Editorial: Tax critics must show their hand

Friday, March 7, 2003 | 5:36 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: March 9, 2003

Two years ago Gov. Kenny Guinn saw what many of his fellow Republicans were loath to see -- the need for new and higher taxes. From his vantage point at the Capitol in Carson City, he realized that funding for education, health care and other services was already below minimum standards when compared with national figures. He looked ahead to the 2003-2005 biennium and sensed the crisis to come if nothing was done. He appointed a task force that worked all of 2002 analyzing the state's vital programs and the tax structure supporting them.

Meanwhile the former business executive and educator pared down state government. During his State of the State address in January, he outlined layoffs and program cuts that chiseled more than $200 million from the budget -- a substantial and painful effort that narrowed the projected deficit to $700 million. But Guinn's goal was not simply to close the deficit, which would only keep state funding at minimal levels. He wanted Nevada, the fastest-growing state in the nation, to meet the true needs of that growth. The governor weathered unrelenting criticism from fellow Republicans and special-interest groups as he put together a proposal, based on the recommendations of the task force, to raise $1 billion in new revenue. Last week he handed the proposal to the Legislature, along with a challenge. "It's governance that Nevada needs now," Guinn said.

We agree with what the governor was saying, which was this: He long ago saw a very real state financial crisis looming. He did the math and illustrated how senior citizens, schoolchildren and every other resident would be harmed either directly or indirectly without increased revenue. He assembled a task force. He cut the budget. He put together a tax proposal. And now it's up to the Legislature to match his effort.

Guinn's numerous critics in the Legislature, however, haven't been as busy as he was over the past two years. The four-month legislative session is approaching its halfway mark and we haven't seen anything substantive from the tax critics, other than some feeble bills and comments that are not backed up with any detailed research. If the critics have a credible alternative plan for uplifting Nevada, we'd like to see it and see it soon. We concede that Guinn's plan may not be flawless. We cannot, however, buy the argument that tax increases at the level he's proposing are unnecessary and that over the next few weeks we can just slash scores of millions from the budget and start privatizing services. Guinn's challenge was a good one: It is indeed time for governance.