Budget
How much for a gallon of education?
Arguments for more education spending are out of gas.
When gas prices climbed over $4 a gallon earlier this summer, many Americans were outraged. Whether it is through government action or private solutions, citizens are demanding relief. But the rise in fuel prices over the last four decades pales in comparison to increases in per-pupil spending on public education in America. From 1961-2007, per-pupil spending increased by 293 percent after adjusting for inflation.
Waste, hidden spending and records destruction
Lots of taxpayer money is being spent but not reported.
Further open records requests and audits have revealed that some local governments destroy their intergovernmental lobbying records so quickly that no public account remains to reveal exactly how taxpayer dollars are spent each year.
Be careful with this one
The Tax Foundation’s new study is not a case for tax hikes.
It's easy to imagine the glee with which Nevada's ever-higher-taxes crowd must be greeting a new study from the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation, which found that Silver State residents enjoy the nation's second-lowest state and local tax burden.
What’s at stake in 2008?
The policy implications of this year’s elections could be significant.
An unpopular Republican governor, an increasingly deep economic funk, and a national outlook that nearly all prognosticators say greatly favors their party. Nevada Democrats couldn't have come up with a better storyline heading into the 2008 elections if they'd been allowed to write the script themselves.
The perks of public service
They all add up to a very high cost to taxpayers.
While public employees deserve a quality compensation package, many of them receive excessive pay and perks at taxpayer expense.
Spend, spend again
Our current approach on education ensures we won’t succeed.
The education establishment consistently bemoans Nevada's lower-than-average per-pupil spending on education. Implicit in their constant return to this statistic is a misguided belief that spending more money on education naturally leads to better education results.
Nevada's hidden spending
Transparency should be a higher priority in the Silver State.
Subpar accounting practices in Nevada government make it difficult for taxpayers to learn how hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are spent.
New approach needed on public pensions
Do Nevada's political leaders have the courage to act?
To reform NVPERS, our politicians would have to look beyond their next elections and selflessly put the greater good above their own retirement planning.
Was that really so hard?
Government proves it can cut spending.
Faced with a large and growing revenue shortfall, Gov. Jim Gibbons has worked successfully with state legislators to do the sensible thing and scale back the size of the state budget. Still, while the media are likely to chronicle this saga primarily as a triumph of bipartisan cooperation, the real moral of this story likely will be missed.
Getting Plucked in Nevada
How Government Covertly Increases Your Tax Burden
You'd never know it from the incessant calls for new taxes on Nevadans, but Silver State residents already pay some of the highest taxes in the nation.
