Broken Logic, Broken Schools, Broken Government

(Tony Shelton) – Wednesday we listened to a lot of testimony as to why we need over a billion dollars in new taxes. Most of which is to shore up a broken education system.

It’s for the children!  If you are opposed to this massive tax increase you must hate the children. 

That is what we will be hearing for the next two months.

Little has been offered in the way of fixing the broken system we already have, at least from the proponents of this gigatheft from the wallets of every Nevada family.

It is being sold as a tax on the big, bad, greedy businesses.  Few remember the quote of Ronald Reagan that should have put this sales angle to rest when he said:

 “You can’t tax business. Business doesn’t pay taxes. It collects taxes.”

The businesses that are subsidized by taxpayers won’t close up shop. Last year we were GIVING tax money to Tesla, now they are testifying that the “other” businesses need to pay more!

History has shown, in states like Texas, that the businesses destined to fold will be the small ones who don’t pay hundreds of thousands to lobbyists, to secure sweetheart deals, yet provide a large percentage of the jobs in the state.

These are the small businesses who have just tried to do the right thing. They’ve played by the rules, operated lawfully and tried to give good value to their customers. Increases in taxes will wipe out the small margin they had and the doors will close.

That’s not the worst part.  If business doesn’t pay taxes, who does?

You do.

So what is a billion dollars?  Sounds sexy to talk of big numbers like that in government but what does it mean to the average Nevadan?  How much are we going to pay JUST for the INCREASE that is being proposed?

The math is simple. If the big bad businesses do what they have to do to keep their employees working and expect to stay in business they will simply have to pass the cost on to you.

If you have a family of four your cost, under the Governor’s plan,  to supposedly fix our education system is approximately $120 per month.

What are YOU going  to sacrifice?  You could shut off your cable.  Turn your air conditioner off in the summer (until rates increase when the power company complains of lost revenue and the PUC feeds them at the trough again). Maybe you should consider whether that cholesterol prescription is optional.

What are you going to sacrifice so that Governor Sandoval can feed the broken Education Mega Industry to disguise their internal failure for a few more years?

Do you have the same “courage” Governor Sandoval’s team has?

You’ve already shown REAL courage when you responded with a resounding NO!  at the voting booth and shut this tax down by an almost 4 to 1 margin last year. 

Real courage has the guts to say NO MORE!

In the coming days, you will hear many answers on how to fix this broken system.  A dedicated group of Republicans, the group that HEARD you speak at the polls, lawmakers you trusted, will be presenting bills that will begin the truly “courageous” moves needed to FIX this broken system.

School choice, in which parents are given the option to send their children to private schools for LESS than we spend at public schools, will not only relieve the current overcrowding, but will SAVE on overall costs. It will also increase competition resulting in a higher quality education for our kids.

Merit pay for effective teachers will be on the table along with many more fixes on the way that do not require riding on the backs of Nevada families.

These, and other solutions, will not force you to choose options that continue to fund a bloated and broken system.

There’s not much worse than having to face two or more years of payments on a broken car sitting in your driveway that barely gets you to work.

The only thing worse would be if the bank called you up and told you that your payment was going up another $120 per month.

We are better off using the money we have to FIX the system or start over fresh with something entirely new.

Don’t let Governor Sandoval’s team raise the payment on our broken Education system. The best of intentions sometimes produce the worst consequences.

It’s broken.  Let’s fix it with the revenue we have and keep our businesses open and our wage earners employed.

Let the Governor and your Legislators know that you can speak louder than their high-paid lobbyists who roam the halls of the Legislature paid for with YOUR money.

If they don’t listen, remember the ones who didn’t listen.  Next election make sure they don’t get another opportunity to steal from your wallet.

And remember the ones who do listen, the ones you can trust. Send them back next term to continue fixing this broken system.  (If you can still afford to drive to the polling place.)

Tony Shelton is Director of Operations of Sonitx, Inc., a company that offers environment-friendly electrostatic filters. He is also the Policy Director in  the Office of Assemblywoman Shelly Shelton, Assembly District 10 of the Nevada Legislature.