As a father of five, I dream of my kids building a better life than I had growing up. I grew up relatively poor. I have witnessed what it is like to live on food stamps. I know the sting of punitive law enforcement.
However, this dream I have for my kids in some ways appears quite bleak. If my kids want to stay in Utah and raise families here, they’ll need to earn over six figures just to afford a modest home. And it’s not just housing. Groceries, utilities and even eating out occasionally feel increasingly out of reach for young Utahns.
Thousands of families across our state and the country share this quiet concern. Parents wonder if their children can afford the life they built. Young couples do the math, and it doesn’t add up.
Something stands between these dreams and reality: bad public policy.
Utah’s affordability crisis can be remedied significantly by removing the artificial government barriers to prosperity. After spending eight years in the Missouri House of Representatives, I’ve seen how this happens. Regulations pile up, and together they create what I call “bureaucratic bloat.”
Four years ago, I moved my family to Lehi to join Libertas Institute in addressing this. Our mission is to ensure Utahns can pursue their dreams without government overreach. While Libertas Institute has made incredible strides in improving Utah’s own share of the “bureaucratic bloat,” there is still a lot more work to do.
For example, even well-meaning policies that were implemented for health and safety reasons can block the very opportunities they claim to protect. Consider occupational licensing in Utah. It takes more training to become a cosmetologist than a pilot. Combat medics who treated battlefield injuries must get recertified to drive civilian ambulances. Zoning laws, originally designed to separate factories from homes, now artificially constrain housing supply and drive up costs.
Even privacy faces new barriers. Facial recognition scans our faces without warrants. Location data tracks our movements. When we can’t move through our communities without being cataloged by the state, we’ve traded liberty for false security.
Removing barriers to prosperity for Utahns
For Utah’s 2026 legislative session, Libertas Institute proposes five game-changing reforms to restore opportunity for veterans, families, job seekers, those in need of legal aid and every other Utahn. These proposals will fundamentally move the needle rather than acting as a life raft keeping us afloat for another couple of years.
1. Military crosswalk
More than 20,000 service members at Hill Air Force Base will transition to civilian life. Right now, veterans face redundant training before being licensed to do work they’ve already done in uniform. After serving as a Navy machinist mate, I would have needed to undergo additional training to obtain a stationary engineer’s license, the civilian equivalent of my five years of military service. Our proposal creates a clear pathway for veterans to translate military experience into civilian licenses, honoring their service and expertise.
2. Legalize family friendly neighborhoods
We envision a greater number of affordable starter homes in cities across the state and neighborhoods where families can build backyard cottages for their in-laws or grown children, run peaceful home-based businesses, or set up front-yard produce stands without navigating complex webs of regulation. These common-sense reforms give families options, easing the strain of the housing crisis while providing opportunities to connect with their community.
3. Replace degrees with competency
We want to help not only veterans but also all Utahns acquire jobs. To do that, college degrees should no longer be a government-mandated barrier to work. We’re proposing that Utah replace degree requirements for state licenses with competency exams. Applicants would prove their knowledge on their own timeline and at a fraction of the cost, opening doors for people who want to change careers and anyone with talent who lacks formal credentials. This is another common-sense fix to a huge regulatory bottleneck.
4. Expand access to legal services
Right now, if you’re facing legal troubles, your only option is to hire an attorney, often at hundreds of dollars per hour. But most basic legal work can be handled by trained paraprofessionals or even with the assistance of technology at a lower cost. We’re encouraging Utah to allow these alternatives, making justice accessible to more families.
5. Protect from the surveillance state
Personal privacy has been a hallmark of Libertas Institute’s work from our founding. But privacy looks a little different today than it did 15 years ago. Before law enforcement adopts surveillance technology that gives the government unprecedented power to track people’s daily lives, there should be public debate and legislative approval. Our proposal requires transparency and accountability when the government deploys these tools, ensuring safety measures don’t become pretexts for mass surveillance.
Building a future of opportunity for our children starts now
The dream I share with thousands of Utah parents isn’t complicated. Our children deserve the opportunity to find meaningful work, own homes, start businesses and raise families in communities they love. They should not feel like they can only exist with the government’s permission.
This is the Utah we’re building at Libertas Institute: a place where your children will want to stay, where opportunity isn’t rationed by bureaucratic approval and where the next generation really can do better than the last.
The 2026 legislative session is our opportunity to remove obstacles between aspiration and achievement. Freedom needs room to flourish. These five proposals clear the way.