Taxes
Karma's gonna get ya
Despite the temptations, a higher gaming tax would be bad public policy.
In almost every legislative session for 20 years, the Nevada Resort Association has tried to get taxes raised on other Silver State industries.
Their benefits, our potholes
The costs of NVPERS put taxpayers in a jam.
What a summer. No sooner did streets and sidewalks collapse in mid-town Manhattan, than another example of the country’s aging infrastructure plummeted into the mighty Mississippi River in Minnesota.
The great public authority swindle: Part II
Why governance in Southern Nevada is so oddly opaque.
This is the second of a two-part series examining the undemocratic, corruptive and profligate nature of public authorities, in Nevada and around the nation.
It was set up in the 1950s, when the Mob controlled Vegas
The great public authority swindle: Part I
Politicians learned early on how to bypass the voters.
This is the first of a two-part series examining the undemocratic, corruptive and profligate nature of public authorities, in Nevada and around the nation.
A mid all the allegations that surround the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority year in and year out, the issue of the LVCVA’s unique legal structure always seems to escape attention.
Eating the 'rich'
A state income tax would limit both freedom and prosperity.
The 2007 Legislature is over and Nevada taxpayers escaped without further bludgeoning. But we can’t rest easy.
A TASC for Nevada
Economic benefits for the Silver State of TASC-style spending control
Legal constraints on government spending redound to the benefit of the economy and substantial improvements in living standards.
Frequently Asked Questions (and Hysterical Allegations) Regarding TASC
In principle, the idea behind the Tax and Spending Control amendment currently proposed for the Nevada Constitution is a good one.
Blatherskite
The higher-taxes crowd is misrepresenting America’s founders
The Silver State nowadays is hearing a lot of what America’s founding generation called bletherskate.
Though dictionaries today spell it blatherskite, the meaning remains the same as in the late 18th century: nonsense.
Cringing as a strategy
Timid defenders of Nevada business need a new game plan
The Las Vegas Chamber says it is opposing TASC because the proposed constitutional amendment “does nothing” about financial liabilities the state has under its Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) and Public Employee Benefit Program (PEBP).
This is a peculiarly flaccid argument.
Weak arguments against TASC
History shows that putting some limit on the growth of government bureaucracies, government spending, and government taxes is not unreasonable.
In a recent Sunday edition of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, columnist Geoff Schumacher used a number of commonly cited arguments against the Tax and Spending Control initiative of State Senator Beers. Let’s review a few of them.
The op-ed asserts the “...initiative violates the spirit of American governance. We are a republic, which means we elect representatives to make governmental decisions on our behalf.” This argument is fallacious on its face. All democratic governments impose restrictions on their elected officials. That is the primary purpose of constitutions. In this case, the initiative simply limits the amount by which taxes and spending can increase. The average annual limit to increases in taxes and spending under the initiative based on historic population and inflation as well as projections would be in the neighborhood of 5 to 6 per cent—still a greater increase than most Nevadans will see in their incomes.
