Sunday, Oct. 21, 2007 | 12:53 p.m.
Oh where oh where can our leaders be?
So, Nevada is having the same problems most other states are having. Revenue is down, the economy is heading south, the homebuilding industry is in a stall and mortgage lenders are making many homeowners unhappy - by the day.
What to do? Oh, what to do? How about cut the budgets for higher education, health care and other places in our economy that help define who we are? Can't cut the transportation and roads budget - not enough there to fix a pothole. Can't cut the money we don't and won't spend on our court system - it's already going broke on its own. And can't get the money from the federal government - there are enough real disasters across this country to eat up any extra cash lying around and, besides, there isn't any extra cash lying around.
This isn't the first time fiscal irresponsibility, economic downturn or shortsighted economic policy has gotten this country in a jackpot or this state in a quandary . It might, however, be the first time that I can remember when the answer to our financial woes has been to make matters worse.
The short version of how Nevada, one of the fastest-growing and wealthier states in the union, got into this mess revolves around an almost pathological aversion to taxes. We have created in Nevada a tax structure that invites people from all over the country who are looking to avoid paying their fair share for the government services they and every other citizen get.
It should be no surprise, then, that those people who have moved here to avoid paying taxes vote "no" on any responsible plan to raise the kind of revenue necessary to pay for services in this fast-growing state.
It should also surprise no one that those same people vote loudly at each election so that people who want to get elected promise never to raise taxes and, once in office, keep their promises for fear of losing their job. That, of course, begs the question of their promise to uphold the Constitution and defend our state and country against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
I could make the argument that the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, the effects of the subprime loan scandal on homeownership and the horrendous waste of gasoline and time because we spend far too much time on overcrowded roads and highways are all domestic enemies of our constitutional right to pursue happiness and domestic tranquility. But that argument would get drowned out by the "don't raise my taxes; raise his" chorus.
So, what is the result? Our governor starts talking about cutting budgets. By itself, that is not an irresponsible action given no other choices. But, here's the rub: There are other choices and, with the confluence of events in recent weeks, I would argue that it is the height of irresponsible governance not to consider appropriate tax changes or increases.
Why do you think the teachers union is adamant about using the initiative process, which, by the way, is anathema to an effective representative democracy ? Just ask California if you don't believe me. It is because there is no leadership in Carson City, not in the governor's office and not in the Legislature.
When the time came to fix the tax structure in this state and the education deficits, health needs and road requirements for the people of Nevada, everyone in a position of responsibility was AWOL. The result of that cowardly inaction is at least one initiative designed to heap huge tax increases on Nevada's major industry, perhaps to the point of motivating it to build elsewhere and take our jobs with it, all in the name of something perfectly understandable - education.
In the middle of this mess our governor is considering cutting education budgets and health and other human services. All because he made a silly promise that no sane and responsible citizen expects him to keep.
So, here is how he becomes a real leader and shows his detractors why he should be the governor of Nevada: He calls a special session of the Legislature with the broad purpose of putting our fiscal house in order.
That means the legislators would have to come up with a tax structure that works in good times and bad and is fair to everyone. A tax structure under which everyone who lives and works in this state pays a fair share of the cost.
That also means that the legislators will extract from the gaming industry the kind of meaningful, yet responsible, gross gaming tax increases, room taxes and taxes on nongaming revenue that we all know are available. And that means legislators have to stand up to the business interests and require them to pay their fair share of the burden. Something they have refused to do - forever.
It also means that people who can ill afford to pay more of their incomes won't have to and that those thousands of out-of-state companies that take advantage of our liberal laws without contributing anything will have to step up.
All this would result in roads being fixed and built where they are needed, health care being made available to those who don't have it, elementary and high school education becoming first-rate rather than cut-rate, and higher education becoming the envy of the nation rather than the laughingstock.
It would also put an end to the kind of frustration voters are experiencing that leads them to the unhealthy and irresponsible initiative petition process as well as the belief that government works only for the wealthy at the expense of everyone else.
This is not a hard thing to do. For one, the governor would have to forget his political mantra of no new taxes. Either we raise the revenue this state needs to grow and thrive or we capitulate to those forces in Nevada that live only for themselves and only for today, caring not one whit about their neighbors or the next generation of Nevadans.
Even though he has said he will not raise taxes, as late as this past week, Gov. Jim Gibbons can be the leader he wants us to believe he is by doing the right and responsible thing. Or, he can stick to his silly ideological mantra and be known as the man who ran this great ship of state aground.
As for the legislators, they need to step up, too. People in Nevada are like everyone else. They want to do the right thing and act the right way. Real leaders know that people will pay a little more if they believe it will be spent properly on the services that allow all of us to live better. They just have to be led in that direction.
So, here's the challenge. Instead of just saying no, no, no, try saying yes.
Yes to a special session and yes to the idea that we don't have to live like everyone else. We can live like Nevadans. Proud, independent and responsible.
How about it, Governor ? Can you be the leader that Nevada needs?
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