EDITORIAL: Budget theater
Lawmakers slap Band-Aid on trauma patient
Let's put this latest state budget sleight of hand in perspective:
The special legislative session that wrapped early Monday in Carson City wouldn't have been necessary had lawmakers done their jobs in 2009 or 2007 or 2005 or 2003 or 2001 or ...
And barring the long shot that those on the Democratic side of the aisle suddenly get a grip on fiscal reality, we're certain to witness a repeat of this whole charade in two years.
For almost two decades, Nevada has been on a predictable cycle: Spend, spend, spend during the good times, creating baseline budgets that are unsustainable when the party stops, leaving lawmakers to demand that taxpayers step up again lest children and the elderly are left to die in the streets.
The latest scene in this tired act played out this weekend as majority Democrats and GOP Gov. Jim Gibbons "compromised" to close an $887 million gap in the $6.9 billion budget approved last year. In addition to a few accounting gimmicks, lawmakers "cut" spending by $300 million.
But this is a "cut" only in the world of government budgeting. It is, of course, actually a reduction in a proposed spending increase -- if you spent $50 last year and hope to spend $100 this year but find you've earned only $60, you're not suffering a 40 percent "cut" if forced to live within your means.
____________________________________________________
Keystone's Mission:
To recruit, support and advocate for candidates for public office who support private sector job creation, low taxation, a responsible regulatory environment, and effective delivery of essential state services.
Keystone's Goals:
-
To focus on candidate support on state legislative races and the governor's office.
-
To oppose any form of corporate income taxes or other business taxes that discourage capital investment and therefore job creation.
