Editorial: So where is all this ‘fat’ in budgets?

Friday, Nov. 14, 2003 | 5:38 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION Nov. 15 - 16, 2003

This past week the U.S. Census Bureau released data that confirmed that Nevada is one of the most fiscally conservative states in the nation. The Census Bureau reported that in 2002 Nevada had the second-lowest percentage of public employees in the nation, with 465 state and local-government employees for every 10,000 people. The national average was 554 public employees for every 10,000 people. In public employment Nevada lags well behind other states in some critical areas, such as education and health care. In education, for example, there are 213 public educators for every 10,000 people compared to the national average of 292. These numbers help illustrate that fiscal conservatism, carried to an extreme, can be destructive.

This year, when the Nevada Legislature met, ultraconservatives railed against Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn's proposal to raise taxes. They insisted that there was plenty of fat in government to cut. While such rhetoric might be popular with some Nevadans, government spending had not kept pace with the costs incurred by the state during a period of explosive population growth in Nevada during the 1990s and continuing on into this decade. The governor's critics also conveniently omitted that the last time state taxes had been increased was in 1991 and that Guinn and his Democratic predecessor, Bob Miller, had put in place a hiring freeze on nonessential state employees during much of that period.

During the 1990s elected officials let down the public because they feared the political consequences of raising taxes, even if was to adequately provide essential government services. Students, the elderly, the mentally ill and consumers all were hurt as a result. Too many people have been misled by some politicians and right-wing demagogues in the media that government spending has spun out of control. Nothing could be further from the truth -- and the numbers help prove that case.