matter who gets elected in November, because we'll still suffer the same disappointing government. That's true only if we keep returning to office those people who keep disappointing us. This year presents an opportunity to elect better people than we have before to state and national office. Shame on us if we're content with the status quo.
Education
Good public schools are fundamental to the overall success of Utah. Without an educated work force, our future dims. We need to figure out how to reduce class size, improve grades, and recruit and retain the finest teachers without diving so far into the pockets of taxpayers that we damage the economy. There are ways to do this, but we must have leaders who have the expertise, desire and commitment to make it happen.
Environment
Resource conservation is more important than ever, with vaulting energy prices and climate change affecting the entire planet. As Utah grapples with a mushrooming population, it must go forward in a manner that does not continue pushing the environment into crisis.
Immigration
There is, perhaps, no more divisive issue in the United States today than illegal immigration. Ideas for reform abound, but shrill opposition to every promising idea has so far thwarted even incremental progress on the subject. Meanwhile, the borders remain porous and nothing changes.
Open government
Utah laws regarding open government are good ones. But public officials' scorn for the public's right to access its own government's meetings and records never ceases to amaze us. State lawmakers, especially, are contemptuous of open-government and open-records laws, and always trying to roll back the clock to a time when they could operate in the shadows -- out of the public view. Utah's laws in this regard need to be expanded, not contracted. In the meantime, officials must conform to the laws on the books.
Quality growth and planning
Isolated instances of neighboring communities cooperating on planning and development give us hope that the philosophy of orderly, intelligent, forward-thinking plans for growth may someday become the norm. We won't hold our breath waiting for it to happen, but we will urge its pursuit and applaud its implementation whenever we see it happening.
Taxes and fees
Not so subtly, the state and counties have begun adding fees in the place of reduced taxes. This bears watching, since one seems a lot like the other when you're the one paying the tab. The 2008 Legislature will be dealing with proposals to reform the state's property tax system -- we hope they are substantive and, above all, fair. Taxpayers who saw 100 percent to 300 percent increases in property valuations and tax bills in 2007 will be watching closely.
Transportation and transit
We'll not only need more roads, but the roads we have need improvement. And, as the price of gasoline goes sky high, we need expanded mass transit options to lure us out of our cars and onto buses and trains ... speaking of which, FrontRunner commuter rail will begin service this year, and we can hardly wait.
Water resources
We're in drought, then we're out of drought. Mostly, we should continue behaving as if we can't waste a drop of the life-giving water that flows from the Wasatch and other mountain ranges. We must maintain what we have and continue plotting for our future needs as the number of Utahns grows ever larger. The biggest question: How and when do we begin collecting more water from the Bear River?
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