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Preparing for a sustainable future

Article in Utah Policy: Utah Government Planning for Fiscal Earthquake

This story from Feb. 4 on Utah Policy talks to Ken Ivory about the action being taken with Financial Ready Utah.

“We have a plan for earthquake preparedness,” Ken Ivory told Utah Policy. “Now we have to create a fiscal crisis preparedness program. And that is what we are going to do,” the constitutional scholar said.

“We will call it: Financially Ready Utah.”

Read more: Utah Policy – Utah Government Planning for Fiscal Earthquake

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Financial Ready Utah Resolution with sources

The [Organization/Chamber/City/County, etc.] of _________
RESOLUTION 2013-______________
SUPPORTING THE FINANCIAL READY UTAH EFFORTS TO ASSESS AND PROVIDE
FOR THE POTENTIAL RISK TO UTAH FROM DEPENDENCE ON UNSUSTAINABLE FEDERAL FUNDS

WHEREAS, The [organization/chamber/city/county/etc] of _______________ and the [citizens/businesses/etc.] it represents believe that our national fiscal recklessness poses a great, clear and present threat to America’s future;

WHEREAS, David Walker, former Comptroller General of the United States warns “The most serious threat to the United States is not someone hiding in a cave in Afghanistan or Pakistan, but our own fiscal irresponsibility.”(1)

WHEREAS, the federal government is now in its fourth year(2) of not passing a budget;

WHEREAS, the national debt has now surpassed $16.4 trillion (more than $136,000 per household(3), annual deficits have exceeded one trillion dollars for each of the last four years, and unfunded obligations for social programs now exceed $85 trillion(4), with no apparent congressional resolution on the horizon;

WHEREAS, it took 200 years for our nation to accumulate the first trillion dollars in debt and only 286 days(5) to accumulate the most recent trillion;

WHEREAS, $85 billion a month(6) of the national debt and annual deficits are now offset through Federal Reserve operations such a “quantitative easing” and “operation twist;”

WHEREAS, more than 40 cents of every dollar the state of Utah spends(7) comes from the federal government that borrows and/or prints more than 40 cents of every dollar(8) it sends to Utah;

WHEREAS, on New Year’s Eve, Congress merely delayed to March 1, 2013 the implementation of the automatic cuts (“sequestration”) of 8-9% of federal discretionary spending (including funds to state and local governments) and 10% of military spending under the Budget Control Act of 2011;

WHEREAS, this fiscal scenario is by all accounts “unsustainable”(9) for the nation as well as for our state;

WHEREAS, In May of 2012, the American Institute of CPAs in their review of the Federal Government’s most recent Annual Financial Statements warned

“The U.S. is not exempt from the laws of prudent finance. We must take steps to put        our financial house in order. The credit rating agencies have recently issued renewed warnings of U.S. credit downgrades unless substantive reforms are made. Our current fiscal policy results in mortgaging our nation’s future without investing in it, leaving our children, grandchildren and future generations to suffer the consequences. This is irresponsible, unethical and immoral.”

WHEREAS, restoring fiscal sanity and sustainability is at the heart of jumpstarting economic growth and fostering a business climate where companies can grow and begin to hire; and

WHEREAS, absent credible actions to address this fiscal irresponsibility, uncertainty will continue to dominate business decision-making and economic recovery will languish.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the [Town/City/County] of ___________________ wholeheartedly supports the Financial Ready Utah initiative of fostering within our state an enterprise risk management process to assess the immediacy, severity and probability of risks from any reductions of federal funds to the state of Utah and how the state will marshal the resources, human and capital, of the state to prioritize and provide the most essential government services; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the [Town/City/County] of ___________________ calls upon local, state and national representatives to take immediate and sustained action to eliminate deficit spending and secure economic self-reliance to our states and our nation.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the [Town/City/County] of ___________________ calls upon national representatives to pass a budget each year and adopt a credible and sustainable plan to balance those budgets.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the [Town/City/County] of ___________________ calls upon its fellow towns, cities, and counties to do all in their power and influence to support Utah’s elected representatives, including Utah’s governor, attorney general, legislature, congressional delegation and county commissioners, to exert their utmost abilities, influence and authority to adopt and implement comprehensive financial risk managements measures for our state, with time being of the essence.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT copies of this resolution be sent to the Governor, Attorney General, Senate President, Speaker of the House, each member of Utah’s congressional delegation, the Utah Association of Counties, the Utah League of Cities and Towns, Financial Ready Utah,

Utah State Chamber of Commerce, the ___________ School District Board, and the ______________ Chamber of Commerce.

PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this the _____th day of January, 2013.

_________________________

_____________, [President/Mayor/Chairman, etc.]

SEAL

ATTEST:

___________________________

_________________, Clerk

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-2528226.html

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/08/budget-say/

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/us-debt-now-136260-household-50-under-obama

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323353204578127374039087636.html

http://www.moneynews.com/Advani/Romney-Obama-debatesdeficit/2012/10/17/id/460316#ixzz2IHcxbHPq

http://money.cnn.com/2012/09/13/news/economy/federal-reserve-qe3/index.html

7 Intergovernmental Financial Dependency: A Study of 50 Key Dependency Measures for the 50 States, 2012 CliftonLarsenAllen, LLP, http://www.cliftonlarsonallen.com/IFD50statestudy/ (Direct Federal Dollars Flowing To States as a Percentage of Total State Revenues-Fiscal Year 2010 Utah ranks 14th at 45.3% – $7,332,975 in federal funds of total state revenues of $16,195,199)

8http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/09/25/america_faces_a_sea_of_red_ink_115571.html

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/gao-federal-spending-driving-unsustainable-debt

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Financial Ready Resolution

The [Organization/Chamber/City/County, etc.] of _________
RESOLUTION 2013-______________
SUPPORTING THE FINANCIAL READY UTAH EFFORTS TO ASSESS AND PROVIDE
FOR THE POTENTIAL RISK TO UTAH FROM DEPENDENCE ON UNSUSTAINABLE
FEDERAL FUNDS

WHEREAS, The [organization/chamber/city/county/etc] of _______________ and the [citizens/businesses/etc.] it represents believe that our national fiscal recklessness poses a great, clear and present threat to America’s future;

WHEREAS, David Walker, former Comptroller General of the United States warns “The most serious threat to the United States is not someone hiding in a cave in Afghanistan or Pakistan, but our own fiscal irresponsibility.”

WHEREAS, the federal government is now in its fourth year of not passing a budget;

WHEREAS, the national debt has now surpassed $16.4 trillion (more than $136,000 per household), annual deficits have exceeded one trillion dollars for each of the last four years, and unfunded obligations for social programs now exceed $85 trillion, with no apparent congressional resolution on the horizon;

WHEREAS, it took 200 years for our nation to accumulate the first trillion dollars in debt and only 286 days to accumulate the most recent trillion;

WHEREAS, $85 billion a month of the national debt and annual deficits are now offset through Federal Reserve operations such a “quantitative easing” and “operation twist;”

WHEREAS, more than 40 cents of every dollar the state of Utah spends comes from the federal government that borrows and/or prints more than 40 cents of every dollar it sends to Utah;

WHEREAS, on New Year’s Eve, Congress merely delayed to March 1, 2013 the implementation of the automatic cuts (“sequestration”) of 8-9% of federal discretionary spending (including funds to state and local governments) and 10% of military spending under the Budget Control Act of 2011;

WHEREAS, this fiscal scenario is by all accounts “unsustainable” for the nation as well as for our state;

WHEREAS, In May of 2012, the American Institute of CPAs in their review of the Federal Government’s most recent Annual Financial Statements warned “The U.S. is not exempt from the laws of prudent finance. We must take steps to put our financial house in order. The credit rating agencies have recently issued renewed warnings of U.S. credit downgrades unless substantive reforms are made. Our current fiscal policy results in mortgaging our nation’s future without investing in it, leaving our children, grandchildren and future generations to suffer the consequences. This is irresponsible, unethical and immoral.”

WHEREAS, restoring fiscal sanity and sustainability is at the heart of jumpstarting economic growth and fostering a business climate where companies can grow and begin to hire; and

WHEREAS, absent credible actions to address this fiscal irresponsibility, uncertainty will continue to dominate business decision-making and economic recovery will languish.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the [Town/City/County] of ___________________ wholeheartedly supports the Financial Ready Utah initiative of fostering within our state an enterprise risk management process to assess the immediacy, severity and probability of risks from any reductions of federal funds to the state of Utah and how the state will marshal the resources, human and capital, of the state to prioritize and provide the most essential government services; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the [Town/City/County] of ___________________ calls upon local, state and national representatives to take immediate and sustained action to eliminate deficit spending and secure economic self-reliance to our states and our nation.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the [Town/City/County] of ___________________ calls upon national representatives to pass a budget each year and adopt a credible and sustainable plan to balance those budgets.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the [Town/City/County] of ___________________ calls upon its fellow towns, cities, and counties to do all in their power and influence to support Utah’s elected representatives, including Utah’s governor, attorney general, legislature, congressional delegation and county commissioners, to exert their utmost abilities, influence and authority to adopt and implement comprehensive financial risk managements measures for our state, with time being of the essence.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT copies of this resolution be sent to the Governor, Attorney General, Senate President, Speaker of the House, each member of Utah’s congressional delegation, the Utah Association of Counties, the Utah League of Cities and Towns, Financial Ready Utah,

Utah State Chamber of Commerce, the ___________ School District Board, and the ______________ Chamber of Commerce.

PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this the _____th day of January, 2013.

_________________________________, [President/Mayor/Chairman, etc.]

SEAL

ATTEST:

___________________________

_________________, Clerk

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How You Can Take Action

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The magnitude of the financial earthquake is daunting, but as more citizens get involved in the dialog, the better off we are in finding sustainable results. Here are some suggestions for making a difference:

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What Is the Debt Ceiling and Why Should We Care?

You survived the fiscal cliff and now you are hearing about a new concern: The debt ceiling.

The debt ceiling is the maximum amount of money that the government can borrow to issue payments for programs including Social Security, Medicare benefits, tax refunds and military salaries. This 4-minute video does a great job explaining why you should care.

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Preparing for the “Big One”

Stash your cash for emergencies

Stash your cash for emergencies

Living in Utah means that not only do we have fire drills, we have earthquake drills.

In April 2012, Be Ready Utah had their first Shakeout. The 2013 Great Utah Shakeout is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. on April 17.

Although it’s just a dress rehearsal. Let’s look into our wallets and think about what our finances look like in that dress rehearsal. The process is less impulsive in a “duck and cover” kind of way and more take-time-to-stash-your- cash way.

Here are a few tips to help you prepare:

Keep Cash
Imagine every ATM cleaned out of cash, grocery stores closed (or looted!) and nothing but plastic for payment. Whatever you can tuck away for emergencies is important to have in paper form.

Know Your Numbers
Have a list of your account numbers for cards and phone numbers for your banking institutions.

Protect Your Papers
If you have important financial documents and paper money, keep it protected in a safety deposit box fire-proof safe. Between floods and heavy debris, you want to make sure these documents are intact.

Have an Emergency Fund
You should already have at least 3 months of your cost of living in savings, but if you don’t, get that ready.

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How to Get Involved

“What can I do? Where do I start?”

Getting involved doesn’t need to take up a significant amount of time. Whether you simply share a story about financial preparedness or legislation or volunteer to educate, it’s up to you on your level of involvement. Here are a few tips to get you started:

 

–  “Like” Financial Ready Utah on Facebook

– Follow us on Twitter

– Educate community groups about “What’s At Stake?” The AICPA has a multimedia presentation called What’s At Stake?

– Lend your expertise to one of your municipal governments. Offer to volunteer for a budget or finance committee.

– Contact your legislators and encourage them to support the creation of a fiscal responsibility task force.

– Write to the governor thanking him for setting an example of fiscal responsibility in our state and encouraging him to continue to work to find solutions to our fiscal challenges.

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Utah Students Test Below Average in School Finance Analysis

How would your kids do in a national test for financial analysis?

How would your kids do in a national test for financial analysis?

Will increasing funding for education prevent our students from falling behind? In a recent study, our students tested below average in School Finance Analysis. Overall, Utah is ranked at No. 38, but fall to a D in the school finance analysis category, putting us at No. 47 in that area.

This article in The Salt Lake Tribune shows the other areas where our students are falling behind.

Would more funding help? Could we do a better job of educating our children in the home when it comes to financial issues?

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How CPAs Are Helping Utah Prepare

JournalEntry_Jan13_cvr

This article was originally published in the January edition of The Journal Entry, published by the Utah Association of CPAs.

By Dan Griffiths, CPA

Leadership means having the courage to say the hard things that people need to hear. Ernie Almonte, a past chair of the AICPA taught me this lesson and it is something I have experienced personally over the past several months.

It Starts with a Conversation

When I participated in the 2010 AICPA Leadership Academy, we were asked to spend time discussing high-leverage opportunities for the CPA profession. Among others, we suggested that we are uniquely positioned to take a leadership role on the issue of government fiscal responsibility because CPAs have the public’s trust in financial matters. I distinctly remember senior AICPA leadership speaking up when this idea was discussed. They described how difficult it would be for the Institute to take a position on the issue because it was so politically sensitive.

Fast forward to May of this year. At its 125th anniversary celebration in Washington D.C., the AICPA unveiled a report, “What’s at Stake? A CPA’s Insights into the Federal Government’s Finances,” in which the AICPA came out in support of David Walker’s Comeback America Initiative making a strong case for fiscal responsibility.

When I returned home, I took the report to my local chamber of commerce in West Jordan and shared it with a few state legislators. The West Jordan Chamber of Commerce has now drafted a position paper, referencing the report and calling on local, state, and national leaders to take action. They have shared the paper with several other chambers and received strong support. Leaders with the Utah Association of CPAs met with state legislators this summer to discuss a public awareness campaign and prepare legislation at the state level to address issues of fiscal sustainability.

Similar discussions are taking place around the country. All of this was possible because the CPA profession had the courage to say some of the hard things that we all need to hear. In doing so, we inspired others to act.

Let’s Get Prepared
Our meetings in the summer and fall led to the creation of Financial Ready Utah, a non-profit dedicated to educating citizens, business, and government of the need for financial preparedness. We will be working together with the Be Ready Utah campaign established to promote emergency preparedness.

Representative Ken Ivory of West Jordan frames up the issue as follows:

“In Utah, we pride ourselves on our fiscal responsibility. We balance our budget. The painful truth is 40% of our state spending comes from a federal government that borrows 40 cents of every dollar it spends. As a business, if 40% of your revenue was derived from a single unsustainable source, wouldn’t you want to develop some contingency plans to prepare for declines in that revenue?

“Everyone knows that federal finances are a mess. The numbers are truly mind-boggling. An important footnote that the CPA community will understand is the fact that the federal government reports current year spending on a cash basis. It fails to incorporate the year-over-year growth in unfunded obligations for everything from Social Security and Medicare to Veteran’s benefits. If the federal government were to report its financial results the same way that U.S. corporations are required to report their results, estimates put the annual deficit as high as five trillion dollars. That’s more than $40,000 per household in a single year! Without a change of course, we will be facing a lot of broken promises.”

Senator Deidre Henderson was recently elected to the Utah State Senate. About five years ago, she decided to get involved in the political process as the campaign manager for Jason Chaffetz. “When I saw federal deficits hit 500 billion dollars, that’s when I felt compelled to get involved. With six trillion dollars in accumulated debt since then, what I wouldn’t give to see annual deficits of only half a trillion dollars.”

In 2011, we watched the debacle of the debt ceiling debate and the failure of the so-called Super Committee to reach any consensus. The fiscal cliff fiasco, being played out in Congress as this article goes to print, makes it clear that the answers to these challenges are not to be found in Washington. If we want things to change, we’ll need to start here in our state.

Watch for New State Legislation
In 2011, Representative Ivory crafted and passed a bill requiring state agencies to report federal receipts and to begin to develop contingency plans should those funds decrease in any way. In the wake of the credit downgrade of the United States, Ivory relates “when Moody’s began reviewing all states for corresponding ratings downgrades, this bill was a major factor in not even reviewing Utah’s credit rating for downgrade as we were the only state making such preparations for the unfortunate prospect of diminishing federal funds. Utah is leading the nation on this issue.”

Senator Henderson and Representative Ivory are sponsoring a package of bills during the upcoming legislative session that takes this preparation to a whole new level. The legislation contemplates the creation of a task force to review the immediacy, severity and probability of risks to Utah’s fiscal sustainability and to implement broad planning and budget measures to address such risks. The task force would be composed of legislators and leaders in business (including the CPA profession), the community, and municipal government.

They will be charged with identifying key risks we currently face and how to prepare for them. In order to address unprecedented, looming fiscal issues, we need to think differently. There will need to be changes in the way that we plan and budget. Senator Henderson indicates that, “as I meet with legislators from other states, it’s clear that Utah is leading. I recently attended a conference where nearly every session mentioned what Utah is doing. Other states are looking to Utah as a model for confronting issues of fiscal responsibility.”

What Can You Do?
You understand numbers. You know that government deficits are being reported on a cash basis and do not reflect the astounding growth in unfunded obligations for things like Social Security and Medicare. You know how the story ends. You have seen what too much debt can do to a business or household. Most of all, people trust you to be objective and balanced.

Share the message. This is not about politics; it’s about the unfortunate math! Talk to family, friends and neighbors. Help them understand the scope of the math problem and most importantly, the urgency in addressing it. Write an op-ed for the local paper. Give some encouragement to your state legislators and to the governor. There are no easy answers and it will take courage to act. Help them see the upside in preparing now for the financial “earthquakes” on the horizon.

Get Involved. Join with the UACPA in the Financial Ready Utah campaign. Your city, county or school district probably has a budget committee, volunteer. Your insights as a CPA will be invaluable. Our municipal governments will face enormous fiscal strain as the federal government is forced to deleverage in some form. We will need CPAs to pitch in and help with those challenges. To quote Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. It is the only thing that ever has.”

Speak up, People Will Listen
We might be tempted to ask, “What difference could I possibly make? I’m just one voice. I’m just a numbers guy or gal.” In today’s hyper-connected world, one voice can make more of a difference than you may think, especially when that voice is joined by others who are willing to speak the truth in an independent, credible manner.

In the continued wake of the London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR) scandal, trust in corporate, financial, and government institutions are at historic lows. This dearth of integrity, whether perceived or real, creates an opportunity for CPAs. Research by the Gallup Organization indicates that people choose to follow others for these four reasons: trust, compassion, stability, and hope. People are hungry for leaders willing to tell the truth. As CPAs, we can leverage our integrity to foster trust and stability. As leaders, we confront the unvarnished truth, but refuse to complacently accept things as they are. We focus, instead, on the possibilities of what could be and cultivate hope.

I am proud to be part of a profession that is willing to lead. With the accelerating pace of change, now more than ever, we need leaders who can create a sense of stability and inspire in others a feeling of trust and hope. Are we up to the challenge? Individually and collectively, are we prepared to say the hard things people need to hear? As a state, are we willing to confront the fact that 40% of our spending comes from an unsustainable source? Are we prepared to do what it takes to ensure that the future we leave to our children will be better than the one we inherited from our parents? Will we have the courage to stand up and speak the truth even when it’s uncomfortable?

I, for one, believe that we will. Future generations of CPAs are counting on us.

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