@JayEvensen

I'm the Opinion Editor for the Deseret News @deseret, a journalist with four decades of experience covering politics and social issues.

 Salt Lake City
deseretnews.com/blogs
Joined November 2008
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This is the third part of my series from Bangladesh: deseret.com/opinion/2025/06/… @NickKristof

How to end poverty for good

Bangladesh's interim leader has hit on a solution, based on capitalism and entrepreneurship, that works for many.

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This is the second part of my series from Bangladesh: deseret.com/opinion/2025/06/… @NickKristof

Special report: What would you endure to win freedom?

In Bangladesh, this lifelong politician has been tortured, but she still fights for freedom.

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Read the stories I wrote from my recent trip to Bangladesh. @NickKristof
Deseret Magazine@deseretmagazine9 Jun 2025
Muhammad Yunus, friend to Utah, works to bring peace and prosperity to Bangladesh. | By @JayEvensen deseret.com/opinion/2025/06/…

Bangladesh's leader Muhammad Yunus has spent a lifetime fighting to help his country

Deseret News Opinion Editor Jay Evensen has known Muhammad Yunis since 1997 when the world leader first visited Utah. He traveled to Dhaka to speak again with Yunus, entrepreneurs in the country, and...

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Muhammad Yunus is in danger of going to prison. The U.S. should speak out. @NickKristof @marwilliamson deseret.com/opinion/2023/8/3…

Opinion: Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, a friend to Utah, is in danger

The prime minister of Bangladesh has been persecuting him for years. Now he faces criminal charges

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Why Utah won't be getting permanent free transit anytime soon. deseret.com/opinion/2023/1/3… @RideUTA

Opinion: What are the chances free fares will come to Utah transit?

The transit authority had some success with free-fare February last year and plans a 10-day free period for the All-Star Game. Will transit riders see permanent free fares in the future?

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The governor @SpencerJCox and @slcmayor of the largest city may want it, but permanent free fares are not coming to Utah any time soon. #RideUTA
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Why government lotteries are a ripoff. deseret.com/opinion/2022/11/… @SPGambling

Opinion: Powerball, the ultimate government fraud

Americans should consider the implications of having state governments, whose interests should be the public’s welfare, urging people to gamble

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Long Covid could be a reason for the labor shortage in certain industries. @long_covid @patientled deseret.com/opinion/2022/8/3…

Opinion: Could long Covid be a factor in the labor shortage?

A new report says as many as 4 million people may be unemployed because of long COVID-19 symptoms, while many others may be less productive because they struggle with symptoms while remaining...

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Student loan forgiveness doesn't solve the problem, which is that a college education is too expensive. #tuition @Deseret deseret.com/opinion/2022/8/2…

Opinion: Why student loan forgiveness isn’t the happy solution it pretends to be

Student loan forgiveness ignores the root problem, which is that college tuition is too expensive and increasing too quickly

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We don't need more IRS employees. We need real tax reform and simplification. @insttaxreform @TaxReformAdvoc8 @UtahTaxpayers @Deseret deseret.com/opinion/2022/8/1…

Opinion: What everyone’s missing about the Inflation Reduction Act

The income tax in this country is far too complicated. Fixing that would take real, difficult and bipartisan work that neither side, apparently, wants to do, but it would solve a lot of problems.

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Free money won't make you happy. deseret.com/opinion/2022/8/3… @LesBernal @SPGambling

Opinion: How does free money affect your life? You might be surprised

A new study by Harvard and Exeter shows that receiving unearned money doesn’t improve people’s outlook on life

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Jay Evensen retweeted
Deseret News
@Deseret21 Jul 2022
Muhammed Yunus, a frequent visitor to Utah and helper of the poor, needs support from the U.S. against baseless charges that could put him in prison. | By @JayEvensen deseret.com/opinion/2022/7/2…

Opinion: Life-threatening corruption endangers Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammed Yunus

Muhammed Yunus, a frequent visitor to Utah, needs support from the U.S. against baseless charges that could put him in prison.

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Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus is being unfairly persecuted in his home country. deseret.com/opinion/2022/7/2… #Bangladesh #results @MittRomney #NobelPeacePrize

Opinion: Life-threatening corruption endangers Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammed Yunus

Muhammed Yunus, a frequent visitor to Utah, needs support from the U.S. against baseless charges that could put him in prison.

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Should Utah pump Pacific Ocean water 600 miles to fill the Great Salt Lake? deseret.com/opinion/2022/7/1…

Opinion: Pipe ocean water to the Great Salt Lake? Tread carefully with big ideas

Forty years ago the lake threatened to swallow us. Now, it’s disappearing. We can’t do nothing, and yet nature is bound to make our grand efforts look foolish.

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Read about my interview with Jon Huntsman Jr. on China's economic threat to the U.S. deseret.com/opinion/2022/6/1…

Opinion: A look at the most important questions of the 21st century

Some are predicting China will soon surpass the U.S. as the largest economy in the world. How will it do this without fully embracing political freedom for its people?

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Why Biden's plan to forgive student loans won't solve the problem of expensive higher education. deseret.com/opinion/2022/6/6… @Deseret @DNewsOpinion

Opinion: Got student debt? Why Biden’s plan won’t solve the problem

Across-the-board loan forgiveness would mostly benefit rich people while ignoring the root problem: enormous higher education costs.

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Paul Volcker taught us how to fix inflation. It takes hard work and makes politicians uncomfortable. Biden is not on that path. @FixtheDebt @Deseret deseret.com/opinion/2022/5/1…

Opinion: Biden is falling to rising inflation

Rising prices don’t respond to timid measures, lectures or gimmicks. Paul Volcker proved it takes fortitude and a lot of pain to stabilize inflation.

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Why Utah should be proud that it ranks 50th in gambling addiction. @SPGambling @LesBernal @DNewsOpinion @wallethub deseret.com/opinion/2022/4/2…

Opinion: Utah’s aversion to legal gambling is a good bet

Utah’s stubborn resistance to legal gambling makes it the state with the fewest gambling addictions in the country.

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Ukrainian refugees are running headlong into U.S. failures at the border with Mexico. #UkraineRefugees deseret.com/opinion/2022/4/6…

Opinion: Fleeing Ukrainians run straight into Washington’s failures. Here’s what happened to Ganna

Inhumane treatment, long a hallmark of the treatment of immigrants from the south, is traumatizing refugees already scarred by war, who are coming because President Biden said they are welcome.

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Read my piece on a strange Utah paradox. The state has the 15th worst tax burden in the nation, and yet its people are the most stress-free. I thought paying taxes was the very definition of stress. @wallethub deseret.com/opinion/2022/3/3…

Opinion: Utahns are highly taxed and not stressed. How is that even possible?

A pair of studies by WalletHub shed light on Utah’s tax burden and stress levels compared to other states. What should we make of this?

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