Budget
Speaker scrutinizing subsidies
Buckley takes aim at tax abatements and incentives
Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley and her colleagues in the Nevada Legislature recently began to consider curtailing or eliminating targeted tax abatements and other incentives within the state as a way of generating additional tax revenue.
Saving kids ... AND money
Nevada has much to gain from Corporate Tuition Tax Credits
As the Nevada Legislature convenes in Carson City to discuss how to cover the imaginary budget shortfall—imaginary, in that it's a shortfall between the money projected to come in and the 17 percent increase in spending that politicians want—the fate of taxpayers and businesses hangs in the balance.
Old Vegas lives
“Free” tax money is available, but integrity is hard to find
Board members of the Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency (LVRDA) and those who are dependent on them for taxpayer subsidies apparently have little shame. In response to recent public opposition to the LVRDA and its use of tax dollars to build lavish public facilities and subsidize big developers, board members of the LVRDA have jettisoned adherence to the state's ethics laws.
The real danger
We’re not getting our money’s worth from NSHE
Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor Jim Rogers took aim at Gov. Gibbons this weekend for his position against raising taxes. Rogers, like many others, considers "no new taxes" a dangerous ideology. However, he—and they—are looking at the wrong issue.
Tax Dollar Performance in Nevada
A Quantitative Analysis of the Effectiveness of Government Spending in the Silver State
Quantitative analyses suggest that tax dollars are being spent quite ineffectively in the Silver State.
NPRI's Transparency Project on the LVCVA: Feb. 16, 2009 update
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is attempting to redefine its legal identity and that of its top official in the wake of the Nevada Policy Research Institute's disclosures of improper spending, ethics violations and a longstanding breach of contract by the authority's advertising agency.
The impending doom that isn’t
Nevada’s political class has many willing flaks within the media
Words have meanings. It's a simple enough concept, but few people seem to really understand it. Words like "crisis," "devastation" and "disaster" conjure up images of impending doom, but they should be used only when truly merited. Yet, in reference to Nevada's budget and revenue situation, these words are seen almost daily in the news.
Know your role
It’s not the government’s job to create jobs
Have you ever been driving with one of those dreaded backseat drivers? "Turn left! Turn left!" "Wouldn't it have been faster to go through town?" Horrified gasp and foot hitting an imaginary brake as a car turns into the roadway 300 yards in front of you. While backseat drivers' advice might be well intentioned, it drives us crazy.
NPRI's Transparency Project on the LVCVA: Feb. 4, 2009 update
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's 14-member board of directors will face a crucial decision at its next meeting on Feb. 13: Whether to extend R&R Partners' $87 million-a-year advertising contract for another five years.
Why is Culinary alone?
City’s redevelopment agency has been taking money away from teachers, firefighters and police
Much controversy has arisen over the Culinary Union’s recent opposition to the Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency. City officials are claiming that the Culinary Union is operating under false pretenses.
