The Facts That Your Elected Representatives Hope You Don’t Learn
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
The show that has been playing itself out over the past three weeks, with the Nevada Legislative Interim Finance Committee hearings and the past week with the Nevada Special Session, has been about portraying the nearly impossible cuts that Legislators will have to make in order to fill the nearly $900 Million hole their spending authorizations have caused. As Geoffrey Lawrence from the Nevada Policy Research Institute points out here the actual actions don’t match up with the spin being placed on the way in which the process is proceeding. Although you would think that every man, woman (and especially) child will be devastated by the final actions the legislature is being forced to reduce spending – when it’s all said and done, far more will be raised in revenue than what gets cut in state spending.
It’s appropriate that Lawrence notes the doublespeak reference, taken from George Orwell’s “1984” classic, because that’s where public policy has gone, twisting the actions of reality to sound more pleasing to those being sheared so government can have more to give through its redistribution efforts.
Not only will the government spending continue (perhaps on a four-day, 10 hour spending basis) but the base for the next biennium budget will be assumed to require increases at even greater levels. The spending gap between those higher expectations for greater government expenditures will also be portrayed against the expiration of the Billion dollar tax increase passed in the 2009 session and the absence of the federal bail-out money that was provided for the current biennium. Already the platform is being constructed for the mother of all tax increases (excuse me, I meant “revenue stabilizations”) which will be at center stage for the 2011 Legislative gathering.
Those required to “step up” “pay their fair share” are being lined up through the proper vilification steps of the political posturing. Our “broader tax base” awaits us, necessary because Nevada government’s spending means so much to those who authorize the spending by virtue of the empowerment provided by those who the money is spent on.
Without major changes through the election process and changes of limiting fiscal irresponsibility by some formula that is hardwired into restricting the continued spending operations – we are going to keep getting what we have today…an economy not capable of providing private sector growth because of government’s insatiable appetite for more.
The show that has been playing itself out over the past three weeks, with the Nevada Legislative Interim Finance Committee hearings and the past week with the Nevada Special Session, has been about portraying the nearly impossible cuts that Legislators will have to make in order to fill the nearly $900 Million hole their spending authorizations have caused. As Geoffrey Lawrence from the Nevada Policy Research Institute points out here the actual actions don’t match up with the spin being placed on the way in which the process is proceeding. Although you would think that every man, woman (and especially) child will be devastated by the final actions the legislature is being forced to reduce spending – when it’s all said and done, far more will be raised in revenue than what gets cut in state spending.
It’s appropriate that Lawrence notes the doublespeak reference, taken from George Orwell’s “1984” classic, because that’s where public policy has gone, twisting the actions of reality to sound more pleasing to those being sheared so government can have more to give through its redistribution efforts.
Not only will the government spending continue (perhaps on a four-day, 10 hour spending basis) but the base for the next biennium budget will be assumed to require increases at even greater levels. The spending gap between those higher expectations for greater government expenditures will also be portrayed against the expiration of the Billion dollar tax increase passed in the 2009 session and the absence of the federal bail-out money that was provided for the current biennium. Already the platform is being constructed for the mother of all tax increases (excuse me, I meant “revenue stabilizations”) which will be at center stage for the 2011 Legislative gathering.
Those required to “step up” “pay their fair share” are being lined up through the proper vilification steps of the political posturing. Our “broader tax base” awaits us, necessary because Nevada government’s spending means so much to those who authorize the spending by virtue of the empowerment provided by those who the money is spent on.
Without major changes through the election process and changes of limiting fiscal irresponsibility by some formula that is hardwired into restricting the continued spending operations – we are going to keep getting what we have today…an economy not capable of providing private sector growth because of government’s insatiable appetite for more.
Posted by Doug Busselman at 2/26/2010 6:06 AM 
Categories: Nevada Budget
Tags: Nevada Budget State Spending Taxes Nevada Legislature
Categories: Nevada Budget
Tags: Nevada Budget State Spending Taxes Nevada Legislature
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