Death and Taxes
The first and the last thing everyone wants to talk about is inflation. Because it's part of the partisan playbook, you hear it a lot. But getting to the heart of the economy—the hows and whys—is just too much to digest. Still, everyone acknowledges the pain. So when the Legislature got the news of a big surplus, you might think they'd talk about that pain. Instead, giddy at the thought of a political boost, the Utah Taxpayers Association is pushing tax cuts, according to Fox13 News. Easy-peasy, if you want the public to think you've done something. "Advocates of tax cuts argue that reducing taxes improves the economy by boosting spending," writes Investopedia. "Those who oppose them say that tax cuts only help the rich because it can lead to a reduction in government services upon which lower-earning individuals rely." What are the real options? Maybe removing the tax on food or even on gas.
Judge and Jury
Sometimes you think living in bright red Utah means you're stuck in the conspiracy network. Then along comes a judge, moved by our lieutenant governor's cogent arguments, who tells the conspiracists to back off. Though Republicans wiped the electoral floor in Utah's last election, people known as The Two Red Pills and the Lone Raccoon and—sadly—Utah County Commissioner Bill Lee persisted in a claim of election misconduct and phantom voters casting ballots, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. And let's not forget Blanding Republican Rep. Phil Lyman, who says—without evidence—that voting machines switched ballots in June. While Jewish space lasers apparently continue to erode trust in government and elections, at least the public can count on the courts ... for now.
Missing in Action
So many reasons to question the ethics of Attorney General Sean Reyes. We could talk about his propensity to suck up to GOP hopefuls. Most recently, that included hosting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to raise funds in Utah for his gubernatorial campaign. Oh, and DeSantis is the presumptive opponent in the 2024 presidential election to the Former Guy, whom Reyes venerates, for whatever reason. Now, KUER 90.1 FM, in reporting on Utah's abortion trigger law, mentions that Tyler Green, an attorney and former solicitor general for Utah, is defending the law. Nope, it's not Reyes. "Why is the Utah AG office farming out the critical work related to defense of the abortion trigger law to a former employee (now in a firm with two women out of 17 attorneys) and an associate in Virginia?" asked attorney and Salt Lake Tribune editorial board member Michelle Quist. Your guess is probably pretty good.
