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Archive for May, 2009
Fact: Democrats control the Nevada State Senate, 12-9.
Fact: Due to the 2/3 super-majority rule, Nevada Democrats cannot pass a tax increase without the votes of (at least) two Republican senators.
Fact: No Republican senator would dare to vote for a tax hike without the blessing of Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio (R-Reno).
Conclusion: Whether or not Nevada’s citizens, businesses and/or tourists get socked with a huge new tax hike in 2009 pretty much depends on Sen. Bill Raggio.
Action Item: Call, fax, or email Sen. Raggio and respectfully urge him to oppose tax increases in these, the final days of the 2009 legislative session.
Toll-free Phone: 1-800-992-0973 or 1-800-995-9080
Fax: 1-775-786-1177
Email: wraggio@sen.state.nv.us
Action Item 2: Forward this post to your friends!
Steve Wynn on Jon Ralston’s Face to Face: “Anybody who raises taxes now is psychotic.”
Posted by E!!
on May 01, 2009
Balanced Budgets, Economy, Government Spending, Nevada, Taxation / No Comments
Balanced Budgets, Economy, Government Spending, Nevada, Taxation / No Comments
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).
