Budget
Bursting the spending balloon
Budget shortfalls should give hope to Nevadans.
The current financial crisis and related economic downturn are leading to sharply reduced tax revenues across state and local governments in Nevada. While the resulting budget shortfalls are frequently viewed as deplorable, they could be the silver lining of these cloudy times.
The code language is flying again
Nevada's tax-hikers have you in their cross-hairs
Former governor Kenny Guinn – he of the record near-billion tax increase – is beating the drum again for "long-term" state planning. Just what does that really mean? Let's time-travel back to 1998, during Guinn's initial run for governor, when "long-term planning" was one of his frequent talking points.
Less Is More
How Government Caused the Financial Crisis
Public authorities in Nevada and across the globe are pointing fingers in the wrong direction. They are blaming private investors and entrepreneurs engaging in free enterprise for the faults of Washington. Senator Harry Reid's website claims that a lack of government involvement in transactions between private individuals "caused the current financial crisis hurting Nevada families."
Is the tax structure broken?
No, but the spending structure is.
An economic slowdown in Nevada has state and local governments considering tax increases to cover declining revenues. At the state level, much ado has been made about a supposed "budget shortfall" while the Nevada Association of Counties is pushing legislation that would allow counties to increase property taxes.
A modest proposal
Outsourcing education?
Throughout the year several Nevadans, including Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley (D-Las Vegas), former governor Bob Miller, casino mogul Steve Wynn and higher-ed chancellor Jim Rogers have claimed that budget cuts to education in would be "devastating" for the children. These advocates of "Big Education" would like to see Nevada increase spending based on the notion that we "underfund" education relative to other states.
Spending limits or bust
Nevada must look at both sides of the boom-bust issue.
Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley (D) hosted a town-hall forum Monday, ostensibly to discuss challenges facing Nevada and hear residents' ideas about solving our problems. Her central message was that state government's tax inflow is highly susceptible to larger boom and bust cycles.
Putting utilities on the dole
Why subsidies for renewable energy are a bad idea
Nevada Senator Harry Reid is among those pushing a bill through Congress that would extend the federal government's biggest subsidy for renewable energy sources – the Production Tax Credits program.
The Nevada Piglet Book 2008
Open-records requests made of state agencies and local governments around Nevada reveal that wasteful government spending is rampant throughout the Silver State.
No Magic Beans
Nevada cannot buy progress in education
Students are back in school now, and pundits, reporters, policy wonks, bureaucrats and politicians are back to debating what the state's budgetary shortfall means for the future of Nevada public education.
New taxes, same old tune
Reasons for more taxes fall flat.
Jon Ralston recently joined the chorus of politicians and pundits calling for a "restructuring" of Nevada's tax code, which, in plain language, means "raising taxes."
