Governor’s Utah Economic Summit speaks well for Utah’s future

Governor Herbert proclaimed an optimistic view of Utah’s economic outlook at the 2010 Governor’s Utah Economic Summit yesterday. He stated that the economic challenges we are facing are not the fault of the government, but from the private sector. He encouraged everyone to focus on fixing the economy stating, “If we get the economy right everything else falls into place.” He then promised that he would work to keep the government from hindering the private sector.

Gov. Herbert made mention of the many positive economic developments going on here in Utah including a $1.5 billion I-15 road construction project from Lehi to Spanish Fork, another $1.5 billion federal data center to be built in Lehi, and 2,000 new jobs coming to Utah through Goldman Sach’s and Edwards Lifesciences. He also raved about Utah’s unemployment rate in comparison to the national average. Utah’s 7.1% unemployment is significantly below the nation’s 9.7%.

The governor predicted that Utah will continue to gain new businesses and jobs because of its low corporate tax rates. He included examples of the many companies that have come in to Utah recently, companies like Disney Interactive, Hershey’s Proctor & Gamble, and Microsoft and the recent growth of eBay.

Herbert said Utah will continue to reap new businesses and jobs with its low corporate tax rates. Other companies that have made a Utah presence include: Disney Interactive, Hershey’s Proctor & Gamble and Microsoft.

Governor Herbert’s outlook was much more positive than the outlook given by Kelly Matthews, a retired Wells Fargo economist or Randal K Quarles, former undersecretary of the US Treasury, but both Matthews and Quarles spoke more about the US economy as a whole rather than Utah’s specific circumstances. H. Eric Smith, a first vice president at the real estate brokerage of CB Richard Ellis in Salt Lake City commented that, “Nationally, I think the economic outlook is challenging a lot of people’s optimism, but here in Utah things do look better.” And I have to agree.

I know I tend to be more of an optimist, especially regarding our state’s economic outlook. But statistics show that Utah is doing better. We’ve lost less in home values, seen fewer foreclosures, and we have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation. And I like to encourage the positive outlook. The governor is encouraging people to stay positive and feel more secure. When people do, they tend to spend more which improves the economy as a whole. Increased spending promotes job growth and increased values for products across the board. As values increase, people make more money on investments, whether they be in stocks or real estate. When people make more money, they tend to spend more which brings the necessity for more jobs.

One of the great things I love about Utah is the tendency for its residents to be optimistic and my feeling is that is one the major factors in Utah’s more stable economy as compared to the rest of the nation.

To read more on the summit: Salt Lake Tribune Article or KCPW News Article

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 30th, 2010 at 3:17 pm and is filed under Economy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.