NEVADA IS UNAMERICAN

A battle being waged for 5 days in Carson City is coming to a collision point. Like islands threatened by today’s tsunamis in the Pacific Ocean, caused by built up pressure being released, so to is Nevada faced with potential destruction from years of constraint on revenue reform.

Nevada legislators have long been the dog being wagged by the tail that is big business in this state. With few but powerful interests in this state (mining and gaming), the legislature has rarely gone directly against their will. This is why Nevada has the lowest gaming and mining taxes anywhere on this globe.

If that wasn’t enough, Nevada has practically no other taxes beyond very modest sales and property tax. It’s no wonder that Nevada is at the bottom of the heap in spending on essential governmental programs that American’s enjoy everywhere. So where do we stand?

Higher Ed: 48th
K-12: 52 (Puerto Rico spends more per pupil than Nevada)
Fewest government employees per cap.
Least taxes per capita

Is there a correlation with the above stats and the stats that follow?

3rd highest violent crime rate
highest high school drop out rate
2nd highest suicide rate

Is it any surprise that CNBC ranked Nevada 45th in business climate? Quality of living factors into a business friendly environment.

Why does Nevada continue to be dead last in everything? I have been a registered Republican for 10 years. I’ve been to many other states around this country. The kind of conservatism in this state is drastically different from the rest of America to the point where it is drastically Un-American.

Big business claims that we shouldn’t tax them during a recession. When the economy was good, they cried not to raise taxes for fear it would hurt the economy. During recovery, surely they will say taxes would hurt the recovery. Turns out that business thrives in the two most taxed states in the nation, New York and California.

No one is suggesting we try for that. Climbing out from the bottom is all we ask. Let’s try a legitimate effort to fund our basic (and I mean utterly basic) programs in this state, like education, and public health and safety. The fact that all we can do is talk cuts is so absurd. We are backwards to the point of lunacy.

The session is not looking like it will close today, but no one really knows what is being discussed behind closed doors down there. For real time coverage and chatting of the special session, go here.

The Las Vegas Sun is reporting that Jim Gibbons is willing to raise taxes (oops, fees) to balance the State of Nevada’s budget deficit. Are fees the same as taxes? How about removal of tax deductions?

With a roughly $880 billion projected deficit, the governor and lawmakers have their work cut out in the 2010 Special Session of the Nevada Legislature. The Nevada Constitution grants the governor the power and authority to convene a special session to address the specific agenda he outlines. After realizing the brevity of the situation, it now appears the Governor is now prepared to put more on the table than was expected by many.

Raising fees is now an option, despite the governor’s previous positions. A spokesman for Gibbons said “If the group that pays the fee agrees to pay the fee, and the group that pays the fee gets the advantage of the fee, then the governor won’t stand in the way.”

Chuck Muth argues that these fees are taxes and violates the “tax payers pledge” that Gibbons signed. Others argue that Gibbons should not be bound by pledges that have no meaning in the real world. Committing to principles is one thing. Committing to action before an event unfolds is ludicrous.

If the governor demonstrates moderate rationale, I’ll have to give him more credit than previously thought was deserved. It would take great courage to put the “right things” first, and the signed piece of paper second. It would no doubt disappoint some of his core followers.

In addition to increasing fees, the governor is now discussing the removal of tax deductions for the mining industry. Again, Burns defended that removal of a deduction is not a tax increase.

This crisis may find a resolution, but it will take cooperation, and clarity of priorities in Carson City. Perhaps our message was received by the governor’s office. I want to read in the paper in a few weeks that:

“Governor Gibbons and law makers worked together to balance the budget with only small cuts to appropriations from the general fund.”

Nevada Legislators from the interim finance committee heard from concerned citizens about the budget deficit today, February 13, 2010, at a Town Hall meeting at the Grant Sawyer building in Las Vegas and at the Reno City Hall. See video and pictures here.

In Las Vegas, college and university students were present with their signs strapped to their shirts. They were not allowed entrance into the meeting because of the signs. They stood their ground outside, with their message that they may be “whiners” but also voters.

Nevada faces a near 900 million dollar budget shortfall this year, after last years revenue projections did not live up to their hopes. This Tuesday the Governor is expected to officially announce a special session of the state legislature to address the deficit.

A legal question remains as to what the legislature can do to address the deficit. Nevada law limits the special session to address what the Governor calls it for. One legal standpoint says that lawmakers cannot raise revenues unless the Governor puts that on the agenda. However, another position is that the call to address the deficit by the Governor cannot stipulate how they address the deficit. Certainly raising revenue would be a way to address the deficit.

If all this is not bad enough, the expected shortfall next year is expected to be even more devastating. Without dynamic revenue reform in this state, we are looking at an end to the institutions of educations as we know them, and dramatic underfunding of our most vital public programs.

What is holding us back from revenue reform? Nevada has been spoiled for years with next to nothing in taxes. Only now we have a growing state with growing demands, and less revenue because of our almost sole reliance on gaming and tourism.

If this problem is to be fixed in the long term, we need an educated workforce, the infrastructure, the excellent institutions, and the revenue to support a diversification to our economy. Some out here think that a low tax structure will attract businesses. This has not worked and it is not going to happen.

Who will want to come to Nevada when we are almost dead last in funding and quality of education? Who will want to come here when we do not have the infrastructure to support expansion?

It is time to stop thinking that “no new taxes” is a solution to our economic woes. That said, over taxation never was either. Nevada is almost 1st in the country in “business tax environment” however. So we have a great deal of room before we could be considered “over taxing” anyone.

Governor Gibbons should stop whining about taxes, and become part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Video and photography will be added shortly.

Governor Gibbons gave his state of the State address tonight. Here is the complete transcript.

Hello, I’m Governor Jim Gibbons. I am always honored to speak directly to you. But the truth is, I would rather that the circumstances did not compel me to address you tonight.

The great inventor and statesman Thomas Edison once said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work.” This insight means a lot to me. My staff has been hard at work reviewing the state budget, the services our state government provides and the dramatic shortfall in state revenues. We are working on solutions to turn this recession into an opportunity to reinvent our State’s government. We may never have an opportunity like this again. The dire economic situation we are facing now requires immediate action.

(more…)

The Clark County Board of Regents’ emergency meeting yesterday was moving, informative, and alarming. The news is not good. Governor Jim Gibbons has proposed 20% cuts for this year, and 29% cuts for the next two years. The board fears that this could mean the reversal of decades of work, and could spell decades more to recover what is lost.

Chairman Leavitt stressed that advocacy on this issue should focus on letter writing and contacting the following legislators:

Sen. Bernice Mathews
Sen. Steven Horsford
Sen. Bill Raggio
Assemblyman Morse Arberry Jr.
Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley
Assemblyman Marcus Conklin
Assemblywoman Heidi Gansert
Assemblywoman Debbie Smith

You can find contact information here for the Assembly or state Senate.

Please flood the office of Jim Gibbons with emails and calls too.

You can find more at the CSN President’s official blog here. There you will find a power point of Chancellor Klaich’s presentation to the board from yesterday.

Be sure to become a fan of our Facebook page that we started to help advocate this issue!

SOS! Save Our School: Student movement to stop cuts to CSN's budget

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The Clark County Board of Regents will have an emergency meeting to discuss cutting the budgets by 20%. See details below. Here is a link to the agenda.

Agenda 02/02/2010

There are several ways this problem can be fixed. For starters, how about we prioritize education? It is our future. We can spend a little now and make huge gains in the future. What we do not spend now will turn in to huge costs in law enforcement, property damage, lost tax revenues, drug treatment, family counseling, and countless other societal ailments. Cut other less important areas of the budget. There is a 160 million dollar line of credit that the state has access to. Use that for education!

Second, maybe it is time for Nevada to institute an income tax. Many people cringe at the idea. However, what is worse on the economy and people’s lives? Massive layoffs, leading to more unemployment or a small state income tax that is scaled for income levels? By the way, 43 of the 50 states have an income tax. Nevada is emerging as a more populated and influential state. Time to embrace that.

Finally, if all else fails, how about those capital account reserves that the Clark County School District has? Brian Sandoval suggests diverting money from the class size reduction conversion into the general fund and using some $110 million in capital reserves to offset the diversion. Not a bad idea, but how about prioritizing that money for only education purposes?

This is no easy task we face here in Nevada. I suggest that the issue of raising an income tax could better be fought by the teacher’s union in a campaign called S.O.S. (Save Our Schools), because the electorate will better listen to teachers than to politicians. I know politicians do not want to suggest tax hikes. This is not popular. But if it is to save the schools, then why not?!