State Auditor John Dougall thinks the best place for a congressman to serve Utah is in the weeds.

After two decades of working to lighten Utah’s tax load and shed light on government waste, Dougall says he wants to bring his penchant for problem-solving to the nation’s Capitol representing the state’s 3rd Congressional District.

But selling constituents on the importance of welfare reform and budget reduction is a problem to solve all on its own.

As a former state lawmaker and tech entrepreneur, with graduate degrees in electrical engineering and business from Brigham Young University, Dougall said he believes the Republican Party of late has been less interested in outcomes than political point-scoring.

“The Republican Party used to be the party of big ideas,” Dougall said. “We have nothing but infighting, squabbling, performative politics.”

Dougall was ready for retirement from public service following his 10 years in the Utah House of Representatives and 11 years overseeing the state auditor’s office, he said. But he said the absence of “any real budget hawks back in D.C.” drew Dougall to Rep. John Curtis’ soon-to-be-open seat.

“I’ve got a unique skill set when it comes to these issues,” Dougall said. “And I think the financial matters, the debt, the out of control spending, the dysfunction in Washington, D.C., this is one of the top national crises.”

Creative solutions to the nation’s biggest money problems

For those who don’t feel the same sense of urgency about the country’s balance sheets, Dougall has a thought experiment.

Imagine a Utah household making $100,000 a year and spending $130,000 with the help of a credit card. The monthly minimum credit card payment would exceed most Utahns’ biggest budget item, their mortgage, Dougall said, making it harder to pay for essential needs and leaving the family at the mercy of steep interest rates.

In fiscal year 2024, Dougall pointed out, the United States is expected to pay more on interest payments to service the national debt than on national defense — a sober milestone that comes on the heels of federal debt surpassing $34.5 trillion for the first time, increasing by a rate of roughly $1 trillion every 100 days.

Dougall has incorporated an interactive “Balance the Federal Budget” tool into his campaign website to help voters visualize the problem. The feature is similar to the property value and public education tracking tools that he developed as auditor to help Utahns follow their tax dollars and access government information.

The country’s biggest problem has “no single silver bullet” solution, Dougall said, but “we can’t just keep doing the same thing because we’re going to get the same results. We’ve got to try and be more innovative, we’ve got to try and push big ideas to try and solve these very, very difficult problems.”

For Social Security — the retirement benefit program that drives more than one-fifth of federal spending — Dougall proposes a shift to state sponsored retirement trust funds modeled after 529 college savings plans.

This would allow workers to opt out of Social Security benefits, which are projected to be cut by 20% in a decade. Workers would then be able to invest that portion of their payroll tax into a state sponsored investment fund “to get them a better, more secure retirement” while giving Democrats the government oversight they demand to protect all workers, Dougall said.

Such a massive overhaul of Social Security would have to be phased in, with different age cohorts being allowed to allocate more or less of their payroll tax, Dougall said.

When it comes to government-provided health care for the elderly, however, Dougall said an overhaul doesn’t go far enough.

“I don’t want the federal government running Medicare better,” Dougall said. “I want to get the federal government out of health care.”

Enabling competition with government provided health care, facilitating direct care models and reimbursing procedures the same regardless of location would result in hundreds of billions of dollars in savings, Dougall said.

“It won’t balance the budget, but it’s a big step in the right direction,” Dougall said. “And it can put patients more in control of their health care so they can get better quality care.”

Subsidized health care programs for low income Americans, like Medicaid, also need to be stripped of federal involvement, Dougall said, with funds and oversight being handed over to the states, instead of the “split-funded” system currently in place that creates a “mismatch of accountability” that incentivizes states to grow Medicaid rolls, Dougall said.

Block-granting Medicaid funding to the states and expanding work requirements for “able-bodied individuals” would result in another $100 billion in annual savings, Dougall said — far short of the $1.7 trillion deficit in 2023, but one of the many trade offs needed to make federal spending look more like a responsible home budget.

The government watchdog candidate

Dougall has more time in government than any of his four opponents in the Republican Party primary election. The crowded field of five also includes Roosevelt Mayor JR Bird, Sky Zone CEO Case Lawrence, commercial litigator Stewart Peay and state Sen. Mike Kennedy.

Dougall took over the state auditor’s office in 2013 after ousting a longtime incumbent in a primary election. As auditor, Dougall held officials accountable and reviewed the state’s COVID-19 expenditures, database security and implemented programs to make government financial information available for “essentially every state and local entity in Utah.”

Dougall also emphasized transparency during his 10-year tenure as a state lawmaker which immediately preceded his time as a state auditor. He contributed to the public meeting notice website and pushed to repeal the state’s vehicle inspection program, which required added bureaucracy with little benefits to show for it, he said.

In 2005, Dougall was a member of the Tax Reform Task Force that led to the passage of Utah’s biggest restructuring of the tax-code in decades, which included a 5% single-rate income tax.

These policy wins were the result of focusing on how to get a solution across the finish line without worrying about “who gets the credit” or “the next election cycle,” Dougall said — an attitude he plans to bring to the contentious halls of Congress.

“I will work with anybody who’s willing to fight out-of-control spending, to try and rein in the federal government, to try and balance the budget,” Dougall said. “I’ll work with anybody, I don’t care who they are, because that’s what it’s going to take.”

Dougall’s other priorities include securing the southern border and ensuring American energy dominance. He also believes the U.S. should continue to provide “targeted assistance” to Ukraine to stop Russia’s advance and prevent a bigger war in Europe.

Dougall — John ‘Frugal’ Dougall on the ballot — will face his four primary opponents on June 25. The Republican who wins the primary will face off against Democratic candidate Glenn Wright on Nov. 5.

Correction: An earlier version said Dougall has spent 10 years as state auditor and that he was co-chair of the Tax Reform Task Force. He has been state auditor for 11 years and was a member of the task force, but not co-chair.

SALT LAKE CITY — While some aspects of inflation are cooling down, the cost of renting is going up.

According to the latest Consumer Price Index, rent was 5.4% more expensive in April than last year.

Dejan Eskic, who studies the housing market at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, said that’s a little surprising.

“We’ve had so much apartment inventory across every major metropolitan area in the country,” Eskic said.

That includes Utah. Eskic said just this year, about 8,000 new apartments are hitting the market.

Because of that “record new supply,” he said rental prices along the Wasatch Front have actually decreased slightly.

“We’ve seen rents drop just a little bit under 2%,” Eskic said, adding that he believes rents will stay flat or drop slightly over the next 12 to 18 months.

But that won’t continue forever.

“As we move further out, there’s less and less new construction happening,” Eskic said, “and so we do expect in about two years rents to start increasing again like we’ve experienced previously.”

Jed Coon, who lives with his wife and daughter in Tooele, is tired of paying rent.

“It’d be very nice to just have it go down,” he said. “It’s frustrating.”

Over the years, as a renter, Coon said he’s noticed one trend – rent keeps going up.

“We started off $1,000, $1,200 – cheap rundown places – and now it’s up to $1,700, $1,800,” he said.

Coon said he and his family plan to move back in with parents to try to get a leg up in this difficult market. Rent is a big part of their budget, and it’s tough to pay for everything.

“We’re barely getting by,” Coon said. “It’s rent and then the utilities, and that’s it, so not so much for everything else.”

We now sit just over a month until the 2024 NBA Draft arrives later this summer, and with the lottery reveal behind us, we have some improved knowledge about how this process could soon go down for the Utah Jazz.

By holding two first-round picks (one landing at the tail end of the top ten), and a top second-rounder at number 32, there’s immense potential for a significant class to soon be in store for the Jazz. Still, the top of this year’s group of prospects is largely unpredictable, and one that may take a couple of extra weeks to completely iron out.

With the results of the 2024 NBA Lottery in, though, we can throw out some early guesses as to how things could end up falling if the selection process started today. Here’s an early prediction of how the top ten picks could fall, and who the Jazz could end up getting their hands on at tenth overall:

1. Atlanta Hawks: Alex Sarr, C, Australia

The future of the Hawks is a bit up in the air this offseason, but winning the lottery after entering with 3% odds to do so is a big help. Sarr can be a great big to pair alongside Trae Young or Dejounte Murray with his length, versatility, and two-way ability.

2. Washington Wizards: Nikola Topic, PG, Serbia

The Wizards need to find some stability in the backcourt. With the future of Tyus Jones in flux and a shaky season from Jordan Poole, a guard makes sense here for Washington. Topic is one of the elite playmakers and finishers of this draft with the potential to be a high-level guard with an improved shot.

3. Houston Rockets: Zaccharie Risacher, SF, France

Thanks to the James Harden trade, the Rockets are set up with a golden opportunity to add a premier player in the class with a top-three pick. Risacher projects to be a lengthy 3&D threat that can fit seamlessly into this budding Houston core.

4. San Antonio Spurs: Rob Dillingham, PG, Kentucky

It’s no secret that the Spurs could benefit from a guard early in this draft, and with a top-five pick, they have a chance to secure one of the best on the board. Dillingham can be a reliable scoring guard to pair next to Rookie of the Year winner Victor Wembanyama to terrorize opposing defenses for years to come.

5. Detroit Pistons: Matas Buzelis: PF, G-League Ignite

After entering the lottery with odds at the top spot on the board, the Pistons suffered a brutal fate by sliding down to fifth. They still manage to secure a strong prospect in Buzelis, who can be an interesting fit next to Cade Cunningham with his size and ability as a playmaker.

6. Charlotte Hornets: Stephon Castle, PG, UConn

The Hornets could benefit from a secondary ball handler and playmaker next to LaMelo Ball, and a selection of Castle would inevitably bring that. After a national champion run with the Huskies, the 6-foot-6 combo guard can be a stellar two-way fit in the Hornets’ set of guards.

7. Portland Trail Blazers: Cody Williams, SF, Colorado

The Trail Blazers ended last season as one of the league’s worst offensive teams, finishing with a 29th-ranked offensive rating of 107.6. Williams would bring a much-needed lift to this rebuilding Portland unit as one of the more versatile offensive players in this year’s draft.

8. San Antonio Spurs: Reed Sheppard, SG, Kentucky

With the Spurs’ pick of his Kentucky backcourt mate earlier in the first round, it only makes sense for San Antonio to double-dip on the Wildcats by adding Sheppard here at eight. As one of the most elite shooters in college basketball last season, he can bring an immediate impact to this team who could be looking to compete in the West sooner rather than later.

9. Memphis Grizzlies: Donovan Clingan, C, UConn

After trading away Steven Adams this past season, the Grizzlies could use another big defender to help former DPOY Jaren Jackson. Clingan can enter as an elite rim protector with 7-foot-2 size to create a scary shot-blocking tandem in the frontcourt for Memphis.

In this scenario, the board ends up falling in favor of the Jazz to land a player that not only presents a high upside moving forward but fits some of Utah’s overwhelming team needs. Ron Holland is a prospect whose stock has been up and down throughout the past year, and while he ends up falling to ten here, make no mistake that he can be one of the best in this class.

The most outstanding trait Holland possesses is his defense, which would prove to be a perfect fit for a Jazz team that ranked dead last in the NBA in defensive rating. He’s 6-foot-8, providing the size and length this Utah front office has recently coveted, and can fit nicely into a frontcourt next to Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler.

The positive attributes are there, but it’s hard not to mention the shooting struggles Holland endured throughout the past year. During his one season in the G-League Ignite, he shot a poor 24.0% from deep on 3.6 attempts per game. He still ended up averaging over 20 points a night with the lack of a three-ball, but he’ll need to find more consistency to be reliable at the NBA level.

Luckily for Holland, he could join a roster in Utah with many young scoring options to lean on as he develops his shot-making ability for himself. His defensive prowess would merit enough reason for him to gain considerable playing time off the bat and can be a contributor as a defensive stopper pretty immediately.

It’s nearly impossible to project what the Jazz may end up doing with their top ten picks with an unpredictable executive like Danny Ainge running the show, but if the board falls this way, it’s difficult to see Utah pivoting off of a talent like Holland.

All answers will be revealed for the Jazz’s selection when the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft kicks off on Wednesday, June 26th.

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