Blog

Op-ed: Our national fabric is tearing. Here’s how to fix it

Written by: Peter Reichard

There’s no use in pretending anymore. Our national fabric has been tearing for decades. Political polarization is widening. The economic divide keeps growing. Solidarity is slipping away. Social capital is in decline. Shaylyn Romney Garrett, co-author with Robert Putnam of “The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can do it Again,” illuminated the convergence of these challenges at the Utah Foundation’s recent 2021 annual luncheon. The situation is not good. … Continued

Utah Thrives Podcast | Narcissism and the Unraveling of Society

Written by: Peter Reichard

Are We Living Through a Second Gilded Age? On multiple measures — political polarization, economic inequality, social capital and cultural solidarity — America is heading decisively in the wrong direction. But have we been here before? And what can we learn from our past successes in coming together? Why are state and local-level solutions so important? In this installment of Utah Thrives, we hear insights from Shaylyn Romney Garrett, co-author with Robert Putnam of The … Continued

Utah Thrives Podcast | Civic Engagement

Written by: Peter Reichard

The measures of civic engagement in Utah reveal a mixed bag. That’s the conclusion of a new Utah Foundation report called The The Measure of a Citizen: Civic Engagement in Utah. It’s the first installment in our new Utah Social Capital Series. And the findings of the report raise a lot of questions. Utah Foundation Senior Analyst Christopher Collard and President Peter Reichard explore those questions in this edition of Utah Thrives, the Utah Foundation … Continued

When it comes to civic engagement in Utah, it’s a mixed bag

Written by: Peter Reichard

Going back 200 years, strong citizen engagement in the democratic process and in civic improvement has served as a barometer of the vitality of the American republic. It’s a matter of good government: At the state and local levels, civic engagement has significant implications for the effectiveness and efficiency of government, the quality of services and the responsiveness of public officials to citizen priorities. A decline in civic engagement can reduce the accountability of the … Continued

Utah Thrives Podcast | Mental Health in Anxious Times

Written by: Peter Reichard

In this edition of Utah Thrives, Utah Foundation President Peter Reichard talks with Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Brigham Young University; Mark Rapaport, CEO of the Huntsman Mental Health Institute at University of Utah School of Medicine; and Doug Thomas, Director of the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health for the State of Utah.  The conversation is excerpted from a recent Utah Foundation Breakfast Briefing sponsored by the Garbett Family Foundation. Among the questions the group addresses:  … Continued

Op-ed: Is America’s sense of well-being slipping away?

Written by: Peter Reichard

A couple of years back, a mental health professional asked me to sit down with him. He had noticed a big uptick in his teen patients coming in with an acute sense of foreboding. Among the issues that seemed to trouble them most were apocalyptic worries about global climate change ruining their future. But it wasn’t the topic that alarmed the therapist most; it was the growing anxiety. And that was before 2020. That was … Continued

Utah Thrives Podcast | Prosperity in a Cleaner and Greener Economy

Written by: Peter Reichard

In this edition of Utah Thrives, Utah Foundation President Peter Reichard and Vice President Shawn Teigen are joined by Julianne Basinger and Nick Schou of Western Resource Advocates in a discussion of climate challenges. The conversation also explores the new Utah Foundation report, Going for the Green: How Utah Can Thrive in the New Climate Economy.