To the casual observers, all of this must seem incredibly complicated, not to mention contradictory. On the one hand, we are bombarded by news stories telling us that Utah's economy never had it so good. The state is running a record surplus — $351 million at the end of the last fiscal year — and the governor and state lawmakers are considering a huge income tax cut. On the other hand, local governments are asking people to raise taxes like never before in order to fund long-neglected and important projects.

Will the state tax cuts cancel out the local tax hikes? Don't count on it.

Which brings us back to the idea of writing a masterpiece by committee. When several governments look at parts of the same problem, they tend to see things only in terms of how they, themselves, will be remembered. State lawmakers generally don't ever want to be associated with raising taxes in any way, especially in times of plenty. Local leaders aren't thrilled with the idea, either, but they often face more practical matters, and light rail is popular.

The awful truth, however, is that there is only one type of taxpayer, and that's you, dear reader. You pay local, state and federal taxes. You fund it all. And you're paying for more and more. A newly released Heritage Foundation report from Washington said the federal tax burden is rising, even with the Bush tax cuts. A local study by the Utah Taxpayers Association said Utahns have the fourth largest local and state tax burden in the nation.

To be clear, I strongly support both light rail and commuter rail. But I'm guessing voters would be more confident about raising taxes if state leaders would step up and coordinate this masterpiece so that it gets done efficiently, and in one piece.

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Jay Evensen is editor of the Deseret Morning News editorial page. E-mail: even@desnews.com