Much has been said about “The Utah Way.” The Utah Way is people working together to accomplish good things. This is not to be confused with “The Utah Legislature Way.”
The Utah Legislature Way can be summed up in two words: paternalism and bribery.
Utah legislators think that they know better than the residents of Utah and, if they are not sure, they resort to bribery.
They passed the school voucher law even though the people of Utah voted down school vouchers in a referendum. They bribed us by linking a raise for the teachers with the voucher law. They rushed the bill through in order to avoid public comment.
Our legislators preach small government and freedom but they practice government control and intervention. They think that they know better than parents and their doctors on gender issues. They place the government between women and their doctors on abortion issues.
The legislators know that the people of Utah want the sales tax removed from food. They passed a law to do so with a contingency that we vote to change the Utah Constitution that would just happen to give the legislature more power.
With regards to saving the Great Salt Lake, scientific studies have shown that the lake would be 11 feet higher if we were not diverting so much water. Scientists recommended that the state lease water rights from farmers in order to get more water to the lake. The Legislature’s most significant change to the status quo is to split the lake in two by raising the berm at the railroad bridge. This will sacrifice the north arm of the lake to save the south arm. They obviously know more than the experts.
Our Republican legislators are a rogue lot consumed by power. The only solution is to vote them out.
Neil Spencer, Riverton