The economic development of Utah has been dominated by two major forces: the relatively closed system of the original Mormon settlers and the more wide-open, speculative ventures of the state's later immigrants. The Mormons developed agriculture, industry, and a cooperative exchange system that excluded non-Mormons. The church actively opposed mining, and it was mostly with non-Mormon capital, by non-Mormon foreign immigrants, that the state's mineral industry was developed.
In the 1990s, these conflicts were supplanted by a widespread fiscal conservatism that supports business activities and opposes expansion of government social programs at all levels. One Utah politician, J. Bracken Lee, who served as governor from 1949 to 1957, and as mayor of Salt Lake City from 1960 to 72, became nationally famous for his call to repeal the federal income tax.
The Department of Community and Economic Development is the state agency responsible for the expansion of tourism and industry. The department's economic development programs include the Technology Finance Corporation, which uses private venture capital to provide loans for new technological investments. In 2003, the Utah Travel Council launched a new tourism database. Besides business and tourism, other division within the Department focus on Arts, Culture and Learning; Ethnic Affairs; and Community Resources.