Several of our readers have asked for the Beehive Standard Weekly to speak out on the recent raids on polygamists in Texas. Uniquely, our staff consists of lawyers who also happen to be Mormon, who also happen to be journalists. To that end, perhaps we can't avoid having or expressing an opinion.
To that end, we offer the conclusion before the commentary, so no one can misquote us without knowing that they are misquoting us.
Conclusion: Our conclusion is that though there may be specific and individual examples of violations of several laws of the State of Texas relating to underage marriage, the state and federal authorities have also violated the most sacred law of all, the United States Constitution. In the balance, religious prejudice and bigotry has tainted the actions of authorities, the media and the peeping-tom public. It may be one of the ugliest displays of religious intolerance since -- well, since the Mormons were driven out of the United States.
With that said, this is not an apology for those who have violated the law or abused children. Those participating in such low crimes should be brought to justice. The FLDS cannot hide behind their faith for attrocities against children. Religion is not an excuse for violating the laws which are clear and unambiguous.
Collective persecution, however, is not the way to obtain justice. In the majority, the people who were subject to the raid were living peaceful lives, though their religious practices are clearly not mainstream.
Some may view this act of Texas authorities as America taking a stand against abusive religious doctrines. In many ways, this is a test of the American system. Either we believe in religious freedom, or we don't. If we don't, then let's not act like hypocrites and let's rescind the right under the Bill of Rights. We can't continue to hold up litmus tests for public office and persecute those who don't hold mainstream religious beliefs and claim at the same time to have religious freedom. We either do, or we don't.
Shunned Mormons Could Serve Up the West for Obama Mormons learned a hard lesson from the presidential campaign of Mitt Romney. The message Southern Evangelicals made loud and clear was "you are not welcome." Despite sharing substantially similar values, Mormons and Evangelicals are deeply divided on the issue of theology. To Mormons, voting for Evangelical candidates is routine. For Evangelicals, voting for a Mormon candidate is now seen as nearly heresy -- hence the reason Mormons may abandon the Republican Presidential nominee in November
As one blog contributor noted recently, this election was never about the Mormons supporting Evangelicals, as there is a history of such support coming from Mormons. This election was about turn about and fair play. Mormons believed that the Republican Evangelical base in the southwestern portion of the United States would accept a Mormon candidate on shared values, despite theological differences. In other words, Mormons incorrectly assumed that where common values prevailed over theology, Evangelicals would return the favor and vote for a Mormon candidate.
It is interesting to note that the U.S. is the only modern industrialized nation that does not have some sort of universal health coverage. Furthermore, as the cost of insurance coverage in the U.S. continues to rise far faster than inflation and benefits continue to decline, our society is facing an increasingly urgent crises—the number of uninsured continues to sky rocket, while the under-insured middle class continues to expand. The result is record numbers of both children and adults who do not receive even basic timely medical attention, and when they do, they tend to run to costly emergency rooms in record numbers. Right-wing conservatives love to demonize "socialized medicine," but certainly not all "socialized medicine" is the same.In this country we pride ourselves on providing free public education for everyone, then why can't we provide at least some baseline level of medical care for everyone, especially kids?Some such coverage already exists and could certainly be expanded. This would not stop individuals from choosing to get additional private coverage, but it would provide a much needed benefit to those that cannot afford even adequate basic coverage.Taxes would go up, but I would be perfectly happy to pay higher taxes if that means I can actually get decent basic coverage without paying thousands a year in insurance premiums for unused coverage that actually does not cover much.
A quick scan of Utah unemployment rate data for the last 30 years shows that our current unemployment rate of 2.5% is comparatively very low and something we should be proud of (as there are consistently higher numbers of Utahans involved in the labor market, by percentage of population, than most anywhere else in the rest of the country—working more jobs, with longer hours).However, despite the very low unemployment rate, Utah also has a problem with low wages, which this translates into a greater number of working poor. In other words, there is still work to do.
Wages are generally low in the state, due to many factors, such as cost of living and various labor market characteristics, and though I do not expect Utah employers to increase wages out of the goodness of their hearts, there is hope. With such a low level of unemployment, there is a corresponding small available unemployed labor pool searching for work. And anyone who has taken basic economics will know this means firms are increasingly competing for a shrinking number of available workers, and with a shortage in the supply of workers, wages will likely go up.
So let's keep up the good work Utahans! Hopefully our willingness to work will make wages for all in the state more livable.
Many political and public decision makers are missing a key point in the teacher shortage issue. Yes, as the student-age population continues to rise, the supply of teachers continues to decline. We don't need another "group of public and higher education leaders [to look] at how to increase the number of teachers." It is simple: increase teacher pay. It is simple labor supply and demand economics. Increase the salary, and supply will increase.
As Dean Thompson eluded to, the bottom line is that not many want to be a teacher in the state because it is near impossible to raise a family on a teacher's starting salary in the state of Utah. I love interacting with students, and when I started my university education I wanted to teach. I thought about teaching high school for about 10 seconds. However, it just didn't seem economically feasible, so I abandoned that idea and switched to business--for no other reason than the pay. I suspect that there are many others who have gone through the same process--who may prefer to teach but economic reality forces them to do something that will provide for their family instead.
It is time for state leaders to finally accept that teachers need to be paid more. It is the only real way to increase the number and quality of teachers who will be teaching the rising generation. Heaven help us if we fail in this most fundamental responsibility.
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