Editorial: Cruel with a capital ‘C’

Friday, May 6, 2005 | 10:02 a.m.

State Sen. Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, and his echo chamber in the local right-wing media have been pounding away at what they claim is a bloated state government. On Wednesday they -- and the rest of us -- had a chance to see just how much outrage exists over state government spending. The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing to find out what suggestions that legislators, lobbyists and, most importantly, members of the general public had for cutting the state budget.

A good deal of publicity was given in advance to the hearing, and it was held at 5:30 p.m., making it easier for those who work during the day to attend. Additionally, the meeting was videoconferenced to Las Vegas from Carson City. So how many members of the general public showed up in Las Vegas for the hearing? Only three -- and not one of them offered to testify in favor of any specific kinds of cuts that should be made. And no one from the general public testified in Carson City, either, although some lobbyists representing business interests pitched their plans for reducing government.

The hearing really belonged to Beers and his proposals to cut government services -- and some of his ideas are dangerous. He would dramatically cut spending on Medicaid, the joint federal-state partnership in which the poor and those who are disabled receive medical care. Beers would like to eliminate some of those programs that the federal government deems "optional" -- such as dental care and hospice care -- that most compassionate people would see as essential. He also, at a time when the state is doing well in trying to stop a nuclear waste dump from being built in Nevada, would wave the white flag of surrender by eliminating funding for the state office providing independent oversight of the Yucca Mountain project. Beers also wants to make Draconian cuts to the state's Millennium Scholarship program, which has been highly successful and popular with Nevadans.

Economic calamity was predicted by the right-wing media and extremist legislators two years ago when the Legislature increased taxes to help pay for essential services, including education. But Nevada's economy, particularly in Las Vegas, has been doing much better than before taxes were raised. Further, there was no public backlash, as every state legislator who voted for higher taxes won re-election in the general election. Link all of that with the lack of a turnout at this week's budget hearing to consider more ways to cut the budget, and it's clear that the people of Nevada aren't buying the tired, heartless view of government being peddled by Beers and Company.