Situational Analysis | October 15, 2021

It's Friday and October is already half over. How did that happen??

It's also National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day. The day is marked by the lighting of candles at 7 pm. 

Be in the Know

1. Elder Ronald A. Rasband of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a piece in The Hill this morning on religion and the G-20. "The economics of religious liberty," he writes, "may provide powerful solutions to poverty-stricken countries, global tragedies and human suffering...When religion is given the freedom to flourish, believers everywhere perform simple, sometimes heroic acts of service. The answer to what ails economies and societies is not to be found in bigger government or bigger business but in 'bigger' citizens and communities."

2. US unemployment claims are the lowest they've been since the pandemic began. The total number of Americans receiving unemployment assistance also dropped at the end of September and retail sales are on the rise. At the same time, the "great resignation" is accelerating.
3.  A new survey says Utah drivers are "only" the sixth worst in the nation, beat out for first place by Iowa, North Dakota, Virginia, California (OK, that makes sense) and Alaska. The best drivers in the nation? They live in New Hampshire.

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The Bears Ears debate

Public lands take center stage as national monument controversy returns, 2022 midterm races begin to heat up and impending COVID-19 vaccine mandate rules loom over Utah businesses. Rod Arquette, Robert Gehrke and Amy Donaldson join host Jason Perry on "The Hinckley Report," this Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Utah Headlines

General

• ‘There’s so much pressure to perform’: Nurses, teachers fight compassion fatigue (Fox13)
• With assist from Jazz star Rudy Gobert, Rose Park gets 'essential' food pantry (Deseret News)
• How Silicon Slopes Serves volunteers packaged 1 million meals for Utah Food Bank (Deseret News)
• Silicon Slopes insists it doesn't want to turn Utah into California (Fox13)
• Salt Lake County experiencing prosecutor shortage of over 25% (KUTV)
• As more refugees arrive to Utah, organizations turn to community for housing support (KUER)

Politics

• Uintah County commissioners admit they "screwed up" some of their management of public dollars, but say the state has no right to conduct a review. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• To boost the birth rate, the government may need to send families more cash (Deseret News)
• UDOT wants to know how best to communicate statewide rural transportation planning (Daily Herald)

COVID Corner

• 1253 new cases, 8 new deaths
• FDA panel recommends Moderna booster for people 65 and older and adults at high risk of exposure or severe illness (Washington Post)
• Alaskan GOP lawmaker, banned from flying Alaska Airlines over mask mandate, tests positive for covid-19 (Washington Post)
• 62 percent of police deaths last year were COVID-19-related: analysis (The Hill)

National Headlines

General

• #MeToo, 4 years in: ‘I’d like to think now, we are believed’ (AP)
• A man with a badge nearly killed her. So she got her own badge. Katrina Brownlee was abused, shot and left for dead. Told she’d never walk again, she went on to have a 20-year career with the N.Y.P.D. (New York Times)
• How California lost a million jobs and gained $342 billion (Bloomberg)
• Bill Clinton hospitalized for sepsis (CNN)

Politics

• Judge dismisses last major Trump lawsuit over Georgia election results (MSNBC)
• Trump asserts his dominance inside GOP, pushing Republicans to embrace his false claims of fraud (Washington Post)
• Jan. 6 panel moves to recommend criminal charges against Bannon (New York Times)
• U.S. regains seat on U.N. Human Rights Council, reversing Trump withdrawal (Washington Post)
• Global tax deal could drive changes in Democrats’ budget plan (Roll Call)
• 'Really embarrassing': GOP erupts into swing state civil war (Politico)

Business

• Aviation supply chain faces mounting strain as demand picks up (Reuters)
• Consumer spending seems to be steady despite supply crunch (Wall Street Journal)
• A record number of Americans are quitting their jobs. Here’s how they make money after they quit. (Washington Post)
• The great resignation is accelerating (The Atlantic)
• Big businesses are siding against Texas in mandate fight (The Hill)

Courts

• An appeals court said on Thursday that Texas’ near-total ban on abortions can remain in effect while the courts decide whether the law violates the Constitution. The 2-to-1 ruling is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court. (New York Times)
• Commission on Supreme Court warns of political dangers in reform proposals (Washington Post)
• The sleeper SCOTUS case that threatens the separation of church and state (The Atlantic)

Economy

• Rising rents are fueling inflation, posing trouble for the fed (New York Times)

International

• Afghan Shiite mosque hit by deadly suicide bombing, the second this month (Wall Street Journal)

Policy News

Executive confidence dips yet job growth continues to rebound

The Salt Lake Chamber’s CEOutlook released today shows forward progress in job growth but a slight dip in confidence levels from 2021-Q1. While executive confidence remains high in Utah, the taper off signals some caution for the short-term recovery. The most prominent concerns center around supply chain disruptions leading to increased cost of materials and overall inflation. 

“Utah’s workforce participation remains high with the unemployment rate at 2.6%, ranking second nationally and half the broader 5.4% U.S.,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. “This good news comes with the challenges of growth, meaning tight labor markets and increased cost of services across industries. Consistent inmigration to Utah is catalyzing a housing and construction industry boom, and the endurance and response of our construction industry have made it currently Utah’s fastest growing major industry. Over the past couple of years, Utah’s construction companies have filled 13,300 new jobs.” (Read More)

WGU names Ismar Vallecillos first-ever Director of Utah Operations

To build on the newly created partnership between Western Governors University (WGU) and the state of Utah, the online, non-profit university has named Ismar Vallecillos its first-ever Director of Utah Operations. In his role, he will help guide the strategic direction of WGU within the state and execute the shared mission of expanding access to high-quality, in-demand degree programs for more Utahns.

Vallecillos will focus specific efforts supporting low-income, rural, and some-college-but-no-degree students across the state. As an immigrant from El Salvador, Vallecillos grew up working for his father’s landscaping business before earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He believes in the power of education to improve lives and strengthen communities. (Read More)

Number of the Day

You can like Trump and still hope he doesn’t run for president

By LaVarr Webb

For my many Republican friends who really like Donald Trump, here’s an exercise in “Two Things Can be True at the Same Time.”

As in: You can like (even love) Trump (that can be true) and still hope he doesn’t run for president in 2024 (that can also be true). Also: You can think Trump was a successful president and still fault him for his self-destructive character traits (like his enormous ego, his narcissism and his boorishness).

Finally, you can like Trump and still hope he doesn’t mess up some easy GOP congressional victories by endorsing far-right candidates who can’t win.

I believe the Republican Party has a great chance of winning control of at least one chamber of Congress in 2022 and a pretty good chance of winning the presidency in 2024. To me, that’s critical if we want to put the brakes on the hard leftward tilt our country is taking under the Biden administration and the Democratic Congress. The future of the country really is at stake.

But Trump could throw a monkey wrench into the Republican machine that is poised to do well in the next two elections if he injects himself into too many GOP primaries and endorses fringe candidates... (Read More)

Upcoming

• Utah Business Economic Summit – Nov 5, 8:00 am - 4 pm Register here
• Growth, Grit and Grace - SLC Chamber's Women & Business Conference and ATHENA awards – Nov 19, 8:00 am - 3:30 pm Register here

On This Day In History

From History.com

• 1844 - Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher, is born.
• 1860 - 11-year-old Grace Bedell writes to Abraham Lincoln telling him to grow a beard
• 1917 - Dancer, courtesan and alleged spy Mata Hari is executed for espionage by a French firing squad
• 1948 - Dr. Frances L. Willoughby becomes the first woman doctor in the regular U.S. Navy
• 1951 - I Love Lucy premieres starring Lucille Ball and Dezi Arnez.
• 1966 - LBJ signs a bill creating US Department of Transportation
• 1991 - Clarence Thomas confirmed to the US Supreme Court.
• 2017 - Actress Alyssa Milano's tweet “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’" prompts flood of replies across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
• 2018 - Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, dies of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 65

Wise Words

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”

-Friedrich Nietzsche

Lighter Side

“In a new statement, former President Trump is suggesting that unless the issue of election fraud is addressed, Republicans should not vote in 2024. Democrats heard and were like, ‘Let’s get this guy back on Twitter.’” 

— JIMMY FALLON

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