Is It Worth It?

 Well, Utah, your state Legislature has done it again. Lead by Republican State Senator Dan McCay (a political leftover from Gary Herbert), we have again won at oneupmanship. Yep, we have something no one else in the United States of America has had since 2021, a brand spanking new State Flag! It's so great it is already part of a lawsuit. Not only do we have a new official state flag, we still are keeping our old "historical" flag, plus 2 other variants. The historical flag must be flown higher than the new flag, if both are displayed. Additionally, the historical flag must be displayed at all state agencies on official holidays, and every day above the Utah State Capitol.    

Now, I want you to know, in case you missed it on the news, that this new flag came with great deliberation and all pressing urgency. A study by KUTV 2 News found the legislature spent 3 hours debating the new flag in the 2023 legislative session. It has been a long time getting to the new flag, however; this process started in 2020.

Not on the news that night, but happening just the same, 289,000 residents of Utah didn't know where their next meal was coming from. 

The study mentioned above found the cost of the legislation creating the new state flag was $483,305.85 paid to local PR consulting firms. 

Think about that pile of Utah taxpayer money for a minute or two. Let the number settle in your head. Four Hundred eighty-three thousand, three hundred five dollars and eighty-five cents. Senator McCay, when asked about the attention payed to this issue when Utah has so many pressing issues, replied thusly: "It's always difficult when you look at a branding exercise, or anything else, and you're trying to figure out, is it worth it. In the long term, you have to know that it is. In the short term, there is going to be some pain to change." 

Think about 289,000 Utahans without food.  According to the Utah Food Bank, $483,305.85 would have purchased 2,174,876 meals for hungry Utah residents. 

I ask you, Senator McCay, is it worth it? 

Thank you for reading, please let me know your thoughts by commenting below. 

R.M. "Bob" Hartman 

HB 215- The Utah Legislature's Hand Empties Your Wallet Program.

 It's all over but the crying, and the lawsuits. Governor Spencer "the Spineless" Cox has signed HB215 into law. Now we go to the courts, and Utah will spend an uncountable amount of money trying to defend a bill that never should have been written. 

It's a monetary tragedy write large on the backs of Utah taxpayers. A "law" that sends twice as much money to a private religious school as to a public school, with little to no regard as to the qualifications of the private school. In this piece of legislation, and yes I have read it, if there are less than 150 paid employees in the private school, there is no requirement for teaching credentials or for passing a background check. 

My grandchildren's public school receives $4,038.00 for each and every child enrolled. Move the children to a local charter or private school, or "Qualified Provider" and that entity will receive $8,000.00 per student enrolled. Why? Because the legislature can do it and they can't be held accountable.  

So, does $8,000.00 pay for a years education at Judge Memorial Catholic High School in Salt Lake City? Nope. Here, from the school's web page, is the tuition and fee structure. 

Tuition, $13,950.00; Registration Fee $600.00; Enrollment Fee $100.00 the first year, $75.00 each year thereafter; Graduation Fee $150.00. Do the math, for a first-year student, the total is $14,650.00, the senior year, $14,775.00. All athletic fees, AP classes, busing, etc., are add-ons. Uniforms are not included. In total fairness to Judge Memorial, on the website it explains that scholarships and financial aid are available. So, will  the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program move a large number of new students to Judge Memorial? Probably not, there is still a big gap between the tuition/fees and the money provided by the program, a gap of $6,650.00. I don't think, for most families, the $8,000 from the UFASP will make the difference. What it does mean is the families of students already attending Judge Memorial, and every other private/charter/qualified provider educational provider have just been given an $8,000.00 gift from the Utah state taxpayers-that is, from you and I. 

What do the students have to do to receive this gift? Simply apply. The "qualifications" for this scholarship are basically non-existent. If you are a student in the great state of Utah, you qualify. The majority of  other states that offer vouchers tie the voucher to income limits; and/or limit the amount of the voucher to the amount of the Weighted Pupil Unit (WPU) for that year. Utah, in its constant effort to be special, is the only state I could find that does not take either  of those factors into account. Many of  voucher programs in other states are tax credit programs, as opposed Utah's payment program.

Utah now joins 16 states and the District of Columbia in providing school choice vouchers; although some, like Utah, call them  scholarships, The name doesn't matter, it's all the same shell game. Take taxpayer education money and give it to private schools. 

The Utah Fits All Scholarship Program? It should be called The Utah Legislature's Hand Empties Your Wallet Program. 

I'm pretty sure some lawsuits will be filed, if I find out about them, I will post an article. 

Thanks for reading, your comments are always welcome. Just click on the word "comment" in the white box below. 

R. M. "Bob" Hartman

Source: Education Commission of the States.

Musings from Camp, Part 2

Ok, enough on Covid. Let's talk politics. Yeah, I know, it's one of the three no-no's of polite conversation. But it is one of the areas now in the news on an elevated scale. I'm referring to the 2020 Presidential election. Yeah, that one, where Joe Biden was elected President in the most closed monitored election of our lifetimes. Judges, appointed by presidents of both parties, have dismissed more than sixty lawsuits claiming irregularities or fraud, for lack of evidence. No person or entity has provided proof of election fraud on any scale; and no amount of denial will change the facts. Federal, state and local governments are wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on recounts, recounts of recounts, and useless frivolous lawsuits. Taxpayer money-that's your tax dollars at work. So, once again, here are the facts. Not the MSM facts, or the RWM facts, just everybody's facts. Joe Biden was elected President of the United States of America on November 3, 2020. He did not steal the election, he won it. No amount of whining, crying, lying, or misstatement of facts will change the result of the election. Those who claim otherwise are doing significant damage to the integrity of our most sacred principle, the absolute power of free, honest, open elections. For those in elected positions, denying the integrity of the 2020 election is a very sharp double edged sword; if they deny the result of the Presidential election, what is to prevent their own election from being denied? A very slippery slope indeed.

So, again the facts: Joe Biden is president of The United States of America. What are you afraid of?

Thank you for reading, as always, your thoughts, comments, and opinions are welcome! 

R.M. "Bob" Hartman