The gubernatorial campaign in Utah is an interesting contest. Not because the candidates are polling neck and neck (because the are not), but because of the rhetoric--and even more--the ideologies behind the rhetoric.
Forbes Magazine just ranked Utah number one on their list: Best States for Business and Careers. Over the last five years, Utah's economy has grown at a steady 3.5% year-over-year. Utah's corporate tax rate has dropped from 7% to 5%. The state's unemployment level has remained solidly below the national average and household incomes have increased by 5%, twice the rate of the state in second place. Additionally, the quality of life measurement inside the state is well above the national average.
By all measures, Utah is doing all the right things to ensure a strong economic environment for businesses and, by extension, for all of Utah's citizens.
Now, back to the Utah governor's race. Governor Gary Herbert, who was installed as governor after President Obama appointed then-governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. ambassador to China, is running for governor on the Republican ticket.
He has been instrumental in attracting new employers into the state. He has actively held meetings with existing Utah business owners. Governor Herbert has not hidden his support for or his support from the business community.
Salt Lake County mayor and Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Peter Corroon, has taken every opportunity he could find to accuse Governor Herbert of dishonesty and unethical fundraising. Instead of offering new ideas, Corroon has found corruption where none exists and has blatantly lied about several issues he has made his talking points.
For example, the Federal Bureau of Land Management had granted a contract to one of Governor Herbert's donors. Showing his ignorance of process and his desperation--without any grounds for suspicion, let alone a public accusation--Mayor Corroon wondered aloud whether or not the governor's office had awarded the bid because of a campaign donation. Unfortunately for Corroon's argument, the bureaucracy in the Federal BLM is not headed or influenced by individual governors or their staffers.
Corroon has also spent roughly six months talking about large campaign donations to the governor that have coincided with meetings the governor has taken with executives from several corporations. Apparently, he wants increased corporate taxes and punishment for politicians and companies that are negotiating special arrangements to expand the number of jobs within the state.
Peter Corroon may wonder why these business leaders are not donating to him. Evidently, he does not need corporate donations. The unions in the right-to-work state of Utah have been very generous.
This should be a big indicator of who would be the better governor between the two: the guy whose supporters create jobs for the state, or the one whose supporters limit jobs through inflated benefits and incomes which come as a result of the bullying tactics of their contract negotiators.
Think about this: for every ten union members costing their companies ten percent more than fair market value for their work, there is just over one capable worker whom the employer can no longer afford to hire. At this rate, if unions were universal, there would be an automatically built-in unemployment rate of 10%. Imagine how dire the US employment numbers would look if all other variables were added to this base of 10%.
Union benefits are great for the members--while they last. But as can be seen from utility companies to state agencies, from auto workers to police officers, the pensions, retirement funds and health benefits are unsustainable. They literally bankrupt companies, municipalities and agencies. The results hurt more than just the retirees and corporate executives, they effect all employees and their families. The tax base shrinks, social program expenditures skyrocket and the country's economic well-being takes a hit that could last a generation or more.
With that possibility at the back of your mind, what seems like a larger ethical misstep: incentivizing employers to come setup shop in the state with tax breaks or crippling the state's economy through attacks on corporations and politicians endeavoring to simplify the expansion of the state's workforce?
Another example is education. Mayor Corroon intentionally misled voters on the number of high school credits Utah requires of their students to graduate. Both Corroon and his running mate claimed that Utah's education requirements are so insufficient that Utah's high school grads have to take remedial high school courses at the colleges and universities they attend. Such a system does not actually exist in America's standard institutions of higher learning.
The Corroon campaign's claim was that Utah only requires 18 "core" credits to graduate, compared to a national average of 20.8 hours, or a regional average of 22.7 hours. The problem with his numbers is that Utah requires 18 core credits and six elective hours, totaling 24 required credit hours to graduate. Each of the other cited states' numbers included electives.
When asked about the inconsistency between the campaign's claim and actual facts, would-be Lieutenant Governor Allen retorted that the numbers did not matter...Mayor Corroon's vision for education is bigger than simple numbers--the very numbers they created to frame their attacks on the state's education system.
It ought to be mentioned, also, that Peter Corroon claimed in a live debate that Governor Herbert is the most corrupt governor since Rod Blagojevich. An exceptionally baseless personal attack.
In sum, we see that Corroon's ideology brings a class-based, "get-even" approach to the economy, demonstrably false claims of supporting the working class, and blatant deception for political gain.
Governor Herbert's ideology, in contrast, strengthens the working-class by enabling its members to be self-sufficient. And with a self-sufficient citizenry, most all other community shortcomings are overcome.
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