This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Rep. Paul Ray's piece in The Salt Lake Tribune ("Those who fund social services know we can't afford Medicaid expansion," Dec. 2) requires a reality check.
Rep. Ray wants us all to know how hard he and Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes are working for us. I'm not denying working within the budget for our state or any state for that matter is easy. I'm sure a lot of time is spent trying to figure out what can be done for this or that project. My concern, and I hope others' as well, are the priorities set by our elected officials and how that represents the citizens of Utah.
Spending up to $2 million on legal fees in an effort to seize national land that belongs to all people just doesn't seem a priority. $53 million for a coal port in Oakland? I don't think so. Please tell me how any of our elected officials sleep at night knowing there are homeless people and families living on our streets. They should explain to the homeless why their budget of $53 million on a coal plant is more important than having a roof overhead.
Thirty-two states have taken advantage of the federal government expansion of Medicaid. Why hasn't Utah? By the year 2020 the federal government will still pay 90 percent of Medicaid. What is the problem? How can our children and our teachers not be a priority when it comes to our budget? We shouldn't be average or below. This is our state! I want our students and our teachers to be the best. We don't need more money in our budget. We need to prioritize where the money is being spent.
Please listen to the people who have elected you. By the way Rep. Ray, I know you invited the editorial board of the newspaper to attend the budget hearings in the front row. If the invitation can include one more person I'll be glad to sit in the second.
Scott Schannon
Cottonwood Heights