FLASHPOINT for Nov. 21, 2007

Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2007 | 7:13 a.m.

Talk about a perfect storm: The economy is forcing Gov. Jim Gibbons to ask for budget cuts, which he has now increased to 8 percent. Advocates, especially for education, are lamenting the state of funding for basic services in Nevada. And at least two initiatives designed to ameliorate that problem have been proposed that would boost the gross gaming tax. The cuts, when they are cemented early next year, will make the need for more money to fund these services only more apparent. So as conservatives fawn over Gibbons for cutting and liberals fret about the service cuts, where is the thoughtful debate about how much the state should be providing and how it should be funded? Hello? Anybody listening? That's what I thought.

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