Blog Posts - Jay Evensen

Are you ready to grab an air taxi on the corner?

3/18/2025

I have asked the question before: How comfortable are you flying in an air taxi over crowded cities, with no pilot at the wheel?
It may be an unfair question because it appears that, when such things are buzzing through the air, they will, at least in the initial phase, have human pilots.
So let me pose a different question.

Why we need Alan Simpson today

3/18/2025

If you want to engage in a good mental exercise while watching puffy clouds roll by on an early spring day, try imagining how things would be different today if President Trump could appoint Alan Simpson to set the federal budget straight instead of Elon Musk.
You won’t have to use too much imagination. Simpson, who died Friday at age 93, led a commission that was given that task, along with Democrat Erskine Bowles, who had been chief of staff to President Bill Clinton.
It was 2010, and newly formed “tea party” groups were springing up from coast to coast, putting pressure on President Obama to get control of government spending.

Are you safer on a plane, or driving to the airport?

2/21/2025

I’m flying overseas this weekend. Should I be worried about landing upside down or colliding with another aircraft — or should I be more worried about the drive from my house to Salt Lake International?
Psychologist Daniel Kahneman describes what he calls the availability heuristic. We learn through what is most readily available, and right now that is the seemingly endless reels of air crash videos, discussions and memes on social media, bolstered by the more reasoned, but still alarming, reports on television.

Who's to blame for the bad inflation news?

2/13/2025

“Starting on day one of my new administration, we will end inflation and we will make America affordable again because the prices are too high.” Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Juneau, Wisconsin, Oct. 6, 2024.

"BIDEN INFLATION UP!" — President Trump’s post on Truth Social, Feb. 12, 2025, reacting to a report showing inflation jumped in January.

Donald Trump is certainly not the first president to learn the difficulty of taking ownership of something he mercilessly blamed his predecessor for during campaign rallies.
Nor is he the first to come face-to-face with the reality that presidents can do little to immediately affect the economy, at least not in a good way.

DOGE isn't tackling the nation's real spending problems

2/8/2025

Elon Musk wants the U.S. to stop minting pennies.
The idea does make practical sense. But would it make a dent in the nation’s yearly budget deficit?
As of fiscal 2024, the U.S. pays 2.72 cents to make each penny, according to the Mint. The counter argument used to be that a single penny would circulate many times through the economy, generating far more than its cost in purchasing power. But today, it’s likely most of them end up in a jar somewhere, waiting for a rainy day.

Is legal gambling ruining American sports?

2/8/2025

One thought ought to dominate the minds of everyone associated with major sports in this country: If the public loses confidence in the fair play and integrity of the games, it may take generations to recover.
Why, then, do they keep playing with fire?
The NBA now has a new scandal to worry about. In a story first reported this week by the Wall Street Journal, federal investigators are examining whether Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat, who has a $100 million contract, intentionally altered his performance in an illegal sports betting scheme.

Do runoff elections give us the 'will of the people?'

2/8/2025

In 2020, future Gov. Spencer Cox won a four-way Republican primary for that office with just 38.15% of the vote. Former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. wasn’t far behind with 34.95%.
If the race had been held in seven of the nine states that require runoff elections for primaries that end in pluralities, voters would have chosen between those two in another election a few weeks later.

Should it be harder for initiatives to raise taxes?

1/30/2025

Will the third time be the charm for Utah lawmakers who want to put a 60% voting threshold on initiatives that affect tax rates?
Or will it once again be squeezed out by other ballot measures that were thrown off last fall’s ballot by the state supreme court?
Taken together, SB73 and SJR2 would raise the bar for any citizen initiative that would increase taxes. Anything that establishes a new tax, expands an existing tax, increases an existing tax or even causes property taxes to decrease less than they otherwise would, would require a 60% majority of voters to become law.

Stop calling every bad report a 'Sputnik moment'

1/30/2025

When you have two “Sputnik moments” in the same week, you really haven’t had a Sputnik moment at all.
First, tech stocks took a dive after the little-known Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek created a model known as R1. It supposedly performs well against industry leaders and cost only $5.6 million to train. NPR said other companies have spent $100 million or more to get similar results.

Will we ever stop changing the clocks twice a year?

1/23/2025

If one thing is more certain than death and taxes, it is the twice-yearly changing of the clocks. And if one thing is as certain as bills to cut taxes at the Utah Legislature, it is the constant introduction of measures that would keep Beehive State residents from fiddling with those clocks — measures that ultimately change nothing, especially the hands of time.
At the risk of sounding like Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown, this time could be different.
The reason is simple. The tug-of-war between daylight saving and standard times has caught the attention of Donald Trump.

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