Growth and development
Media pundits still confused
In "Ostriches are isolated" Jon Ralston attacked the Nevada Policy Research Institute for its criticism of how the government and the media both have handled the discussions and coverage of the state budget-cutting issue. We had the temerity to ask how the alleged "34 percent cut" was calculated – a critical question to which we never received an answer.
Read moreReal Impact
We have heard the words "economic impact" a lot lately in the news. "Bob's Public Relations Firm" has an $X economic impact in Nevada, says the newspaper. But what does that mean?
If you give the government $1
If you give a government official $1, he'll want to start a new program. After starting a new program, he'll have to find a new problem. After finding a new problem, he'll want a bigger building. Before constructing that bigger building, he'll want a bond to pay for it. After bonding and construction, he'll want to hire people to fill the building. After hiring people to fill the building, he'll ask you for another dollar to pay the staff.
If it's not broken, pretend it is
It has once again been made very clear that the "Big Three" among Nevada's tax-hike crowd – the Las Vegas Sun, Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley and incoming Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford – believe that Nevada's tax revenue system is "broken."
Citizen security force?
In English parliamentary elections just after World War II, Winston Churchill found himself on the defensive against a well mobilized Labour Party. The Labour Party had argued that "planning had won the war," so "planning would win the peace."
More bad bailouts
Housing prices in Nevada have been falling like a rock – which is not surprising, since they previously rose like a rocket ship. Current homeowners, mortgage brokers and real-estate agents want to stop the falling home prices, and politicians are too eager to "help."
Running in circles
Imagine a dog chasing its own tail. Why does it do that? Does it actually think it will catch the tail? Now imagine 150 of Southern Nevada 's top political and economic leaders running in circles, chasing their own tales of woe and the wonders that could be – given enough tax money. It's an image that gets you to the essence of the recent forum hosted by UNLV and the Brookings Institute in Las Vegas to consider recent a Brookings policy report.
Fundamentals of our economy
In this video, UCLA economist Lee E. Ohanian suggests that the fundamentals of the US economy before the bailout were strong.
Imagine ferocious spending of your money
Brian Greenspun, publisher of the Las Vegas Sun, is one of 50 trustees of the Brookings Institute, a center-left think tank in Washington D.C. On Sunday, a story on the front page of Greenspun's insert ballyhooed the arrival in town of a Brookings expert to lead an invitation-only "get-together" of 120 Southern Nevadans with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Tuesday.
We told you so
"Credit is frozen." "Interbank lending has frozen." "The government must do something to free up credit." "The bailout will free up credit and get this economy going." We have heard it all. And we at NPRI warned it was all bogus.
