Hoss, you are not the only person posting here bashing Utah's hunting and management. And speaking of straw man, you just took everything that I said I did not like about how Utah is managed, and then tried to use it to prove me wrong. Do you find that odd? Because I did, at least a little odd. Finally, I did not say I'm happy with not "being the worst." So your 401k statement, is...as you like to call it, a straw man.
I put Utah against any western state, at the top. Not just above last place. Colorado may have better deer hunting overall, but it does not have better big game hunting overall. Arizona might be argued to have better elk hunting (although I personally would dispute this), that does not mean they have better big game hunting overall. Wyoming has better antelope hunting, but not better big game hunting overall. When looked at in aggregate, Utah does pretty darn well, actually.
Yes, there are things I hate about how Utah operates, and just to be clear since apparently it did not register the first time I typed it, most of that has to do with the welfare tag program the state runs. But overall, Utah has some pretty awesome big game opportunities, and anyone that says we don't, well, I'm fine if that is your perspective and you'd like to hunt somewhere else.