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ARCHIVE
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Identity Theft, State Retirement Systems
January 2, 2008
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Affordable Housing, Grandparents, Utah's Tax Structure
November 28, 2007
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Vouchers, School District Splits, Voting
October 25, 2007
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Concurrent Enrollment, ACT Scores, Stroke Prevention
September 26, 2007
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Water, Climate, Health, Refugees
August 29, 2007
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[MORE]
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Is the Utah Tax System Obsolete?
by Dave Patton, PhD, CPPA Director
A clever shopper might visit a local electronics store looking for a new plasma television, find the make and model that suits them best, then go home and search the Internet for the same product at a better price. In addition to the wider market competition available on the Internet, this consumer might find a 6.8% discount by avoiding the Utah sales tax levied at the local store. Today, virtually anything can be purchased over the Internet in direct competition with Main Street retailers who are required to collect sales tax at a decided disadvantage. In another case, a homeowner may want to do a little yard work but because of the antiquated sales tax laws you would be charged sales tax if you were to purchase a lawn mower or for the service to repair a lawn mower but you would not pay sales tax if you were to hire a lawn care service. There does not seem to be a clear rationale behind what services are or are not taxed in the state. Utah levies a sales tax on about one-third of potential services compared to some nearby states.
[FULL STORY]
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Strengthening our Economic Future
Collaborative Policy Initiative Builds Consensus Around Bold Policy Proposals
by Lane Summerhays, Chair, United Way Financial Stability Council
Just over one year ago, United Way of Salt Lake, in partnership with United Way of Northern Utah and United Way of Utah County, released a report entitled, “Living on the Edge: Utahns’ Perspectives on Bankruptcy and Financial Instability.” The report shed light on the complexity of financial problems that often lead to bankruptcy, as well as the extent to which Utah households, particularly middle-income households, are experiencing a growing sense of financial insecurity. The report found five key areas which contribute significantly to the financial instability of Utah families. The extent to which these challenges impact families, our economy, and our future is so significant, that a broad group of community leaders committed to spend six months exploring potential solutions that could have broad reach and deep impact. In April of 2007, 130 business, civic and community leaders convened by United Way began a process of developing bold strategies to address these challenges.
[FULL STORY]
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Issues to Watch
2008 Utah Legislature
by Jennifer Robinson, MPA and Tricia Jack, MPA, CPPA Research Associates
The Center for Public Policy and Administration’s “Issues to Watch” reports on key areas of legislation for the 2008 General Session of the Utah Legislature. The three issues we highlight this year are Health Care Insurance Reform, Education, and Taxes.
[FULL STORY]
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Tsunami Tuesday
by Jennifer Robinson, MPA, CPPA Research Associate
Tsunami Tuesday, Mega Tuesday, Super Tuesday, Super-Duper Tuesday – no matter what you call it, it’s a big deal! It’s the day on which twenty-two states will hold their primary/caucus to select the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. Unlike previous campaign years when the candidate was selected very early, this year the race is highly competitive and each state seems to matter. That bodes well for some states that have been largely ignored in the past, including states in the West.
[FULL STORY]
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Leadership on A Razor’s Edge
by Ken Embley, CPPA Outreach Director
It is common to hear those with traditional management values define leadership in technical terms. For example, technical step one is vision; step two is persuasion; and step three is action to realize the vision. To say it another way—a leader is a person with a clear vision and the ability to persuade people to realize the vision. There may be some truth to this traditional approach to leadership, but I also believe it is incomplete. Why?
[FULL STORY]
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Emergency Notification Systems
by Dave Patton, PhD, CPPA Director
David Patton, CPPA's director takes a look at new initiatives and ideas from around the nation and the world. This month's idea: emergency notification systems.
[FULL STORY]
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