It would appear that the state of Nevada needs to undertake an overhaul of it’s taxing methodology. It costs money for governments to operate. People need a government whether we like them or not. They are here to stay. Government means taxes. Nobody cares for taxes much, including me, but the reality of it is that unless we have a means to build and maintain, roadways, dams, sewage systems, prisons, dump sites, schools and the like we cannot maintain a lifestyle we much care for.
Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons is about to address the state of Nevada Thursday. Reading newspapers indicate the financial state of the state is dismal. Too much money going out in expenditures, too little coming in to pay for it all.
The approach of Governor Gibbons is simplistic enough. If you don’t have enough money coming in, stop spending anymore than what is coming in.
That would work, except people don’t want to give up what they have become used to. People expect to be able to send their kids to a decent competent school, taught by competent teachers.
People, like Governor Gibbons, would like to have their cake and eat it too.
So, what is a mother to do? Cut all the the spending to an amount that does not exceed the revenues.
Or, increase the revenue to an amount that will pay for all the necessary expenditures. Increasing revenue means increasing taxes.
Governor Gibbons, ran for Governor saying he would not raise taxes, if elected. Sounds good, but isn’t practical. He could not have known whether or not he’d have to raise taxes during his tenure as Governor. He is a grown man, even a former Representative of Nevada in the United States Congress. A person one would expect would have enough common sense not to make such statements. He didn’t and could not have foreseen what lay ahead. Yet he bound himself to that promise, to get elected of course, but he stubbornly clings to that promise to the detriment of all Nevadans.
There have been huge cuts already in the budget for expenditures in the future. There is considerable wailing and gnashing of teeth over those cuts because they diminish the ability of governmental agencies to do what the people of Nevada expect them to do. Yet, as of the moment at least, the upcoming budget still doesn’t have enough expected revenue to pay for those diminished expenses.
Simplistically, the approach of the Governor is to cut those expenses even more. People are beginning to rebel at that thought, particularly if those cuts impinge upon them personally.
But there is a group who is proposing a possible solution. It is an approach that would increase the tax revenue for the state of Nevada. Problem is the solution is being proposed by one of those "liberal" groups which make many in Nevada shudder just because it has a label of "liberal" attached to it.
That "liberal" group is the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. Must be some kind of subversive commie bunch focused on taking over Nevada and the remainder of the world, some might think.
But maybe not:
The Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN) is a non-profit organization formed in 1994 to bring people and organizations together to build a better Nevada. We are more than two-dozen groups dedicated to working for social, economic, and environmental justice. Our member groups include anti-poverty activists, people of color, children’s advocates, disabled persons, environmentalists, lesbians and gay men, and labor unions.
PLAN works with diverse constituencies—many of whom do not traditionally work together—and builds bridges so that collectively we can build the power to impact policy decisions on a wide range of issues.
They say. They tell us they are a group of groups. They want to improve Nevada. They don’t even strive to make a profit. They’re diverse, comprised of "anti-poverty activists, people of color, children’s advocates, disabled persons, environmentalists," homosexuals and labor unions. [Reno Gazette Journal]
Sounds like a bunch of Republicans!
But what are they proposing? Well, they have issued a report seeking increases in mining taxes, payroll taxes, room taxes, creation of a business profits tax, an unearned income tax on the wealth. Horrors. They estimate it would generate $380 million.
PLAN alleges the current tax structure of Nevada puts a disproportionate load on the poor and middle class of Nevada while the state’s mining industry, businesses and wealthy don’t pay their fair share of the tax revenue load.
No, that is not the Republican view of the world.
There is another group (there is always a group) called National Policy Research Institute (NPRI) that the Reno Gazette Journal says "called for substantial cuts to government funding and departments."
See what I mean? Those pinko liberals PLAN want to spread the tax load on a broader group of Nevadans and even create a couple of more taxes, while NPRI wants to cut spending more.
You can read the PLAN and the NPRI plans in full. The Reno Gazette Journal have links to both pdf reports for you entertainment and pleasure. Read away.
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