This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Fixing the economy can be like fixing cars. Misdiagnose the problem, and you'll never fix it. This has been going on in Washington for years, which is why the economy is still sputtering like a bad engine. The administration keeps identifying the problem as not enough tax revenue from American businesses, especially ones it doesn't like. But that's not it, and the proposed solution will only make our economic engine sputter worse.
In their never-ending effort to tax and spend more, the administration and its allies are trying to raise oil and gas company taxes again. They say this will help the economy. It won't. It will reduce energy-company investments, which will reduce jobs. We need good jobs in mining, timber, ranching and energy exploration, all of which rely on a healthy energy industry. But this plan will reduce energy sector investments and leave us even more dependent on lower-paying tourism jobs.
We need to clean the spark plugs and get our economic engine running smoothly again. They're talking about removing a spark plug. It makes no sense.
Pedro Valenzuela
Moab