Dream big, Huntsman tells Dixie GOP

ST. GEORGE — Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. told Republicans in Washington County on Saturday the state is "only limited by our ability to dream, create and innovate."

"There are 2.5 million people in Utah. We're young and fast on our feet. Let's do something creative in Utah, something that you couldn't do in New York or California," Huntsman said during the county's GOP delegate convention held on the campus of Dixie State College.

The governor's remarks included sharing his love of family and country and a personal list of priorities.

"I've been carrying a list of these priorities around with me for a long, long time," he said. "I'm not the kind of guy who just blows with the wind and changes things around. I carry it in my pocket as a daily reminder of why I ran for governor, and I hope people hold me accountable for what I do over the next three and a half years."

Economic revitalization is at the top of his list, Huntsman said.

"The secret of our success is, No. 1, having a firm and successful free market entrepreneurial system," said the governor. "Two is tax reform. I wish someone would write the story about what kind of growth we'll have if we abolish the corporate tax system."

Huntsman said there is a dwindling corporate tax revenue base in the state.

"It's shrinking. That doesn't sound like a winning proposition to me," he said, adding the newly established legislative tax reform task force has a difficult, but not impossible, task ahead of it.

"We're going to look at individual and corporate taxes. We'll look at simplification. And I think we'll come up with some good recommendations," Huntsman said, which prompted a burst of applause from those in the audience. "People say it'll be a tough thing to do. Well, like my teenage daughter would say, 'Duh.' Of course it's tough."

The governor said he plans to hold a regulatory reform meeting in June with representatives from the top 200 growth companies in the state.

"I'll tell them my ideas on economic development and then do what government's never done before, listen to them," Huntsman said. "I'll ask them to critique our plan, and we'll do all this aggressively."

The state also has an obligation to educate the next group of Utahns in a world-class fashion, he said.

"The world stage is more competitive and complicated. There's a 21st Century language our kids will confront when they get out into the world marketplace, and we have to address those 21st Century needs," said the governor.

Finding ways to expand school choice, adding more charter schools and supporting teachers is vital, he added.