Mr. Herbert didn't give us much advice. Much of his speech here at Utah Valley University seemed to him talking a lot about politics and his accomplishments. And that is just fine. There is a lot to learn from someone who was successful in business and successful in politics. It seems to accomplish so much, in politics especially, requires a unique blend of diplomacy and intelligence.
He talked about how the election process is incredibly difficult. You basically have to say, "Here I am, chose me." He commented that it takes audacity to do that but it's a necessary part of our election process.
Mr. Herbert was a realtor by profession. He believes that America's freedom and leadership starts with land ownership. If you don't have that then you don't have freedom of commerce. He talked about how lucky we are to live in this country and that we take for granted a lot of the opportunities that we have. But he and Governor Huntsman came from business. Governor Huntsman (from Huntsman Chemical that his father billionaire Jon Huntsman started) had experience running a much larger business. And because of that they were able to approach Utah's problems and effectively solve some of the problems facing Utah today.
They instituted tax reform. They reduced the income tax form 7% to 5% and subsequently and simultaneously increased revenues. From this they were able to build Utah's infrastructure and help with roads. He claims that many jobs are lost due to poor transportation. He cited Dell's decision to open a factory in Tennessee instead of Texas because of the gridlock of Texas' highways. I can't remember the exact figure but Texas lost thousands of jobs because of this. Mr. Herbert said that transportation is not just a quality of life issue, if affects businesses. And that is they have put 10 times as much money towards transportation. The Utah government has 207 road projects happening right now.
Utah's government has also made great leaps in education, and many other areas.
He concluded his speech talking about leadership. Leadership is: Vision, it is something that is learned and adapted, it is the ability to communicate, it requires goals, and it is most definitely work.
