Situational Analysis | October 26, 2021

It's a very wet Tuesday and National Pumpkin Day. How about chili in a pumpkin? Or some warm pumpkin dessert? Mmmm. 

Be in the Know

1. The state's chief election officer, Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson writes that Utahns "don't have to choose between security and convenience in our elections. We can do both." Additionally, "I’m extremely concerned about any public official who deliberately cites pseudo-science and spreads conspiracies, who asks questions not because they seek answers, but wants to score political points by casting doubt on the system. These actions are dangerous and threaten to undermine the very foundations of our constitutional republic...Let us not heed baseless claims that undermine the public's faith in our election processes."

2. Using Nazi symbols to protest vaccines is odious and disgraceful, write Governor Spencer Cox and Seth Brysk of the Anti-Defamation League. "Protecting public health should never be equated to the horrors committed by the Nazi regime during the Holocaust. Encouraging vaccinations does not compare to schemes hastening the mass murder of millions of innocent people. Tying the Holocaust to anti-vaccine and anti-mask protests is as shocking as it is inaccurate and offensive. Policies designed to save lives do not equate with policies devised to mete out death. Such offensive analogies by opportunists and fringe groups are an act of moral outrage. By brandishing distrust or outright disdain of research and science, they ridicule history."

3. Rep. Travis Seegmiller, R-St. George, has been charged with poaching and weapons offenses after he shot a deer on private property in August. Rep. Seegmiller told witnesses to the poaching that he was out of work and was trying to feed his family. His legislative webpage notes that he has a Bachelor's degree from Yale and graduated cum laude with his Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University and is an Associate Professor of Law, Economics and Leadership at Dixie State University. His conflict of interest statement notes that his role at Dixie State has ended and that he is deferring his legislative salary until retirement age, "consistent with [his] servant leadership philosophy." House Speaker Brad Wilson says he is "deeply troubled" by the accusations.

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Utah Headlines

General

• Utah’s billboards are weird. And so are we. (Deseret News)
• The head of NASA thinks we’re not alone in the universe. “Who am I to say that planet Earth is the only location of a life form that is civilized and organized like ours?” (Deseret News)
• Newly arrived Afghan refugees welcomed home to Utah (Fox13)

Politics

• Bishop quits Utah redistricting commission in spectacular fashion (Fox13, Deseret News, Salt Lake Tribune)
• The Cuban missile crisis remains October’s scariest time: what we can learn 60 years later (Deseret News)
• He was shot while driving into police brutality protesters. Now he’s running for mayor of Provo. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Ex-Salt Lake GOP leader threatens to sue state officials (Salt Lake Tribune)

COVID Corner

• 3636 new cases over the weekend, 21 new deaths
• Four of Hogle Zoo's five lions have tested positive for COVID-19. The fifth refused to be tested. I have so many questions... 🦁(Salt Lake Tribune)
• The lessons we failed to learn from past pandemics (Deseret News)
• All COVID vaccines now available for boosters in some Utah counties (Fox13)
• Cruises will no longer be required to follow CDC rules starting in January (Washington Post)

Education

• ‘Why did my kid have to leave?’ Mother of Black student mad about having to switch schools after racial harassment (Deseret News)
• UVU enrollment numbers continue to increase despite nationwide low (Daily Herald)

Environment

• Why these 2 Utah GOP congressmen are embracing worldwide climate change issues (Deseret News)
• St. George not to blame for water shortages on Colorado River, Mitt Romney says (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Bomb cyclone passing through Utah, bringing a month’s worth of rain in a single day (KSL)

National Headlines

General

• Japan’s Princess Mako marries commoner, loses royal status (AP)
• A hiker got lost in Colorado, then ignored rescuers’ calls because they came from an unknown number (Washington Post)
• Facebook is mired in a PR crisis. It could face a legal one as well. (New York Times)

Politics

• Do social media apps harm kids? Senators will grill Tiktok, YouTube and Snap today (NPR)
• Billionaire tax criticized as Biden pushes for budget deal (AP)
• GOP election chief who rejects fraud claims up for fed job (AP)
• Liberals grit teeth as their priorities fall by wayside (Politico)
• Political foes revel in Baldwin’s role in movie-set shooting (Politico)
• Candidates tied to Jan. 6 create new headaches for Republicans (The Hill)

Economy

• No end in sight for labor shortages as U.S. companies fight high costs (Reuters)
• Missing foreign workers add to hiring challenges (New York Times)
• S&P, Dow futures hit record highs as investors eye tech earnings (Reuters)
• Microsoft earnings likely to show strong growth from cloud usage (Wall Street Journal)
• Tesla value tops $1 trillion after Hertz orders 100,000 cars (New York Times)

Policy News

NAACP President & CEO Derrick Johnson and Zions Bank President & CEO Scott Anderson announced as afternoon keynote speakers for the inaugural Utah’s Business Diversity Summit

Derrick Johnson, President & CEO of the NAACP, and Zions Bank President & CEO Scott Anderson will be the afternoon keynotes of Utah’s Business Diversity Summit, the Salt Lake Chamber announced today.

“The addition of Presidents Johnson and Anderson will provide an appropriate capstone to the inaugural Utah’s Business Diversity Summit,” said Derek Miller, President and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. “Their Leadership of these organizations offers a vital perspective as we work to improve key issues affecting our society and culture — racial justice, inequities in healthcare, and more. Our hope is that a full recovery from the pandemic will include progress on these issues. And toward that end we must use this time to make sure progress is meaningful and lasting.” 

Johnson and Anderson will discuss why diversity and inclusion programs are critical to success in organizations and communities. They will also highlight how corporations can advance positive social and political change, particularly concrete steps to promote diversity and benefit from successful efforts at inclusion. (Read More)

China Task Force calls on President Biden to crack down on sharing critical US tech with China

Last week, China Task Force Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) along with all other members of the China Task Force, Reps. Chris Stewart (R-UT), Liz Cheney (R-WY), Andy Barr (R-KY), Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Michael Waltz (R-FL), Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), Darin LaHood (R-IL), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Robert J. Wittman (R-VA), Scott Perry (R-PA), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Mark Green (R-TN), Mike Garcia (R-CA), Austin Scott (R-GA), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) and Young Kim (R-CA), sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo urging the agency to address several urgent shortcomings in U.S. export control policy in relation to China. 

“Reports that the PRC has tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile is a chilling display of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) capabilities and intentions. To make matters worse, it is likely that U.S. software and tools contributed to the creation of this weapons system, because of our country’s permissive export controls and licensing policies with China. If this is not the clarion call to overhaul export controls and our technology and research collaboration with the PRC and its Military-Civil Fusion strategy, liberal democracies may cede more ground to a genocidal, authoritarian regime.” (Read More)

Number of the Day

Could the child tax credit model end welfare as we know it?

By LaVarr Webb

It’s generally accepted by Americans across the political spectrum that we need to provide an effective safety net to help low-income citizens and families with their basic needs. The trick is to strike the right balance so that benefits are enough to keep a family from abject poverty, but not so much that recipients are incentivized to stay on public assistance.

The best system is simple to understand and easy to administer. What we have today does not meet that standard. We have a byzantine array of services that require immense bureaucracies to administer and produce terrible frustration among people trying to navigate the system and seek benefits.

Thus, I’ve long been a proponent of simplifying the safety net system by implementing a voucher-type program that would simple to understand and easy to administer.

Today, we have something similar to that, the federal child tax credit, and it’s being touted by many experts as the possible “end of welfare as we know it.” It was part of the $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus bill passed by Congress...  

The child tax credit has been described as the most “straightforward benefit program as exists in American life.” It is simple, easy and effective. Most parents don’t need to do anything to receive it. Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and other Republicans have praised it...

Given the success and popularity of the current tax credit program, policymakers should consider expanding it to cover all social service benefits. (Read More)

Upcoming

• Hatch Center Symposium with U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) â€”  Oct. 29, Noon, Salt Lake City. Space is limited. Register here.
• Utah Business Economic Summit – Nov 5, 8:00 am - 4 pm Register here
• Growth, Grit and Grace - SLC Chamber's Women & Business Conference and ATHENA awards – Nov 19, 8:00 am - 3:30 pm Register here

On This Day In History

From History.com

• 1825 - Erie Canal opens, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean
• 1861 - Pony Express (Missouri to California) ends after 19 months
• 1881 - Shootout at the OK Corral
• 1892 - "Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases" first published by African American journalist Ida B. Wells in Memphis, Tennessee
• 1902 - Elizabeth Cady Stanton dies of heart failure at 86
• 1947 - Hillary Rodham (Clinton) is born.
• 1949 - US President Harry Truman increases minimum wage from 40 cents to 75 cents
• 2001 - The Patriot Act becomes law
• 2017 - Jacinda Ardern is sworn in as Prime Minister of New Zealand, becoming the world’s youngest female head of government.

Wise Words

“Success is about leaving a legacy of generosity and kindness rather than a trail of destruction.”

-Jacinda Ardern

Lighter Side

“The documents, which are being called the Facebook Papers, reveal frustration among Facebook’s staff about the company’s direction. Yeah, not so great to have all your personal information stolen, is it, Facebook?” 

— JAMES CORDEN

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