All sides agree: Burn Nevada down to the ground

In case you missed the big speech from Gov. Gym Bag O'Cash, here's a paraphrase:

Thanks to years of Republican economic policies that nearly killed the world's economy, Nevada can't have a state government anymore. HOORAAAAAAY!!!!!!! Par-tee! Par-tee! Par-tee! I'm Jim Gibbons and I approve this message.

And in the interest of fairness, here's the Democratic response:

meow

Comments

[ColinFromLasVegas]

That's it, Glean. Pretty much in a nutshell.

I have a neighbor who is an elementary school teacher. She wants to retire, but because of the these bad economic times, she decided to stick around for awhile. And she enjoys teaching.

She is supposed to be teaching a class with a maximum of 17 children (2nd grade, I believe). She has 22.

She goes in to work on weekends. To get lesson plans ready for the week. I am pretty sure she is not paid for these efforts on her off time. But she takes her job serious and wants to be ready to make sure the children get the best education they can get.

She works late during the week sometimes. And also she works at home after school grading papers. There is no such thing as overtime for teachers.

In order to be a good teacher, she resorts to buying things to help in teaching. And this money comes out of her own pocket. It is not provided by the school system. And she knows if she files a claim, it will be denied.

I would be willing to bet there are many other stories like this in and around the Nevada school systems.

And Governor Gibbons doesn't seem to be willing to help. He just wants to figure out how to cut budgets left and right. And for some reason, the education area is the first one targeted.

Sad.

Really sad.

[Nevada Ned]

Colin, you have it right.
My wife is an elementary school teacher. She works late during the week, comes in on many weekends. And I can verify that she isn't paid a penny extra for that. And she pays for many supplies out of her own pocket.

So why do Gibbons and the RJ and similar organizations hate teachers and public education?

Several reasons:
They cost tax money. The public schools try to educate everyone, including working people and the poor. Teachers are unionized, and are often liberals and/or Democrats. Teachers teach evolution (!!) in schools, not to mention secular humanism. There are LOTS of reasons for right wingers to hate public education.

A low-tax policy serves the interests of the casinos, big corporations, big banks, and wealthy individuals. That, combined with the dependence of public officials on private donations for campaign funds, means that almost nobody in Carson City has the guts to call for tax increases on those who could easily afford to pay more. For example, the main sponsor of the Nevada Public Research Institute, Sheldon Adelson, would have to pay more taxes. He could easily afford it, but he doesn't want to. And that is that.

The US is formally a democracy, but in practice a monied oligarchy rules.

Thanks, Gleaner!

[Dr. Grammar]

Just shut it down. It's not worth fighting for anymore.

Shut down the entire state government in total including the mad insane governors office ! Let each county take care of itself !The counties could absorb the state functions that take place in their county IF THEY CAN AFFORD IT ! I have watched the cow counties and washoe rip off Clark County my whole life time ! It is the only way for all Nevadans to come to grips with what they do to this state when they elect repugliKKKan,list,raggio,beers,giboons,lowden type psycho babble idiots to public office ! Then and only then can we do away with the list tax shaft and get walworm,mines,recreation to pay their fair share. The paid lobbyists run the state and that must end !

[Gus]

The Onion has been covering this story for years.

[Wadesmom]

I was thinking, as I was halfway listening to Sue Lowden's campaign ad, that she is responsible for this mess we are in. She says very plainly that when she was in the Senate she "kept taxes low". If we (that's an all-encompassing we) had paid a little more in taxes maybe we would have more in our "rainy day" fund. If this isn't a rainy day, I don't know what is!

[David McKee]

If, as Knapp points out, there would be nothing illegal about Private Citizen Gibbons taking cash from Mr. X, then why is Midnight Jim blowing a gasket and threatening to sue for slander? Stupidity? Paranoia? Something (else) to hide? All of the above?
The trouble with trying to figure out the cornucopia of skankiness that is Jim Gibbons is that anything is plausible where he's concerned.

[dave404]

I don't understand Giboons and his nit-wit assist-nat governor, Robbin Seedy, hand-wringing on where oh where to cut $900 million from the budget. Gibbons' press release says the Legislature went $1 bn over his Executive budget, thus all he has to do is redline all that excess spending and viola', its Spring 2009 in Nevada!

"The 2009 Legislature appropriated $6.946 billion from the state General Fund over the
2009-11 biennium, which is approximately $312.6 million more than the amount
recommended by the Governor in The Executive Budget." Well, the LCB WOULD take the Legislatures' side on this dispute on whether it is $1bn or $312m.

Wonder where the Luv Guv and the Liberalature went their separate ways on the budget in 2009? Looks like the big spenders in the liesurelature appropriated an additional $299,002,793 more in K-12 funding and $158,227,516 more in higher ed funding than did our soon to be re-elected LaRouche fanatic.

All the other Counties wanted to share his vision, I wonder how its working out for them? I'm sure they are happy!

[SEO 被リンク]

The democratic's response is great!

[Dan]

I am a teacher in CCSD and there is fat in the budget. Start with people who don't work in the schools but in administration. there are layers upon layers of bureaucracy.
I think the actual school budgets are down to the bone, but as district, there is lard, just as there fat in all areas of government.
That being said, I think we do need to raise some taxes- not on 1 industry but spread the pain all over and that would a temporary sales tax increase.

[Observer]

Look teachers you need to take a little responsibility for the current mess. A couple of years back the people of this state were prepared to back an initiative raising the gambling tax and earmarking it for education. It was a slam dunk yet the teachers chose a backroom deal and traded away a genuine opportunity to raise the lowest gaming tax in the country to support a virtual eduction endowment.

Don't come crying now.

[Nevada Ned]

Dear Observer:

Actually on TWO occasions (not one) the teachers' union started to go the initiative route to raise taxes on the casinos. The first time, a judge threw it off the ballot. The second time, the union cut a backroom deal, as you say.

Very possibly (I am guessing here) the union worried that a judge might throw it off the ballot again.

Recall that the LA Times had a series a while back about Nevada's system of "justice," in which lawyers and lobbyists make campaign contributions to judges, even if the lawyers and lobbyists have a pending case in front of the same judge.

So a judge, hoping to get a little extra in his campaign kitty, might be tempted to throw the union's petition off the ballot. (The squeamish can cover their eyes at this point).

Yes, I would have loved it if the union petition had raised taxes on the casinos. But I understand why the union may have been tempted to cut a backdoor deal with the casinos rather than risk a head-on confrontation with the casinos and the legal system that the casinos dominate.

[Dan = fake]

Dan - what you are saying is "don't cut MY salary, cut the salary of that guy over there."

[David McKee]

Gosh sakes, yes, let's have yet another sales-tax increase, which will fall disproportionately on those who can least afford it -- like teachers.
I'd have thought the Gleaner would have drummed the folly of sales-tax reliance into all our noggins by now. Besides, as we enter the THIRD consecutive year of declining retail sales in our fair state, sales taxes are about the last place we should go in search of additional revenue. There's no "there" there.

[dave404]

...and yet McKee leaves no trailings that could be useful in any public policy discussion about "what do we do now".

I applaud David for not following the other talking points of many Rightists that posit that sales tax declined only after January 21, 2009.

Per capita spending is less than what Bob Beers hisself called for (some $2,000,000,000 less), so how do you, David, propose fixing this year's budget and the $3bn for the upcoming biennium? Don't be all hat no horse!

[Dan]

To dan=fake (Happygirl?)if they cut our pay, fine, just give us some furlough days in return. Start with staff development days and work your way down. A 4 day week with longer teaching days is another. A shorter school year. So, if you cut salaries, just give us some furlough days in return.

[Happygirl]

Dan: Sir, do not -- I repeat, NOT -- bring my name into your posts, unless you're responding to one of my comments or my reponse to one of yours.
And don't call me fake, either. It's not cool.
Don't know or care who are -- but don't do it again.

[Dan]

Sorry, happygirl if that wasn't you. But that post certainly sounded like you.
But you need to grow up just a little and stop crying like a little girl.

[Rich]

Looks to me like the Gleaner needs to ban Dan the dipstick. Why doesn't he go to the Teabag blog?

[Happygirl]

Dan: And you need to act like a man.
Rich has your number, loser.
Get over yourself and grow up, Dan. You're beyond boring.

[David McKee]

Dave404, I'll make it plain: I'd be in favor of pretty much any tax increase that could be effectuated w/o going through the initiative-and-referendum process ... EXCEPT sales-tax increases, because that well is drying up *and* it's regressive.

And, yes, that means I'd be darn well willing to pay an income tax. Seems only fair in terms of what I get in civic services. We could also lift the Warren Hardy cap on property taxes (3% residential, 8% commercial), although property values have taken such a drubbing I'm pessimistic as to how much extra $$$ we'd see.