Roberson: It’s Tax & Spend All Over Again

(Sen. Michael Roberson) – Once again, the Democrat leadership of the Nevada legislature has offered a plan that looks like every other failed plan passed out of Carson City in recent memory. As schools continue to fail our kids, the Democrats offer no real, meaningful reform. As government pay and benefits bankrupt taxpayers, the Democrats offer no real, meaningful reform. As onerous laws are kept in place by trial lawyers and other special interests, the Democrats offer no, real meaningful reform.

Instead, what we got yesterday was further proof that the Democrats are the party of status quo, failed schools, government unions, massive tax hikes, record spending and broken promises. This is the nonsense I ran against when voters elected me over another tax-and-spend Democrat in the last election. Voters and taxpayers are tired of the continued, failed policies that we get session after session in Carson City.

Parents are tired of paying higher taxes to support our schools, only to see their children’s education controlled by the teachers’ union and their enablers in Carson City. Nevadans are tired of figuring out how to balance their family budget after the latest pay cut or layoff while their taxes fund significantly larger, union-protected salaries and benefits to government workers. And all Nevadans are sick of broken promises by politicians in Carson City – when they pass a billion-dollar tax hike last session on the promise it will sunset this year, and now they remove that sunset to keep the tax hikes in place.”

The Democrat leaders of the legislature have proven once again that they know very little about the private sector and how it works. The bulk of the revenue generated in our state does not come from government workers, union bosses or non-profits. It comes from those private sector businesses across our state that have struggled through this great depression and frankly, cannot afford another massive tax hike brought on by Democrats in Carson City.

Last session, the Democrats thought that the solution to fixing Nevada’s economy in a recession was to bleed further taxes out of our private sector economy. They were wrong and unemployment increased. Now, with signs that we may be coming out of the recession, they are up to their old tricks. Record tax hikes did not get us out of the recession in 2009 and it won’t get us out of the recession in 2011.

(Roberson is a Republican state senator from Clark County representing District 5)