The Misunderstanding Of Economic Development »
(Geoffrey Lawrence/NPRI) – After listening to Gov. Brian Sandoval’s speech today about his team’s strategy for economic development, I was struck by several components and extremely disappointed that he declined to take questions. Now, let me get this straight—I like and respect Brian Sandoval very much. During my many conversations with him, I’ve always found him to be intelligent, engaging and sincere. I’ve also, on many occasions, praised most of the major policy initiatives he’s [...]
Sandoval Back-pedals On Sunsetting Taxes »
(Geoffrey Lawrence/NPRI) – Taxpayers lose again with Governor Brian Sandoval’s decision to propose extending the so-called “sunset” taxes. This demonstrates, once again, the danger behind the concept of a “temporary” tax increase. Once bureaucracy becomes dependent on that additional revenue to sustain itself, the tax increase rarely goes away. In 2010, Governor Sandoval stated that raising taxes is “the worst possible thing you can do” after a recession. His statement is as correct today as [...]
NPRI’s “Solutions 2013″ Gives Voters Leg Up On Elections »
(Geoffrey Lawrence/NPRI) – Every election cycle, voters are inundated with political rhetoric coming from all directions. The common themes are all too familiar. Candidates go to great lengths to inform us they’re “business leaders, not politicians.” Others say they represent “working-class families” or that they’re running “for the children.” Still more label themselves “tough on crime” or the candidate of “family values.” We’re all familiar with these slogans. Politicians use them to brand themselves without [...]
A Margin Tax Is Always A Bad Idea »
(Geoffrey Lawrence/NPRI) – Leaders in the Democratic majority during the 2011 state legislative session proposed a dramatic change to Nevada’s tax system: Phase out the Modified Business Tax — a tax on private-sector payroll — and replace it with a new, larger levy modeled after Texas’ business margin tax. The effort gained so little traction in Carson City that the Democratic leadership, embarrassed, never even brought its proposal up for a committee vote. Now, almost [...]
SoS Ross Miller: “Our Services Aren’t Worth Your Money” »
(Geoffrey Lawrence/NPRI) – Okay…so maybe it’s not an exact quote, but that’s certainly what I got out of Secretary of State Ross Miller’s comments to the Las Vegas Sun today. Miller is complaining that home-based businesses aren’t paying their “fair share” and should be forced to pay $200 annually for the privilege of doing business in Nevada. The policy problems associated with this shakedown are obvious: 1. How does it impact the margins of the [...]
It’s Time To Wrest The West From Federal Control »
(Geoffrey Lawrence/NPRI) – As the GOP presidential contest moves on to the Western states, beginning with Nevada’s Feb. 4 caucuses, presidential candidates need to weigh in on what is perhaps the most pressing federal issue confronting the West: Who should control Western lands? In 1979, Nevada lawmakers fired a salvo re-opening the long-running struggle by Western states to reclaim from federal authorities control of the land within state boundaries — the movement popularly known as [...]
Nevada PERS Accounting Practices Conceal Taxpayers’ Real Liabilities »
(Geoffrey Lawrence/NPRI) – Nothing pleases a politician more than the ability to promise lavish benefits to important constituencies without having to pay for them. Nevada lawmakers long ago found a vote-buying cash cow of this nature in the state’s Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS). PERS manages a defined-benefits pension system that operates much differently from the retirement funds owned by most private-sector workers. Participating employers in PERS — including the state and most local governments [...]
No Matter What The Left Says, Nevada Is Not A Low-tax State »
(Geoffrey Lawrence/NPRI) – It’s an argument the Left trots out year after year: “If low tax rates are so important, then why is the unemployment rate so high in Nevada?” Of course, it’s more of a political talking point than an invitation for substantive debate — leftists rarely want to have a discussion about the destructive impact on the Nevada housing market of Federal Reserve policy, the Community Reinvestment Act, federal land control, or countless [...]
Renewable Energy Is Destroying Nevada Jobs, Economy »
(Geoffrey Lawrence/NPRI) – Politicians have long sold the myth that the national and state economies would one day be rescued by “renewable” energy. For years, however, a fundamental problem kept these politicians from achieving their goal of making renewable energy culturally dominant: Freedom. Electricity generated by so-called “renewable” sources like solar panels is far more expensive and less reliable than electricity generated through traditional means such as nuclear, coal-fired or natural gas-fired power plants. Confronted [...]
AFL-CIO Struggles With Reading Comprehension »
(Geoffrey Lawrence/NPRI) – I just received a blast email from the AFL-CIO with the headline, “Privatization Doubles Cost of Govt. Work.” The email links to an AFL-CIO website that makes the following claim: In the past year, congressional Republicans and right-wing extremists have ramped up their long-standing campaign against federal workers, claiming their pay is too high and their benefits too generous compared to private-sector workers. A new study shows how wrong they are. According to [...]
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