Las Vegas Sun

June 4, 2012

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SUN EDITORIAL:

Providing leadership

Legislative Democrats offer a vision, find solutions to problems facing the state

Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008 | 2:09 a.m.

When the Nevada Legislature meets next year, it’s expected that the governor will ask lawmakers to cut the state budget severely. With the economy and state tax revenues floundering, budget analysts believe the cut could be $1.4 billion.

That amount, about 14 percent of the budget, may be surprising, but that the state is in this situation is hardly a shock. Nevada’s budget hangs precariously on a few highly volatile taxes, and the result has been a boom-and-bust cycle in which the Legislature and the governor routinely slash the budget.

Of course, saying there’s a boom in the cycle is a fallacy. Even in its best years, the state has never adequately been able to fund three vital areas of government service: education, social services and public safety. As a result, services in this state lag well behind where they should be, which will affect the state for years, even before a massive budget cut.

Continuing in this manner should not be acceptable, yet that is where Gov. Jim Gibbons is heading. He would rather cut the budget, addressing the symptoms rather than the cause of the problem.

Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, is stepping up by offering her vision for Nevada, laying out problems and proposed solutions to improve the state.

Buckley is touring Nevada with a savvy presentation and is asking people for their ideas. She wants to develop a clear list of budget priorities and ways to handle the state’s problems.

Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas, are also holding a series of community meetings to solicit ideas.

These efforts are commendable, and a major step in the right direction, given the lack of leadership in the governor’s office.

For Buckley, the bottom-line question is: Can we do better as a state? The answer is: Certainly. This is something that has been put off too long, and Nevada has suffered as a result.

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