Tax-Paid Gov’t Lobbyists to Lobby Gov’t for Bigger, More Expensive Gov’t?

(Chuck Muth) – The practice of using tax dollars – or even revenue from fees and fines – for the purpose of various government entities engaging professional hired guns to lobby for bigger, more expensive government requiring higher taxes from the “little people” is outrageous enough.

But then come this.

“If (Clark) county commissioners approve on Tuesday,” wrote Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Glenn Cook on Sunday, “District Court judges and Las Vegas justices of the peace will have a new face representing their interests in the corridors of Carson City: tax-avoiding, debt-ducking, double-dipping, carpetbagging former Assemblyman Morse ‘Moose’ Arberry.”

Cook goes on to describe Moose as “a cheat who treats the public purse as his personal piggy bank” and “the last person who should represent the valley’s judiciary.”

“Just when you’re sure Southern Nevada’s political establishment can’t stoop any lower,” Cook writes, “our elected officials drop the limbo bar to the dirt. Just when you think the stink from Clark County government can’t get any fouler, the sewer backs up from a fresh load of depravity.”

Don’t hold back, Glenn! Tell us how you really feel.

But back to the underlying premise here: that local government entities, including district court judges and justices of the peace, need representation in Carson City and that taxpayers should foot the bill to outsource such representation.

That’s right: outsource.

Because Clark County, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson and all their subsidiary government operations already have an army of taxpayer-funded advocates representing them in Carson City. Here’s the current roster (not including Arberry):

Sen. Shirley Breeden
Sen. Terry Care
Sen. Maggie Carlton
Sen. Barbara Cegavske
Sen. Bob Coffin
Sen. Allison Copening
Sen. Steven Horsford
Sen. John Lee
Sen. Dennis Nolan
Sen. Stan Olsen
Sen. David Parks
Sen. Mike Schneider
Sen. Valerie Weiner
Sen. Joyce Woodhouse
Assemblyman Paul Aizley
Assemblyman Kelvin Atkinson
Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley
Assemblyman Chad Christensen
Assemblyman Jerry Claborn
Assemblyman Marcus Conklin
Assemblyman Mo Dennis
Assemblywoman Marilyn Dondero-Loop
Assemblyman John Hambrick
Assemblyman Joe Hardy
Assemblyman Joe Hogan
Assemblyman William Horne
Assemblyman Ruben Kiuen
Assemblywoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick
Assemblywoman Ellen Koivisto
Assemblyman Mark Manendo
Assemblywoman April Mastroluca
Assemblyman Richard McArthur
Assemblywoman Kathy McClain
Assemblyman Harry Mortenson
Assemblyman Harvey Mumford
Assemblyman John Oceguera
Assemblyman James Ohrenschall
Assemblywoman Peggy Pierce
Assemblyman Tick Segerblom
Assemblywoman Ellen Spiegel
Assemblyman Lynn Stewart
Assemblywoman Melissa Woodbury

If local elected officials don’t like what state elected officials are doing, the local elected officials should call the state elected officials and work it out. Why in the world should the citizens who elected these officials to deal with these problems in government also have to pay for hired guns to do the jobs we elected these officials to do?

I hope someone again puts forward a bill next year to ban the use of tax dollars – or “fees” or “fines” – for the purpose of hiring lobbyists for public institutions or local governments. So let it be written; so let it be done.