Opinion

Historical costs, sometimes called sunk costs, are irrelevant to decision-making because they are costs that have already been incurred. That's something that's not intuitively obvious, even for some trained economists. On a couple of occasions, I've recommended to a graduate student, having difficulty with his Ph.D. dissertation, that it might be wise to start all over again with a different topic. The response:

Dear Editor

Time magazine published an article this week exposing the fact that $1 million dollars in bonuses was paid out to IRS employees who owed back taxes.  I'm pretty sure if I owed back taxes the IRS would be knocking on my door and threatening to garnish my wages.

April 9, 2014

An Open Letter in support of Nevada Rancher, Cliven Bundy,

This is a day that was sure to come when the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would show its unconstitutional intent to have complete control of the land.  Government ownership of the land is socialism.

On February 14, 2014 Lindsay Zizumbo, Executive Director for Count My Vote Utah issued a statement criticizing SB 54, saying, “Supporters of Count My Vote ask the Legislature to be respectful of citizens’ rights by not intentionally interfering with a citizen initiative—especially because it deals with the way they get elected. We are saddened that the Legislature is considering SB54, which could damage the proper and legal citizen action creating a direct primary election in Utah…”

Dear Editor,

I believe the current Republican Party caucus system is a good system that allows neighborhoods to choose wise delegates and allows potential candidates a forum to present themselves before those delegates, without having to raise the vast campaign funds that are necessary for public campaigns.  This system has helped the Republican Party choose candidates that for the most part have been a credit to the state of Utah.

Dear Editor,

The Count My Vote initiative, being pushed by some activists in the State, disregards the fact that our nation was founded on the principle of "representative" government.

The Founders recognized the danger in mob rule that a Democracy creates. Therefore, in our Constitution they created a form of representation for our Republic.

Death by Drugs and Other Killers

Another celebrity bit the dust recently.  He joins a long line of famous, as well as ordinary people who have died from a drug overdose; and we mourn.  He was a talented actor who shone brightly in the world of glamour and glitter; it’s a shame, and we mourn him along with all the others who have met the same fate.  Their loss leaves us feeling empty; it seems so senseless. We are obliged to ask whether illegal drugs have any redeeming value.

“We the People”

Weber County is a great place to live and raise a family where strong values create a great quality of life.  We can truly say that the pioneer heritage of early settlers has been passed down and is reflected in our conservative, hard-working, service-oriented culture.  To residents of Weber County, “We the People . . .” is more than a preamble; it is a declaration of our unity.

America’s 2002 Utah Pride

Thirteen years ago tens of thousands of Utahns began preparation for an event that would bring the world to their proud state. Preliminary work had begun on venues but now the actual work to hold the event moved forward. There were 30.000 volunteers to be identified, classified by skills and availability, trained and coordinated with the venue requirements; security would require 6000 people. It was a massive task but the people of Utah were more than eager to be part of the 2002 International Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

Now that the winter solstice has passed and the days are getting longer, I’m sure that we’re all looking forward to working in our gardens when the weather warms up. OK, I know that’s a bit optimistic, but let’s consider this scenario for the sake of our discussion.