Utah Leaders Celebrate 18 years of Best Economic Outlook: Jonathan Williams in Deseret News

In a recent article for the Deseret News, politics reporter Brigham Tomco highlights Utah’s 18-year streak as the state with the best economic outlook, drawing on insights from ALEC President and Chief Economist Jonathan Williams, who credits the achievement to Utah’s consistent, forward-thinking tax policy and disciplined legislative leadership.

State leaders gathered at the governor’s mansion on Tuesday to celebrate a new report recognizing Utah as the state with the best economic outlook for the 18th year in a row.

Gov. Spencer Cox, state Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, and House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, attributed the winning streak to a series of tax cuts and the unique qualities of Utah residents, including their religiosity.

While on a trade mission to Canada last week, Cox told the Deseret News that one thing he regretted from his first term was not using his position to highlight the state’s unique religious values that contribute to its success. On Tuesday, Cox made an effort to do just that.

…

The “Rich States, Poor States” report is published annually by the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, a conservative policy group that connects state legislators across the country to discuss model legislation.

Each year, ALEC scrutinizes states based on the same 15 metrics focused on tax rates, debt service, size of public workforce and right-to-work status. These policies are associated with business growth and serve as an accurate forecast a state’s economic outlook, according to ALEC chief economist Jonathan Williams.

Utah has come out on top of the ranking every year since it began in 2007. This success is the result of proactive policymaking, Williams said. If the Utah Legislature had simply kept its economic policy the same after receiving first-place in ALEC’s inaugural report, the state would now be ranked No. 23.

Read the rest of the article here.