Conservative Quarterly Endorses Steve Clark

Having lived in Provo for many years, raising a family and operating a small business here, I wanted to join and involve others in the political conversation that shapes our community. Thus was born the Conservative Quarterly, a publication dedicated to conservative ideals and focused on local issues.

This edition examines the issues raised by the candidates in my home district, number 63: Growth and Transportation, Affordable Health Care, Education, and Ethics Reform. This edition also considers the recent economic crisis and looks for lessons from our past.

After reviewing the candidates and the issues, Representative Steve Clark is clearly the best candidate for Utah House District 63.

Remembering Ronald Reagan

"As we have seen many times in history, our country now stands at a crossroads."

This election comes as we enter the worst economic state our country has seen since the Carter Administration (with its double digit inflation, escalating mortgage payments, shrinking paychecks, and worries over foreign oil). What we needed then and need now more than ever are the conservative ideals that President Reagan reinstilled in our country: "Faith in the ideals of democracy, of free men and free markets, and of the extraordinary possibilities that lie within seemingly ordinary men and women." The promise that "America's best days are yet to come," and that "America remains what Emerson called her 150 years ago, 'the country of tomorrow.'"

Now as presidential candidates fight over "Joe the Plumber," we need a leader of principle like Reagan who, quoting Lincoln, stated, "'You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.'…

"As we have seen many times in history, our country now stands at a crossroads. There is widespread doubt about our public institutions and profound concern, not merely about the economy but about the overall direction of this great country." Reagan spoke those words more than 16 years ago.

The issues we face today are not unlike those we've seen before; confronting the same challenges we meet at present, Reagan said, "Let us apply our ingenuity and remarkable spirit to revolutionize education in America so that everyone among us will have the mental tools to build a better life. And while we do so, let's remember that the most profound education begins in the home.

"And let us harness the competitive energy that built America,…so that real jobs can be created … and real
hope can rise out of despair.

"Let us strengthen our health care system so that Americans of all ages can be secure in their futures without the fear of financial ruin."

Reagan first won the White House in uncertain, dangerous times when liberals cautioned against standing up to the world's aggressors, and proposed bigger, more intrusive government as the solution for their failed policies. Under Reagan's leadership, however, America won the cold war and our economy flourished with limited government.

Now, facing like challenges, let us learn from the past: let us reject the failed policies of the left and vote our conservative ideals. Then "May [we] as Americans never forget [our] heroic origins, never fail to seek divine guidance, and never lose [our] natural, God-given optimism.

"And … may every dawn be a great new beginning for America and every evening bring us closer to that shining city upon a hill."

All quotes taken from Reagan's 1992 Republican National Convention speech, Houston, Texas.

The Economy

In the midst of the current economic crisis, Utah banks have remained strong. Utah, with a Triple A bond rating, was named the best managed state in the Nation, under Republican leadership.

The failure of Lehman Brothers and the resultant freezing of the credit markets sent shockwaves throughout Wall Street in September, intensifying the troubles of other giants like AIG, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs. These were the pillars thought to be fail-safe. How could they suddenly become so shaky? The short answer is too much debt—for individuals, corporations, banks, and now … the U.S. taxpayer.

A longer answer begins with U.S. government. Wanting to create an "Owership Society," the government encouraged banks to make reckless, high-risk mortgage loans to borrowers whose ability to repay was at best questionable. Able to sell these loans to government backed Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, banks gladly made these loans to borrowers without proof of income, or even a job. Down payments were likewise unnecessary.

Banks even loaned more than the value of the homes, reasoning that home values were rising. Of course they were. When money is cheap, the market compensates by charging more. In order to keep the rising
prices "affordable" some banks even offered a 50 year mortgage.

Packaging these loans into mortgage-backed securities, they were sold, and companies, like Lehman Brothers, gobbled them up. Betting heavily on these securities, they borrowed huge sums of money to buy even more. Unfortunately, they bet wrong. Home prices rose out of reach for most families. Adjusting interest rates and higher payments resulted in foreclosures and home prices plummeted. Companies, over-leveraged and invested in these mortgages, suddenly found themselves in trouble.

Hindsight, it's said, is 20/20, but was it really that hard to see what was coming? Yet, when warned four years ago by the Fed, Congress did nothing. Rather they encouraged Freddie and Fannie to do more to "make housing more widely available." And now in a panic, they've passed a $700 billion bailout package, "buying" those losses from the banks and corporations and passing them to taxpayers.

In other words, the gains made on Wall Street stayed private, but the losses became socialized. Financial institutions were incentivized to continue their risky behavior, while nothing was done to correct it. Instead of addressing the real problem of being over-leveraged and too far in debt as a nation, we further leveraged the taxpayer to the tune of $700 billion, and the markets as of yet are no more stable than before. In fact, one could easily argue that the bailout has created more uncertainty in the market as investors now wonder if banks are indeed stable, or if their current liquidity is nothing more than a short-term effect of the bailout.

Even worse, this bailout puts a major portion of our economy into the hands of the government. Looking back on the Great Depression of the early 1930s, economists today both liberal (Galbraith) and conservative (Friedman) consider the government's involvement in the economy misguided and counterproductive; taking what began as a relatively minor recession in to the worst economic crisis in our history. In regards to the present crisis, Fed Chairman Bernanke said, less than 18 months ago, that the total fallout from subprime mortgages would be contained to $50 billion—a fraction of estimates today. Likewise, as investment banks began to leverage themselves 20 and 30 times beyond their holdings, U.S. Treasury Secretary Paulson argued on Capitol Hill that they should be allowed to leverage themselves even further.

Our "experts" who think they understand and know seem to know less than they think they do. They may indeed have more knowledge and insight than the average taxpayer, but they cannot possibly know what the market collectively understands, and I fear this bailout will prove counterproductive as well.

Rather than letting interest rates rise, which would encourage less debt and more savings and liquidity, the Fed has continued to lower rates. Congress has also refused to cut capital-gains taxes which would further encourage savings and investment. The "infusion" of $700 billion into the economy will certainly create inflationary pressure, encouraging more spending and discouraging savings.

Meanwhile, Utah's largest banks, Wells Fargo and Zions Bank, have remained strong as they did not involve themselves in subprime loans. As well, Utah is one of only five states with a triple A (AAA) bond rating: our revenues are healthy even in declining economic times and the state's savings accounts are filled to the brim. In fact, Utah was named the Best Managed State in the Nation, under our Republican leadership.

From banks to governments to individuals, those who, in the words of Gordon B. Hinckley, chose "to live within our means,… to be free of debt, [and] to have a little money against a day of emergency," will make it through this "stormy weather."

Republican Steve Clark has done just that as he owned, operated and made payroll as a contractor for over 29 years. He has continued to do so as the Chairman of the Business/Labor Committee in our legislature.

Vote for Republican Steve Clark on Tuesday to continue to keep Utah's "house in order."

Growth and Transportation

Real leadership requires real solutions, like those put forward by Republican Steve Clark

Don Jarvis (Democrat) believes the solution to the growth and transportation problems in Utah County is to "fully support public transport, including a commuter rail system to alleviate congestion and pollution."

That and "more bicycle lanes."

Ground has already been broken and commuter rail will be up and running soon, thanks to a GOP legislature, but far more is needed. Public transit makes no statistical difference in commuter traffic in communities with fewer than 4,000 people per square mile.¹ Provo, the largest city in Utah County, is well below that density, housing only approximately 2,830 people per square mile,² while Utah County houses less than 200 people per square mile.³

Even in cities with much higher densities, the majority of people do not use public transit, and ridership across the country is declining.⁴ Even in Salt Lake, after initial enthusiasm for TRAX, ridership declined in 2007.⁵ Commuter rail (even with Jarvis' bike lanes) cannot solve our growth and transportation problems on its own.

Real leadership requires real solutions, like those put forward by Republican Steve Clark: "A major artery similar to the Legacy Highway in Davis County or the Centennial Highway in Salt Lake County needs to be constructed on the West Side of Utah Lake and will intersect with I-15 at Payson." As well, we need East/West traffic solutions.

If we are serious about alleviating traffic and congestion, then improving our roads and highways is a must. Having faster, more reliable access to Salt Lake City, the airport, and I-80 will have the added effect of attracting more industry to our valley as well. Cast your vote for growth. Vote for Steve Clark.

1. Thomas Sowell, Economic Facts and Fallacies, page 20.

2. U.S. Census Bureau, www.factfinder. census.gov.

3. Ibid.

4. Thomas Sowell, Economic Facts and Fallacies, page 19.

5. "New method of counting shows 'decline' in TRAX ridership," Deseret News, Jan. 27, 2008. See also "TRAX Ridership Appears to be on the Decline," ksl.com, July 22, 2007.

Affordable Health Care

Say no to socialized medicine and cast your vote for excellence in health care. Vote for Steve Clark.

Everyone wants a more affordable health care system, but are we ready for a "government single-payer system" (aka socialized medicine)? We all agree that the skyrocketing cost of health care is a problem, but socialism is not the answer. Consumerism is.

Anytime a third party (the biggest of which is the government) assumes payment for any good, concern for price deteriorates. Do you care how much the repair cost for your car is if your insurance is paying for it? This holds true for health care as well.

Patients become more cost conscious through participation in consumer driven health plans, and the cost of care comes down. Take, for example, plastic surgery and LASIK eye surgery: while health care costs have been increasing by more than double the rate of inflation for years, these procedures have actually come down in price, at the same time becoming better. They used to use knives on our eyes but now use computer guided lasers; recovery time is hours instead of weeks; and the results are superior. And it costs less! How can this be? Because most third party payers won't pay for these procedures. Rather, they are consumer
driven: consumers demand the best product at the best price, and vendors (even doctors) accommodate them.

Government involvement (i.e. Medicare/ Medicaid), on the other hand, almost always spurs higher spending in health care, then further inflates the cost of care for private payers who must subsidize the government's "allowable" fees. (For example, if the cost of care is $100, but the government's allowable fee is only $80, the market compensates by charging private payers $120.)

Massachusetts' experiment with health care isn't doing much better: almost three times over budget already,¹ how long will it be before Massachusetts-care goes bankrupt?

The free market has proven it is a better solution than the government: While Congress was making deals with drug companies disallowing negotiations for lower prices on drugs for seniors on Medicare, Wal-Mart (driven by profits) began selling $4 generics!² And remember the recent embarrassment of the rat and mold infested Walter Reed Army Medical Center; or Diane Sawyers' 2004 Primetime report on the sickening conditions in VA hospitals where patients wait eight hours to see a doctor.³

In contrast, Utah's locally (and privately) owned Intermountain Healthcare, a nationally recognized health care leader, operates hospitals ranking among the nation's best, with costs for care ranking among the lowest.^4,5 A Dartmouth Medical School study suggested that following Intermountain Healthcare's model would save Medicare a third of its costs while maintaining treatment quality.⁶

Republican Steve Clark has had a seat on Intermountain Healthcare's board and knows their model of excellence. On November 4^th, say no to socialized medicine and cast your vote for excellence in health care. Vote for Steve Clark.

1. Alice Dembner, "Subsidized care plan's cost to double," The Boston Globe, Feb. 3 2008.

2. Ralph Nadar, "If Sam's Club Can Negotiate for Lower Pharmaceutical Prices, Why Can't Uncle Sam?" CommonDreams.org, Nov. 28, 2003.

3. ABC, "Primetime," April 8, 2004.

4. Ty Bindrup, "How Intermountain Healthcare is Taking Mobility to the Next Level," eweek.com, May 28, 2008.

5. "Health Care," Life in the Valley Magazine (lifeinthevalley.com/ health_care.html).

6. Ibid.

Education

If we are to remake our public school system we must commit to the ideal that "education begins in the home."

Utah's high school graduation rate is among the best in the U.S.,¹ and our students' scores on college entrance exams are above the mean nationally. ² Our students' SAT scores, in particular, are among the nation's best and still rising.³ Additionally, the number of Utah students enrolling in AP courses is growing and our pass rate on AP exams ranks 3rd in the nation.⁴ Utah's teachers have done well, and there is still more for them to accomplish.

Our teachers deserve our congratulations for their work as well as the $1,700 raise our GOP legislature awarded them this year. And let's not forget our teachers' "hidden paycheck" (i.e. their benefits package). Being in the business of benefits enrollment, I have had first hand interaction with teachers locally and their benefits, and the fact is that when you add the value of their employer paid benefits (e.g. health insurance, dental, 401(k), vacation days, etc.) to their salaries, many have a total compensation package greater than $50,000 per year.

Our Republican legislature has also been behind the development of Utah Valley University including its new $50 Million library. It's true they did not give UVU as great an amount of per student funding as our other state colleges and universities, and that is because UVU elected not to put a cap on enrollment. In other words, the legislature doesn't have the power to give UVU a blank check even if it wanted to. However, our legislature, and Republican Steve Clark in particular, are enthusiastic supporters of UVU.

And when Governor Huntsman called our legislature to meet recently to rebalance the budget, our Republican legislature held education harmless. That is, while looking for places to cut the budget, they didn't take a dime from education.

While education is among our highest priorities, there will always be more that we can do. But are we willing, as Democrat Don Jarvis is, to take away from other projects including our roads, water, and healthcare? If more money were always the answer, we should expect our best students to come from Title 1 schools. Sadly, that's not the case. If we are committed to education, we cannot abdicate our responsibility to teachers and administrators. If we are to remake our public school system we must commit to the ideal that "education begins in the home."

And before compromising the quality of our water, health care and roads, perhaps we should reevaluate the need for UVU's posh new student lounges with flat panel TVs (that are nicer than my own), or additional multi-million dollar libraries (especially as we enter an age of electronic documents). Maybe, since UVU is primarily an undergraduate teaching facility (not a research institution like the University of Utah), we could fill more part-time and adjunct teaching positions (with the benefit of a more practical perspective) and reduce the number of life-tenured faculty.

Let's vote for education in a balanced and measured manner. On Tuesday, vote for Steve Clark.

1. Erin Stewart, "Utah's graduation rates among best in U.S." Deseret Morning News, June 21, 2006.

2. Janice Houston, "A Summary of Utah's College-Bound Students' Test Scores, Part 1: ACT Score Analysis," Center for Public Policy and Administration, University of Utah

3. Tiffany Erickson, "Utah students again top U.S. on SAT," Deseret Morning News, Aug 31, 2005.

4. Erin Stewart, "Utah's seniors place 3rd in U.S. for AP Exam scores," Deseret Morning News, Feb. 7, 2007.

Ethics Reform

Republican Steve Clark "will not tolerate corrupt practices by legislators from either party."

Democrat Don Jarvis accuses Utah of having "The best legislature money can buy." He complains that "Over 98% of campaign finance for our incumbents comes from special interest groups. Isn't it time to reduce the influence of lobbyists, conflicts of interest, and in-kind gifts? … Isn't it time for a change?"

The truth is every person or group who has any interest in policy is a "special interest," and has the right to contribute to its candidate of choice. That's fundamental to democracy. Politicians only complain about "special interest groups" when they don't agree with their point of view. (When was the last time you heard a Democrat complain about unions?) Certainly campaign finance needs to be transparent so that voters know when candidates are beholden to various interests groups. But is swapping "Republican" interests with the interests of the Sierra Club, Michael Moore and the NEA really the change we want?

Now Utah County Democrats have adopted stealth as their tactic. Representative Steve Clark joked that the scariest costume he saw this Halloween was a donkey dressed up as an elephant, and that's essentially what the Democrat candidates here have been doing: pretending to be Republicans. Utah County Democrats distance themselves from their national party, emphasize "the person, not the party," and shout out alleged ethics violations against their opponents, never stopping to consider the hypocrisy of making ethics allegations while engaged in a campaign of deception about who they are.

Like it or not, a candidate's party affiliation determines the support and success he will enjoy once elected. As much as we may personally like one candidate over another, it isn't about the person. It's about the policies he or she supports, and the party in power is an important factor as to whether those policies will be enacted.

Republican Steve Clark supports the policies that have made Utah the best managed state in the nation, and as a member of the eight person Ethics Committee, Steve "will not tolerate corrupt practices by legislators from either party."

Voting for ethics in government means voting for open campaigns. Let's vote for ethical, conservative policies. Vote for Steve Clark. 