Legislature didn't address big woes facing us

As I reflect on this last legislative session, I end up worrying about our grandchildren and their future. The work of this Legislature had little connection to the needs, fears and aspirations of the majority of our citizens. It seemed unable to grasp the enormity of the problem our state and nation faces as we try to cope with changes brought about by globalization. Our quality of life is sinking. What legislators did was tantamount to rearranging the chairs on the Titanic.

For the first time in our nation's history, the next generation will not be better off than the last; a high school diploma is no longer a ticket to the middle class; and the only security in today's workplace are the skills one brings and that can add value to the organization. Today, we have individuals and families who cannot afford health care, seniors who cannot afford medication, and schools, including institutions of higher education, that cannot prepare our students to compete in the global marketplace. We are becoming a two-tiered society with a growing upper economic class and a shrinking middle class. The white-collar and professional jobs are rapidly going to other countries that can deliver a higher educated, skilled work force and can do the jobs cheaper and faster. More professionals, who still have children to raise, and mortgages to pay, have lost those jobs and are now working for minimum wage. Our economy has not only gone south but east and west as well.

Considering the serious problems we face, the most discouraging thing is that this Legislature seemed unable to understand how the world has changed. All you have to do is look at the hundreds of bills they dealt with to see the disconnect between the issues the ordinary citizen faces, and the role states need to play to succeed in today's global economy. Our nation is rapidly losing its competitive edge while other nations begin to thrive. As Andy Grove, CEO/Intel pointed out, "The rate of development in the technical field in Asia is far faster than the rate of development in the U.S. . . . There's danger of a continued shift of the center of gravity of technology, technological leadership, from the U.S. to Asia."

In the meantime, legislators seemed busy trying to please the special interest groups and lobbyists who only care about their own issues and "the heck with everybody else" (so much for "Utah Values").