Cranky Democrats Having Hard Time Dealing With Budget Cuts
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
From my observations of the Senate Majority Leader’s actions in the first pre-legislative hearing on the budget offered by Governor Brian Sandoval the session is going to be a really, really, really bitter process. As we saw on their party’s “response” to the Governor’s State of the State address, they really, really, really want to raise taxes, but getting that accomplished is going to be very difficult.
First, the Governor proposed a balanced budget without imposing a tax increase and while the consequences require less spending, nobody seems to be objecting -- other than the Democrats and tax-eaters, who seem to believe that there should be no limits on them getting deeper into the pockets of tax payers.
At the Budget Overview meeting on January 25th, the obvious frame of mind of the Senate Majority Leader was bitter and cranky with accusations that the Governor was playing games with the numbers. The percentages of how much was being cut from the sacred cows of education didn’t seem to be big enough to satisfy the sky-is-falling rants of the majority party leaders. When the calculations were finally figured out (as to why the Governor Budget percentages were less than the figures the Democrats were thinking they should be) it was discovered that the numbers the Governor was using was the current actual spending levels. The Democrats were wanting the calculations to be based on the budget numbers they passed in the 2009 Legislative session (but then had to cut in the special session because there wasn’t money to pay for the spending levels that they wanted). Imagine using the current spending as the base – how dare they!
Selling Nevada the tax increase the majority party wants to force on us requires dire circumstances of Draconian spending reductions – if the numbers are perceived to be reasonable solutions, they just aren’t going to be able to cause the stampede necessary to get the two-thirds votes they will need (and shouldn’t get).
I think they are also struggling with having a Governor that people like. It makes it much tougher to vilify in a public deriding sort of way (like they did with Governor Gibbons).
Since the legislative session hasn’t actually started (and won’t until Feb. 7th) we’re just going through the motions of being righteously indignant, warming up for the real thing once the opening gavel launches the process.
For those who are interesting in watching the legislative process play itself out, please mark in your mind the point made at this – the first day of the preliminary hearing – Majority Leader in a bad mood because of budget reductions seeming to be reasonable. Hopefully, it will be the same theme when the 2011 Legislative session concludes (possibly sometime in June) -- that way taxpayers will have something to be in a good mood about…
From my observations of the Senate Majority Leader’s actions in the first pre-legislative hearing on the budget offered by Governor Brian Sandoval the session is going to be a really, really, really bitter process. As we saw on their party’s “response” to the Governor’s State of the State address, they really, really, really want to raise taxes, but getting that accomplished is going to be very difficult.
First, the Governor proposed a balanced budget without imposing a tax increase and while the consequences require less spending, nobody seems to be objecting -- other than the Democrats and tax-eaters, who seem to believe that there should be no limits on them getting deeper into the pockets of tax payers.
At the Budget Overview meeting on January 25th, the obvious frame of mind of the Senate Majority Leader was bitter and cranky with accusations that the Governor was playing games with the numbers. The percentages of how much was being cut from the sacred cows of education didn’t seem to be big enough to satisfy the sky-is-falling rants of the majority party leaders. When the calculations were finally figured out (as to why the Governor Budget percentages were less than the figures the Democrats were thinking they should be) it was discovered that the numbers the Governor was using was the current actual spending levels. The Democrats were wanting the calculations to be based on the budget numbers they passed in the 2009 Legislative session (but then had to cut in the special session because there wasn’t money to pay for the spending levels that they wanted). Imagine using the current spending as the base – how dare they!
Selling Nevada the tax increase the majority party wants to force on us requires dire circumstances of Draconian spending reductions – if the numbers are perceived to be reasonable solutions, they just aren’t going to be able to cause the stampede necessary to get the two-thirds votes they will need (and shouldn’t get).
I think they are also struggling with having a Governor that people like. It makes it much tougher to vilify in a public deriding sort of way (like they did with Governor Gibbons).
Since the legislative session hasn’t actually started (and won’t until Feb. 7th) we’re just going through the motions of being righteously indignant, warming up for the real thing once the opening gavel launches the process.
For those who are interesting in watching the legislative process play itself out, please mark in your mind the point made at this – the first day of the preliminary hearing – Majority Leader in a bad mood because of budget reductions seeming to be reasonable. Hopefully, it will be the same theme when the 2011 Legislative session concludes (possibly sometime in June) -- that way taxpayers will have something to be in a good mood about…
Posted by Doug Busselman at 1/25/2011 4:39 PM 
Categories: 2011 Nevada Legislature
Tags: Nevada Nevada Budget Taxing and Spending Governor Sandoval Nevada Legislature
Categories: 2011 Nevada Legislature
Tags: Nevada Nevada Budget Taxing and Spending Governor Sandoval Nevada Legislature
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