Policy Buzz

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File Taxes On-Line for Quick Money

By Charlie Roberts, Utah Tax Commission

Taxpayers who file state income tax returns online will receive their refunds much quicker than those who send in paper returns.

If you file electronically, you can plan on receiving your refund in a matter of weeks. Those who file by paper may wait several months to receive their refund. Electronic returns are processed faster because of the need for less manual intervention. ...

tags: income tax, tax commission, taxes
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Panic in Eastern Europe

By Bryan Schott

Not since the “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast has a media outlet caused such a kerfuffle, and this one is a doozy!

tags: eastern europe, media, panic
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Clark Deals Forthrightly With Criticism

By LaVarr Webb

In his statement accepting the resignation of former House Majority Leader Kevin Garn, House Speaker David Clark properly addressed criticism regarding the standing ovation given to Garn after his confession speech at the end of the legislative session last Thursday night.

Clark also acknowledged that, in hindsight, the floor of the House might not have been the best venue for the dramatics surrounding Garn.

Here is Clark’s full statement ...

tags: david clark, kevin garn, legislative ethics
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This Should Help Salt Lake’s Bid to Host the GOP

By Bryan Schott

The Daily Beast says Salt Lake City is the 57th “craziest” city in the country, behind Tampa (#44) and Phoenix (#51).

tags: 2012, gop convention, salt lake city, the daily beast
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That’s Some Revenue Generation!

By Bryan Schott

The old saw about police officers having a quota on number of tickets they have to write may or may not be true, but Virginia State Police Officers took it to an absurd level last weekend.

tags: revenue, utah highway patrol, virginia
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Today at Utah Policy

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Chamber: 'A Successful Session'

The Salt Lake Chamber has posted a recap of the 2010 Utah General Legislative Session, which the Chamber says "will be remembered for the responsible actions of legislators to balance the budget without impairing Utah's nascent economic recovery."

tags: 2010 utah general legislative session, balanced budget, economic recovery, salt lake chamber
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Ask The Candidates, Part II: What Course Of Action Would You Suggest For Afghanistan?

By Jared Whitley, Utah Policy Washington Correspondent

In November, I attended an event where Ed Gillespie, former counselor to the President, spoke on a variety of subjects related to the Republican Party’s current political outlook, specifically regarding the 43rd President’s legacy. One of the items he mentioned is that Republicans needed to support President Obama’s commitment to Afghanistan. At the time, I took Mr. Gillespie’s statement for granted, but then a week Alisa Essig, Rep. Jason Chaffetz’s press secretary, emailed me this article from The Daily Beast spelling out his conservative argument that “it is time to bring our troops home.” 

So I wanted to find out if the current Senate candidates agreed with Mr. Gillespie or Rep. Chaffetz, so I asked the question: “What course of action would you suggest for Afghanistan?” 

tags: bob bennett, cherylin eagar, christopher stout, merrill cook, mike lee, sam granato, tim bridgewater
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Featured Articles

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Federalism Watch: State Leaders Compare Utah Government to the Federal Government

Source: The Foundry Blog

Utah House Speaker David Clark and Senate President Michael Waddoups have published an essay on federalism in the Heritage Foundation blog, The Foundry.

They assert that Utah can run education, transportation and Medicaid programs more effectively and efficiently without federal interference ...

"Most state and local governments, while certainly facing plenty of challenges of their own, are models of good governance compared to the federal government. In general, state governments are better managed, have better fiscal controls, are more innovative, and reflect the will of the people far more than the federal government." ...

tags: david clark, federalism, health care, heritage foundation, medicaid, michael waddoups, transportation
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2010 Could be Demographic Tipping Point

By Bryan Schott

This year could be the year that babies born to non-white Americans outnumber the number of babies born to whites.

tags: census, demographics, minorities
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Poll Watch: Young Voters Could Doom Dems in November

By Bryan Schott

A new poll shows that support for President Obama among 18-30 year olds is still above 50%, but that’s quite a drop from the 2008 election.

tags: 2010 election, barack obama, democrats, poll watch, young voters
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Election Central: Republican Irrational Exuberance

By Bryan Schott

2010 is shaping up to be a very good year for Republicans. The party is poised to make major gains in Congress in the midterm elections. But is there a danger for the GOP if they do too well?

tags: 2010, 2012, 2020, 2106, demographics, election central, minorities
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Party Contributions Inch Upward in 2009

By Bryan Schott

Even though it’s an off year, donations to party committees jumped a bit from 2008 to 2009.

tags: contributions, democrats, fec, fundraising, republicans
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Communication Tip: Charts and Graphs

Source: Mind Tools

"A picture is worth a thousand words." This is certainly true when you're presenting and explaining data.

tags: communication tip
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Utah in the
National News

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McEwan: 'Utah Bill Reduces Women to Incubators'

Guardian columnist Melissa McEwan condemns Rep. Carl Wimmer's illegal abortion bill, which was signed into law last week by Gov. Herbert and which McEwan says is part of a strategy "to make legal abortion as inaccessible as possible and criminalise everything else."

tags: abortion, car d. wimmer, gary herbert, hb 462, melissa mcewan, miscarriage, utah in the news
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'States Battle Feds on Health Care'

USA Today: Utah is one of several states "trying to block key parts of President Obama's health care plan, which could spark a legal fight."

tags: congress, gary herbert, health care plan, legal fight, president obama, states rights, utah in the news
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