The rules don't apply?
The Las Vegas Review-Journal has an astute editorial out today on the whining over Gov. Gibbons' insistence that agencies trim their projected budgets in the face of lower-than-expected revenues.
Plenty of other states, the editorial notes, have it much worse than Nevada.
But regardless of what other states might be doing – isn't it just plain common sense that a decrease in revenue should result in less extravagant spending increases? Why is this even up for debate?
After all, individuals and business owners are hurt by a weakening economy just the same as government is. The rest of us have to tighten our belts when the income simply isn't there to support our desired spending levels.
Many in government, it seems, believe the rules shouldn't apply to them. Worse, they believe they are entitled, through tax hikes, to simply shift the burden of making up for the lost revenue to those same individuals and business owners – thus adding to the economic pinch already being felt in the private sector thanks to a slowing economy.
It's a sad but familiar story.
For more on this topic, check here and here.
