August 11, 2026

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The EPA Rule on Ozone Levels and the Intermountain West

The EPA Rule on Ozone Levels Recently, the US Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) published an administrative rule that requires states to lower atmospheric ozone levels to 60-70 parts per billion. For states in the Intermountain West, where the level of naturally occurring ozone (or “background concentrations”) routinely reaches 60 – 75 ppb, it’s going to be tough to […]

Matheson, the man afraid of his constituents?

Alone among the Utah congressional delegation, Congressman Jim Matheson stopped holding town halls in 2007, over five years  ago. What is he afraid of? As children head back to school and leaves begin to change, Members of Congress are coming to the end of the August recess and preparing to return to Washington, D.C. They’ve […]

Prologue to the Convention: First Impressions

We left Salt Lake in the early hours of morning Sunday and after, changing planes in sunny Los Angeles, we descended through a cloudy layer and into Tampa Bay, Florida. The Republican National Convention won’t get rolling until Tuesday, though there were events tonight and more tomorrow. Just a few quick observations from this battleground state: [cont…]

What do running guns and running up a tab have in common?

We’ve all got our panties up in a bunch over the waste of tax dollars by the General Services Administration in a lavish Las Vegas conference, and it has started to result in resignations. That’s only over wasted tax payer money, though. In the Department of Justice’s failed “Fast and Furious” operation, guns went over the border to Mexican drug lords and killed a US agent. Why aren’t we seeing resignations there? [cont…]

Retirement Plans? Private Investment is still Smarter than Social Security

So, which system do you want to be covered by when you retire? One that has paid out an annual return of 6.85 percent or one that’s completely bankrupt and funded from current tax dollars? Apparently, America is split on that question:
50% of the workforce has no private pension coverage.
31% of the workforce has no savings set aside specifically for retirement.

I have only one question if you are part of that 50% or 31%: are you crazy? [cont…]

Could Congressman Chaffetz save Social Security? [Charts]

Would you believe that Social Security is now running in a deficit? Shocker, right? According to the 2011 Annual Report  (the “Report”) to Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees, “Social Security expenditures exceeded the program’s non-interest income in 2010 for the first time since 1983.” Or, in other words, Social Security sent out to retirees […]

Fiscal IQ: Got it?

I found an interesting little quiz online today, put out by the Comeback America Foundation. It tests “Fiscal IQ” and fiscal knowledge. Click here to take the test.  It only takes about five minutes, and I think you should take it. After completing the five minute and 30-question quiz, participants are provided two scores (Fiscal Knowledge and Fiscal […]