The American Enterprise Institute recently released a book titled, The Future of Cities. I was honored to contribute a chapter highlighting policy innovations in Utah and Salt Lake City.
Many have written about the trend towards bigger government and the “supersized state.” I like to remind people it’s not bigger government that matters; it’s better government focused on people that should be society’s aim. In Utah we like to call it the “Utah way.”
As policymakers continue to debate government’s role, they would do well to consider better government in the form of innovative ideas, data-driven research, and effective collaboration. The Utah way embodies these characteristics and places people, not government, at the center of improving outcomes in poverty, homelessness, and health. In doing so, Utah pulls away from the polarized extremes, inspires individual action, and pioneers a brand of constructive policymaking that produces positive results. It’s a successful model for other states to follow.