Sandoval raising taxes to increase government employees' pay, funding for full-day K
In March 2012, Gov. Brian Sandoval announced that he supported raising taxes by extending the "temporary" sunset taxes. In a statement released by his office, he said:
In order to avoid cuts to education and other essential services, revenues from the sunset taxes will need to be continued.
Let's leave aside the fact that the best reforms, like the ones repeatedly highlighted by NPRI, save money while increasing results, especially in education. Has Sandoval supported raising taxes solely in order to avoid "cuts"?
Nope. Not by a long shot. Instead, he originally proposed spending tens of millions of dollars more on pre-K and full-day kindergarten programs that produce only minimal and temporary learning gains.
Fast forward to this week, when Gov. Sandoval is playing Santa Claus — tens of millions more to wasteful government programs and special-interest groups, financed by raising your taxes.
Gov. Brian Sandoval announced Monday that he wants to spend $25 million more than he previously proposed on K-12 education in the next biennium.
The funding will be directed to programs to help English language learners and to expand all-day kindergarten. It will bring the total new commitment to the two priorities in Sandoval’s recommended budget to nearly $60 million.
Sandoval also wants to increase state worker take-home pay.
State employees will no longer have to take unpaid furlough days, starting in July 2014, Gov. Brian Sandoval said.
The governor’s original budget provided for decreasing furlough days from six to three per year for the next two years.
Now, Sandoval’s $12 million plan calls for three furlough days between July 1 and June 30, 2014, and no furlough days between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2015.
Funneling more money to wasteful education programs? Increasing the pay received by state workers?
Gov. Sandoval is raising taxes to increase government spending, not just to avoid cuts.
