Pub. 3 2020-2021 Issue 3

10 T he Salt Lake Chamber Board of Directors and the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute released a presentation in May 2021 about Utah’s need to build. As they pointed out, the difference between drifting and mastery occurs when people take challenges and turn them into opportunities. The report’s authors saw a need for capital growth in three areas: • Physical: Infrastructure is an important way to prepare for future needs. • Structural: This consists of investing in people. • Social: Investing in the community is a way to compensate for a decline in what institutions can provide to those who need help. Let’s examine the need for physical infrastructure first. Between 2010 and 2020, Utah grew 18.4%. The population increased over those 10 years by 507,731 people, but 330,489 of those people were classified as “natural increase”: that is, babies. Net migration accounted for the remaining 177,242. How does that increase look in terms of percentages? Natural increase accounted for 65% of Utah’s growth, and net migration accounted for 35%. If you compare Utah against other states, it is classified as a mid-sized state. California, Texas, and Florida take the top three spots. New York is ranked fourth. Utah is at No. 30, and Wyoming is at No. 50. The other surrounding states are Colorado (21), NewMexico (36), Arizona (14), Nevada (32), and Idaho (38). The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and Moody’s Analytics keep records about infrastructure spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Infrastructure investments grew after World War II, peaked between 1960 and 1965 and have generally declined ever since. As of 2020, it was less than 2% of GDP. That is a small percentage, but it is a small percentage of a large number. The GDP in 2020 was $20,936.60 billion. The lowest level, which occurred before 1968, was $543.30 billion. When looking at structural economic changes, it’s important to separate structural changes from cyclical ones. You can wait out a cyclical change, but if it is a structural one, the wisest course of action is to recognize that as soon as possible and make changes accordingly. WE NEED TO BUILD THE NEXT 10 YEARS