Utah hasn’t forgotten the power of free enterprise – Deseret News

Utahns constantly hear how well the states economy is doing. Pick a category of economic success and Utah is at or near the top. Being recognized for the results of hard work is nice. And make no mistake it takes hard work to become the fastest growing economy with the best place for jobs in the nation. But one thing is often overlooked in all the accolades, all the speeches, all the back-slapping, and that is how Utah achieved this success.

I have written the past few months about Utah's "secret sauce. Based on a decade of working in various economic development positions, I have concluded the states success is based on tried and true principles of fiscal prudence, global leadership and free enterprise. I have argued by employing these same principles, other states and our nation can achieve similar results.

This column focuses on the principle of free enterprise. This principle, inextricably linked to individual liberty, is the engine of our economy. The freedom of movement. The freedom of commerce. The freedom of choice. And the responsibility that comes with those freedoms.

In Utah, we venerate the entrepreneur, the job creator and the small-business owner. We recognize that free enterprise has created the most opportunity, the most freedom, the most choices and the best quality of life for more people than any other time in history.

During the Great Recession, some pundits gleefully proclaimed that free enterprise had failed, that capitalism was dead. But not in Utah. This state held true to the principle of free enterprise and the idea that limited government that empowers the private sector was the answer to accelerating job creation.

One example of this principle in action is the regulatory reform led by the governors office. Each member of the governors cabinet was assigned the task of asking two questions: What regulations does your government agency oversee that impact business? What public purpose do those regulations serve? Based on the answers to these simple questions, the state modified or eliminated nearly 400 regulations.

Imagine how the power of the private sector could be unleashed across the nation if this effort was done at the federal level. Imagine how we could jump-start our national economy if federal regulatory reform sought input from the actual people impacted and hindered by over-regulation. The concept may be simple, but implementation takes more sustained focus and effort than we have seen to date.

Our constitutional republic is marvelous, genius and inspired because it was designed by the Founders to empower individuals to overcome their unique challenges. Sadly, the federal government has strayed far from that ideal, with a judiciary that legislates from the bench, an executive branch that too often chooses which laws it will enforce and which it will ignore, and a Congress that has abdicated its lawmaking authority to a sprawling federal bureaucracy.

People around the country and the world see the fruits of Utahs economy and wonder how a place with 3 million people, located somewhere in the middle of the Rocky Mountains, became the fastest growing state economy in the largest national economy in the world. Well, if you want to understand the fruits, you have to look at the roots. Utahs roots are strong and planted in the soil of tried and true principles of economic prosperity. Our countrys roots can be nurtured again by employing these same strengthening principles. Utah has the message the nation wants. Utah is the example the nation needs.

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Utah hasn't forgotten the power of free enterprise - Deseret News