Tax Increases Not Fit For Transparent Process
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
If your child should ever ask you the question, “Daddy, where do tax increases come from?” – you will need to have them put their civics books away…have them forget whatever they might have heard about open government…and honestly report – “Tax increases come from elected representatives meeting behind closed doors and plotting to determine who’s money they want to confiscate.” It’s a truth that I’ve watched unfold a number of times (since 1989 here in Nevada) – but until this Las Vegas Sun article I’ve never seen such a public affirmation of how the process works.
It has also been somewhat of a revelation about the way and why leaders of the Nevada Legislature have been posturing their non-tax increase-yet speeches, telling us that they have to figure out what’s in the budget first…then we’ll get back to you on the tax hike we’ll be coming after. First of all, they don’t have the votes yet to pass a tax increase (need to set up a few willing members of the minority party to pry them into the green-button club). Also, they don’t know how much money they want to tax us out of…wouldn’t want to leave any “essential” government spending area without the appropriate amount of spending. Lastly, they haven’t figured out the extraction method (tax type) to get the how much they want – which also is acceptable to enough legislators to meet the two-thirds vote requirement.
If you were to operate on a policy approach, debating and deliberating specific tax ideas in the forums provided by the Assembly Tax Committee and the Senate Revenue Committee, you would have a different set of circumstances than going through the political method of growing spending outside the boundaries of current revenue then needing to tax increase your way to a balanced budget. Governor Sandoval took a policy approach, establishing spending priorities on the merits of how best to distribute what is available.
Remember that those who want to increase spending, above the levels in the Governor’s balanced budget without tax increases, have constituencies (like a teacher’s union and other public employee groups) who aren’t served by living with the taxpayers’ ability to provide. As you look at the constant bombardment of rhetoric against the Governor’s budget – without a specific tax increase proposal or details of who might be the “Peters” to be robbed to pay the “Pauls” – you need to see through the smoke screen to the bottom line of the majority party building their case for the tax monument they wish to erect. The actual blueprints are still being draw, behind closed doors with the elites who think they should have the exclusive license without public consideration…for at least the time being…
If your child should ever ask you the question, “Daddy, where do tax increases come from?” – you will need to have them put their civics books away…have them forget whatever they might have heard about open government…and honestly report – “Tax increases come from elected representatives meeting behind closed doors and plotting to determine who’s money they want to confiscate.” It’s a truth that I’ve watched unfold a number of times (since 1989 here in Nevada) – but until this Las Vegas Sun article I’ve never seen such a public affirmation of how the process works.
It has also been somewhat of a revelation about the way and why leaders of the Nevada Legislature have been posturing their non-tax increase-yet speeches, telling us that they have to figure out what’s in the budget first…then we’ll get back to you on the tax hike we’ll be coming after. First of all, they don’t have the votes yet to pass a tax increase (need to set up a few willing members of the minority party to pry them into the green-button club). Also, they don’t know how much money they want to tax us out of…wouldn’t want to leave any “essential” government spending area without the appropriate amount of spending. Lastly, they haven’t figured out the extraction method (tax type) to get the how much they want – which also is acceptable to enough legislators to meet the two-thirds vote requirement.
If you were to operate on a policy approach, debating and deliberating specific tax ideas in the forums provided by the Assembly Tax Committee and the Senate Revenue Committee, you would have a different set of circumstances than going through the political method of growing spending outside the boundaries of current revenue then needing to tax increase your way to a balanced budget. Governor Sandoval took a policy approach, establishing spending priorities on the merits of how best to distribute what is available.
Remember that those who want to increase spending, above the levels in the Governor’s balanced budget without tax increases, have constituencies (like a teacher’s union and other public employee groups) who aren’t served by living with the taxpayers’ ability to provide. As you look at the constant bombardment of rhetoric against the Governor’s budget – without a specific tax increase proposal or details of who might be the “Peters” to be robbed to pay the “Pauls” – you need to see through the smoke screen to the bottom line of the majority party building their case for the tax monument they wish to erect. The actual blueprints are still being draw, behind closed doors with the elites who think they should have the exclusive license without public consideration…for at least the time being…
Posted by Doug Busselman at 2/9/2011 8:48 AM 
Categories: 2011 Nevada Legislature
Tags: Politics over Policy Nevada Legislature Spend and Tax
Categories: 2011 Nevada Legislature
Tags: Politics over Policy Nevada Legislature Spend and Tax
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