This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
In Beijing there are huge viewing screens that show sunny blue skies with the sun shining above the murk of an air polluted metropolis.
Sound familiar? If Salt Lake City had cameras on the top of a mountain and viewing screens on the street we also could see bright blue skies above the murk.
One thing is certain, Wall Street hates rules. A large part of the "Great Recession" was caused by lending institutions approving loans on anything to anyone with no thought of actual collateral value or ability to repay the loans.
The main cause was the removing all laws and controls of banks by congress whom the banking industry had purchase over years of political contributions.
The national GOP is following the Utah GOP in becoming the next Beijing.
You gut the EPA and businesses build polluting sites as fast as possible because they have a four-year window to do it.
Utah has one of the largest (if not the largest) polluters in the U.S. right out there in the West Desert.
The polluter chooses to pay millions in annual fines because it's cheaper than fixing the problem.
Hence, Beijing in Utah.
Remove the fines all together and that polluter will grow his business.
The entire U.S. needs to start installing cameras and viewing screens.
Tom Ridge
Layton