Sen. Hickman on Washington

Sen. Bill Hickman shared a few thoughts in the Tribune about our federal government. As someone who has spent 16 years in the political trenches -- making the tough decisions to balance a budget every year -- it seems that Bill is a bit frustrated with a federal government that increasingly wants to do the work of the states and locals but is unwilling to battle with the difficult issues it should be addressing, like immigration and energy policy.

I regularly meet with legislators from other states. Bill's sentiments are directly in line with the vast majority of state legislators across the nation. States aren't perfect. Often, we're far from it. But we're worlds better, or at least braver, than the show horses in D.C., who habitually hide from tough or controversial issues.

As for Utah's 5 representatives in Congress, I think they are exceptional human beings. And that's what really depresses me. If a Rob Bishop or a Bob Bennett can't put a significant dent in the machine, we're in a bad way and in desperate need of reform.

Take energy policy. We are enriching terrorists and thugs, the price or our most basic staple of production (energy) is taking off like a rocket, oil companies are making obscene profits, we haven't built a refinery forever, we're doing next to nothing about tapping domestic fuel sources or developing reliable alternatives (e.g., nuclear), but Congress is yapping about how we can seriously jack up production costs by capping and trading carbon dioxide emissions (cap, trade, and export production jobs).

As China races past us, it must be awestruck that it lagged behind a nation led by cowards.