SALT LAKE CITY — How are you doing, Utah?
A report released Wednesday by Tulane University provided a look at how the state is doing compared to the nation, and how the United States is doing. The Utah Foundation, which partnered with Tulane University on the study, came away with the conclusion that we are "a state of extremes."
There are extreme successes. Utah's social capital is strong as are people's feelings about children and families. The state's economy is still strong with low unemployment.
"Zoom in on the states, Utah is a highlight in terms of economic robustness around the nation," said Shawn Teigen, the Utah Foundation's executive director.
But then you start to see issues.
"You have to acknowledge consumers don’t feel good about the economy. However, they’re still spending," said Robert Spendlove, an economist at Zions Bank. "This is what you scratch your head like, they’re grumpy, they’re not happy, but they won’t stop spending."
At an event hosted by the Utah Foundation on Wednesday to make the report public, Spendlove also took aim at another gripe.
"Home prices in Utah are not affordable," he said to nods from people in the crowd.
Where things got downright miserable? Utahns' mental health. Depression rates and suicide rates ranked the state near the bottom of the list. Laura Summers with the Kem C. Gardner Institute at the University of Utah pointed out a lack of mental health therapists.
But Summers told the crowd that there were some silver linings. State leaders, she believed, are working to address the problems.
"Definitely the data shows a lot of room for improvement, but I do think the state is moving in a positive direction around all of these issues," Summers said. "I think our state and our leaders understand behavioral needs do exist in our state and are working to address them."
The report is being pushed toward Utah's elected officials to give them a glimpse of how the state is doing overall.
"This is a compass to see where we need to go, where things are trending over time," Teigen told FOX 13 News.
One lawmaker in the crowd said she found it interesting.
"I love that we’re addressing that. We addressed that a lot last year," said Rep. Lisa Shepherd, R-Provo. "But as far as housing and other affordability issues? Sometimes I think government’s in the way. I think we need to get out of the way and let the free market do its job."
Read the report here:
