Gov. Jim Gibbons

Nevada Republican Governor Jim Gibbons isn’t sure whether he will accept $162 million in federal money to hire school teachers and supply funds to the Medicaid program.

A couple of days ago I wrote about this asking the question whether or not Nye County would reject the money from the federal government. It hadn’t occurred to me that the Governor of Nevada would relieve Nye County of having to make any decision at all. He may make the decision for all counties in the state.

Gibbons has nothing to lose, politically, because he’s a lame duck and we’ll be rid of him come January.

He first wants to see the strings attached to the law signed this week by President Obama. It would protect an estimated 1,400 teacher jobs in Nevada.

The governor has to approve accepting the money pushed through Congress by Democrats..

Gibbons complained the federal government is making decisions on Nevada’s school system. For instance, he said the Eureka County School District might need books or computers but will be required to use the funds for teachers.

No mention by Gibbons that he’s making the decisions on Nye County’s school system. Lord, considering the dismal state the education system is in how can it be any kind of improvement for Gibbons to be the “decider?” Seems to me the local school districts should be making the decision. Local school boards would seem to be in far better position to know what they need than Gibbons, or even the federal government.

"We have to study the requirements for taking that money," Gibbons said. "The requirements by the federal government oftentimes put us in a more difficult position."

He said the state might get the $82 million for education "but in some ways you have to continue to spend state money to keep getting that money and oftentimes we don’t have the matching dollars."

"I’m prepared to say ‘Thank you’ and I’m prepared to say ‘Thank you, but no thank you,’" Gibbons said.

The state, under the federal legislation, would get $79 million for the Medicaid program, which provides medical care for the needy.

Gibbons will decide whether Nevada’s Medicaid beneficiaries get their medical treatments or not. Of course the “needy” are needy due to their own fault. Or at least that seems to be the Republican viewpoint.

Gibbons press secretary Daniel Burns said it was disappointing for the federal government to offer money to states and not let states decide how to spend it.

"Rhode Island, Florida, Mississippi and Nevada have different educational needs and to say that all this money can only be spent on teachers when a school district may need books or buses or supplies for the classroom … That’s part of the strings attached," he said.

Republicans Sen. John Ensign and Rep. Dean Heller opposed the congressional bill, saying it wouldn’t create jobs in private business or spur the economy.

These two guys aren’t much help to Nevadans either. They’re locked into their “just say no” mode.

School teachers, children and the medically needy can simply go pound sand.

[Source: Las Vegas Sun]

The House is in recess and is scheduled to reconvene on Tuesday, September 14. The Senate is in session this week. Here are the most recent votes.

The headline on MSNBC is “Republicans kill Senate Jobless aid measure.”

The lead paragraph reads:

Republicans on Thursday defeated Democrats’ showcase election-year jobs bill, including an extension of weekly unemployment benefits for millions of people out of work more than six months.

The Las Vegas Review Journal reports:

Eugene Turner has a word or two for U.S. senators who voted Thursday against a $109 billion bill that would have extended emergency unemployment benefits for job seekers like himself.

The photo above is of Eugene Turner. He says:

“They have no heart for the public — the working man,” Turner said Friday at the Nevada JobConnect office on Maryland Parkway near Desert Inn Road, where people were waiting to use computers.

Turner, who moved here from Los Angeles six weeks ago looking for work, said he’s scared about how he’s going to pay rent when his government assistance runs out.

“My bills ain’t going to stop in 10 weeks,” he said, shaking his head.

[Read more →]