Opinion: Utah deserves better than Washington's misguided budgets

Yahoo

2 days ago

Utahns value common sense, community and fiscal responsibility. We shouldn't be fooled by flashy names or lofty promises attached to federal budgets. A budget prioritizing political posturing over people isn't a blueprint for prosperity; it's a recipe for imbalance, burdening Utah families while benefiting the few. A 'big' or 'beautiful' label doesn't make a budget bright or fair for Utah.
Here, genuine investment means safe neighborhoods, quality schools, accessible healthcare and robust infrastructure for our growing communities, from Logan to St. George. Too often, however, federal budgets inflate defense spending or questionable corporate tax cuts while underfunding essentials: affordable housing, education, water security, mental health services and public lands stewardship.
Ask a West Valley City teacher about scarce resources or a rural Iron County family about accessing broadband or specialized medical care. Witness the affordable housing crisis along the Wasatch Front. These are Utah's fundamental challenges, demanding serious investment, not neglect hidden by grand rhetoric.
Alarmingly, such budgets often threaten programs vital to Utahns. Proposed cuts to Medicaid, for instance, would be devastating for our state. Medicaid is a lifeline for nearly 400,000 Utahns — one in five children, neighbors with disabilities, low-income working parents, and seniors needing long-term care that would otherwise bankrupt their families.
Slashing Medicaid wouldn't just 'strain hospitals'; it would jeopardize rural hospitals across Utah, many operating on thin margins and serving high numbers of Medicaid recipients. These facilities are often major employers and critical access points. Cuts could force service reductions, layoffs or closures, creating healthcare deserts. Urban hospitals, too, would face increased uncompensated care, shifting costs to other patients or forcing cuts to vital services like emergency and mental health care.
Medicaid cuts also directly harm Utah's economy. Federal Medicaid dollars support jobs well beyond healthcare. Reducing this funding means fewer jobs, less economic activity and a greater burden on state and local taxpayers. Labeling such cuts 'fiscally responsible' is misleading; they merely shift costs and create greater long-term burdens.
Reductions in SNAP would further squeeze Utah families battling inflation, increasing their reliance on food banks. In a state where our natural landscapes are central to our identity and economy, underinvesting in clean air, water, renewable energy and public lands is profoundly short-sighted.
Utahns embrace fiscal conservatism that champions accountability and sustainable investment. A budget that balloons the deficit to appease special interests, not to uplift families or invest in innovation, isn't conservative — it's careless, saddling future Utahns with debt.
Utahns deserve a federal budget reflecting our values: hard work, fairness, opportunity and community. We need real solutions, not empty slogans. A budget undermining healthcare, neglecting infrastructure and ignoring Utah's needs isn't 'big and beautiful.' It's bloated with misplaced priorities and blind to our realities. It's time to tell Washington: Utah expects better and demands a budget that truly invests in our people.