E!!

Apparently there’s a guy working at the Nevada Policy Research Institute who is smarter than the entire Nevada legislature combined.

How so?

He went through the state ledgers line by line and, applying some basic principles and setting a few reasonable priorities, came up with a proposed budget of $5.1 billion.  Which, unlike the budget proposed by the Nevada legislature, stays within our current revenue projections. 

Oh, wait, that’s right:  the state legislature still has not released their budget for public discussion.  Even though they’ve been meeting up in Carson City for months.

Said a legislator who asked not to be named, “I mean, come ON, guys.  This stuff is, like, really hard.”

Says Geoffrey Lawrence, the fiscal expert at NPRI who put the proposed budget together, ”The reason the legislature and governor haven’t been able to balance the budget is that they’ve been unable or unwilling to set priorities.”

Now we wait to hear what the Economic Forum has to say.  We expect they will project lower tax-revenue than previously anticipated.  And that lawmakers will then propose record or near-record tax increases.

If they do, remind them of the four basic principles that provided the basis for NPRI’s budget:  sensible prioritizing, consistent application of government rules and taxes, agency thrift, and “last in, first out” (the elimination of some programs created and funded by Nevada’s record 2003 tax increases – which never should have happened).

If you can stomach it, Americans for Tax Reform has a recap of all the major fiscal and tax-related events since Inauguration Day.

Title:  Obama’s First 100 Days:  Higher Spending. More Debt. New Taxes. Broken Promises.

Yep, that about sums it up.

Just a snippet:

Day 1 — January 20: In his Inaugural address, President Obama makes a noteworthy commitment to the American taxpayer:
 
“And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.”

Or two:

Day 41 — March 1: The Obama administration foreshadows another broken promise when Peter Orszag, appearing on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, claims the 8,000 earmarks in the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 are “last year’s business. We just need to move on.” The statement by Orszag in not consistent with Obama’s campaign promise made in the first presidential debate:
 
“And, absolutely, we need earmark reform. And when I’m president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely.” (Sept. 26, 2008. First Presidential Debate, Oxford, Miss.)

RTWT.

Iain Murray recently had a good post on the general arguments for them, and for meddling or not meddling with them.

At a recent meeting of Nevada conservative and libertarian leaders it was interesting to note that although we each came from different points on the political spectrum and disagreed on some things, we found one general policy area in which we all agreed:  fiscal policy.  Namely:  free market, small (and transparent) government, low tax, balanced-budget approaches.

Nevada state senator Bob Beer’s campaign office has been located at 6822 W. Cheyenne Ave., Las Vegas, NV for the last six months or so.  He says that a couple of weeks ago, two doors down, an Obama campaign office opened.  Beers’ staffers thought maybe Obama had adopted a new slogan, but it turns out the previous tenant prepared tax returns and the Obama people neglected to take down the old sign:

Cliff May had a goodie the other day.  And it’s been nagging at me ever since.  The gist is this:

We all know that taxation without representation is a form of tyranny. But as so many have been saying lately, roughly 40% of Americans today don’t pay income taxes.

So, what if in the next administration that number rises to 51% or more?

At that point, the majority of Americans - who would not be paying any taxes – could and would elect leaders who could and would decide how much the tax paying minority would have to remit to the government.

That money could and would then be redistributed to the non-taxpaying majority through government programs and services.

A majority of Americans would then enjoy representation without taxation, and Voila, we have The Tyranny of the Non Taxayers.

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul, can always count on the support of Paul. – George Bernard Shaw

I am pleased to point my readers to a new website by the Nevada Policy Research Institute.  The site – www.TransparentNevada.com – will bring much needed oversight and transparency to our state and local governments.

If you want to see how your tax dollars are being spent, just go browse the site.  It’s easy to use and allows visitors to view and search public employee salaries and overtime (there are some real Doozies!) as well as state and county contracts and purchase orders, lobbying expenditures, budgets, and financial reports.

Since your blood will no doubt be boiling after a few minutes on the site – just the first page of government Salaries/Compensation in Clark County was enoughto raise my BP ten points - you’ll be glad to know the site also features a blog for citizen comments & reporting and links to government transparency resources around Nevada.

In the website’s press release, NPRI president Sharon Rossie said, “There is simply no subsitute for independent, non-governmental oversight of public financing.  NPRI is proud to provide this valuable service to Nevada citizens.”

Last night in his interview with Bill O’Reilly, Obama said:

“If I am sitting pretty, and you’ve got a waitress who is making minimum wage plus tips, and I can afford it and she can’t — what’s the big deal for me to say, ‘I’m going to pay a little bit more.’ That is neighborliness.”

Well, Senator Obama, it WOULD BE neighborliness if you were doing it VOLUNTARILY, i.e. if free will were involved.

However, if the amount you pay is decided by the federal government, collected by the federal government, and distributed where and whence the federal government sees fit, and if you resent the hell out of it (as I do), then the act is NOT neighborliness but state-mandated SOCIALISM, otherwise known as the forcible redistribution of wealth, otherwise known as highway robbery by the Nanny State bandits of the world.

(I was pleased when O’Reilly called him “Robin Hood Obama.”)

“Our schools deserve parents’ support” was the scintillating headline of Nevada System of Higher Education chancellor Jim Rogers’ op-ed in the Las Vegas Sun on Tuesday.  Rogers kicks his column off by equating Nevada’s per-pupil funding levels to child abuse and neglect.  (Read it to believe it!)

Rogers then goes on to criticize Nevadans for not paying enough taxes to adequately fund education in Nevada. 

FACT ONE:  Based on U.S. Census data on K-12 spending and doing a little quick math, Nevada spent $8,926 per student in 2006 which, at an average classroom size of, say, 30, works out to $267,780 per classroom year.

FACT TWO:  43% of Nevada’s fourth graders are functionally illiterate, according to the National Assessment in Education Progress reading test.

Even allowing for the 3 to 18% of Nevada’s students who are ELLs (English Language Learners, meaning those who speak only or primarily Spanish) and who naturally cannot be expected to test as fully literate in English, that 43% is a pretty dismal number.

How is it that over a quarter of a million dollars of spending PER CLASSROOM is not enough money to ensure that by fourth grade our students have learned to read with basic competency?

And Rogers wants to lecture the taxpayers about ABUSE and NEGLECT…?

You can reach Rogers by email at chancellor@unlv.edu or call his office at (702) 889-8426.

Well, I don’t relish raining on conservatives’ celebratory parade after Tuesday’s primary victories here in Nevada, but a commitment to fair analysis requires that I do just that.

From the website Americans for Tax Reform: 

Cost of Government Day (COGD) is the date of the calendar year on which the average American worker has earned enough gross income to pay off his or her share of spending and regulatory burdens imposed by government on the federal, state and local levels.

Cost of Government Day for 2008 is July 16.  Working people must toil on average 197 days out of the year just to meet all costs imposed by government.  In other words, the cost of government consumes 53.9 percent of national income.

How about some suggestions for how we can all celebrate the Day we stop feeding our income to the Insatiable Monster that is Government?  Talk sarcastically amongst yourselves and report back.

You read the header right, folks.  A few Nevada Republicans are saying the call to choose between signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge or facing the impending phone blitz by Citizen Outreach is “extortion.” 

If Chuck Muth were a Mob Boss threatening them with life and limb, I might sympathize – but this ain’t the Sopranos…so as the kids are saying these days, “Save the Drama for Your Mama.”

The only body parts at risk for these Reps are the butts that grace their legislative seats, and that is exactly as it should be.  It is the proper role of citizen-activists to help keep the public informed and make sure elected officials are held accountable at the polls.  This is not extortion; it’s our electoral process at work.

Assemblypersons and hopeful candidates who have not yet signed the Pledge should seriously consider doing so.  You can then fax the signed copy to Citizen Outreach at (775) 522-3925.

The venerable and incorrigible Grand Imperial Tax-Hating Pooh-Bah of Nevada – a.k.a. my favorite Libertarian, Chuck Muth – is busy mobilizing resources over at Citizen Outreach as they gear up for what I’m affectionately calling Operation Saturation. 

Muth says the voter districts of Republicans who refuse to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge by this weekend will be flooded with automated phone messages.  The 30-second missives will notify constituents that their candidate won’t promise not to raise taxes and will advise them to demand explanations when he/she comes a-knockin’ for their votes in November.

For those of you not tracking issues in the Battle Born state, we are facing a financial crisis.  A bi-partisan panel recently projected a 2009 budget shortfall of $248 million.  Some are disputing that number, but it can’t be denied that revenues are going to fall far short of expenditures.  In search of solutions, Governor Jim Gibbons has scheduled a special congressional session to convene this Friday.  The usual suspects are calling for the usual tax increases; the conservatives are crusading for spending cuts; and the war wages on. 

Gibbons is honoring his 2006 promise to voters and refusing to support any tax hike, but the Legislature could override his veto and pass an increase – IF Democrats can rally enough Republicans and collect the 2/3 vote needed.  None of us can be sure of the outcome as long as so many Republican officials remain undeclared. 

Happily, Citizen Outreach has provided a list of incumbent Assembly Republicans and GOP Candidates who have not yet signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.  I’ve taken the liberty of adding links to contact info for each person.  I strongly encourage Nevadans to take action by contacting these folks and letting them know your vote depends on their promise to oppose new or increased taxes. 

If Speaker Barbara Buckley and the Democrats want to pass a tax hike, let them do it with NO Republican votes – and then just try to hold on to their Seats in the next election.

Assembly Minority Leader Heidi Gansert
Assemblywoman Francis Allen
Assemblyman Joe Hardy
Assemblyman Tom Grady
Assemblyman Pete Goicoechea

Assembly candidate Sean Fellows
Assembly candidate Cheryl Lau (pending further search!)
Assembly candidate Donna Toussaint
Assembly candidate John Gwaltney (scroll down to #8) 
Assembly candidate Melissa Woodbury