(Todd Taxpayer Bailey) – The Nevada Vision Stakeholders Group is developing a list of values that all Nevadans must embrace, or at least they hope so. Thanks to Democrat State Senate Majority Leader Steve Horsford and his outside the normal way to fund legislation through the Board of Examiners, SCR-37 requires the Vision Stakeholders to do exactly what he wants, develop an academic excuse to raise existing taxes, and create new taxes, in the State of Nevada.
Central to this discussion is education in Nevada. Most people think of education starting in the first grade, or maybe even kindergarten. For the Nevada Vision Stakeholders Group, they want to start educating your child at age 3, or else.
At the April 21st meeting of the Vision Stakeholders, the assumptions of the discussion started with the statement, “education is holding Nevada back. We need more PhD's”, mentioning a state on the east coast next to Washington D.C. that was doing so much better than Nevada for this very reason.
Next came a series of statements from members of the education establishment, most of whom enjoy six figure compensation from the Nevada Taxpayer, far above the teachers they so often advocate for, yet always the first to claim there is no room for more cuts. “Increased funding for education must be a part of the future, regardless of who pays for it”, came the battle cry. “Norway and Finland are good examples of great education”, as if these two countries have anything in common with Nevada, which they don't.
While most Nevadans believe education means school and learning, it actually includes a series of social programs that would be better served by separate agencies, instead of the education system. Consider this justification that was made, “we need longer school days, and longer school years, to deal with all the social issues kids bring to school, even if that means more money, and higher taxes”, stated one expert.
Then came the scary part, yes, scary. Without any hesitation, or consideration of anyone in Nevada that might be listening, an unknown voice at the Nevada Vision Stakeholders said, “early childhood development should be the responsibility of the state starting at age 3, AND requires certified professionals, which are better than parents because they are trained professionals in child development”. The arrogance of this statement, was only surpassed by another one moments later. “Parents who don't take this seriously are bad parents. If parents don't do the right thing, then we will intervene”, stated a dominating voice. The true agenda was beginning to become obvious, the control absolute, and the funding mechanism the only missing part of the machine.
A few members of the Nevada Vision Stakeholders Group did try to speak up after hearing all this nonsense that most Nevadans would find very offensive, especially at a price tag of $250,000. “It seems like we are leaving some of the most important issues on the side of the road, such as government accountability”, said one quiet voice. “Instead of accomplishing anything, Nevada just spends money, and then talks about being last in every category”, another reserved voice mentioned. That was it.
Robert Lang, the chairman of this group and head of the Brookings Institute in Nevada, stated, “We, at the Brookings Institute, will tell you in Nevada, if this is a success or failure”. While the Brookings Institute may be the new jet set in Las Vegas, it will not be the architect, dominating voice, and judge of Nevada's future success.
It is the Taxpaying Nevada Voter that has the final say here, and someone needs to send a memo out to get this group on the same page as the rest of Nevada. The Nevada where people have lost their jobs, lost their homes, and lost their savings. Who is the Nevada Vision Stakeholders Group going to tax, so they can take your children for early childhood education as the state sees fit, “or else”?
Politicians created the Nevada Vision Stakeholders Group to avoid the responsibility of dealing with real world budget issues. Hold them accountable for their votes, and the votes they want to make while hiding behind the academic reasoning of others, even if it makes absolutely no sense to you. Vote only for those political candidates that completely disavow any findings of the Nevada Vision Stakeholders Group, or their tax mechanism. It's that simple.
(Mr. Bailey is a Republican candidate for Nevada state senate in Washoe County)
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