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By J. Patrick Coolican (contact) 
Monday, Jan. 26, 2009 | 11:15 a.m.
Sun archives
The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, one of the state’s most powerful interest groups, unveiled a legislative agenda this morning that suggested the possibility of a grand bargain: Fiscal reforms that will lead to long-term savings in the state budget in exchange for a tax increase in the upcoming legislative session, which begins next week.
State government faces a $2.3 billion hole. Gov. Jim Gibbons, a first-term Republican, released a proposed budget that would close the hole with a 6 percent pay cut for state workers and teachers and a 36 percent cut to higher education. That proposal has been widely derided by Democratic legislators, higher education chancellor Jim Rogers, the teachers union, and some Republicans.
The chamber said it could support a tax increase, but only if the Legislature acts on the following items:
-- Cuts in the public employee retirement system for new employees. The current system faces a $6.3 billion unfunded liability.
-- Similar cuts in retiree benefits, including eliminating a health care subsidy for new employees and eliminating the subsidy for current employees when they reach Medicare eligibility. That system faces a $4 billion unfunded liability.
-- Work to reduce local government salaries. The chamber advocates making the collective bargaining negotiating process more transparent, meaning making some of the proceedings public so voters can weigh in before contracts are signed. The chamber also proposes changing the collective bargaining law to give local government more leverage in the negotiations, which are currently dominated by binding arbitration that favors government unions.
-- Create a “rainy day” fund for K-12 education.
-- Reform the existing Budget Stabilization Fund to help mitigate against future downturns.
Chamber government affairs chairman Hugh Anderson said the business lobby would be willing to participate in a conversation about a tax increase, but only if their proposals were passed in some form.
Steve Hill, chairman of the board of the chamber, said the group is opposed to Gibbons’ proposals on teacher and state worker pay cuts and the deep cuts to higher education.
Chamber officials said they’ve received positive feedback from Democratic legislators on their proposals.
Democrats control both houses of the Legislature. Any tax increase will require two-thirds majority of both houses. They control the Assembly with a two-thirds majority, but would need two Republican votes in the Senate for a tax increase. The chamber could be a crucial help in lobbying Republicans.
I'm not usually a devotee of the Chamber... But this is the most logic I've read so far.
More transparency and trimming of 'choice' fat if you want to raise my already high (IMO) taxes.
We'll all pay in the end if the State cuts from schools.
Yes, when even the Chamber of Commerce is admitting new revenue sources are needed, we can tell the tired chants of the jfnance32's and the future2012's have fallen on deaf ears.
They write to read their own words, and no one, not even their target market, cares to read what they have to say.
A reasonable, middle-of-the-road approach of some cuts and some revenue enhancements will come out of the legislature.
These leaders are wise.
They know that the Democrats want to raise taxes and put more private employees out of work.
So they are demanding that there should be a reduction in platinum benefits given to state unionized workforce and reduction to the platinum contracts to government workers.
If Democrats want to put private employees out of work then they must agree to reductions in the cost of the government workforce.
Nance, you have an opinion on everything don't you? I read your comments every chance I have to read an article. Of course, I work, so I don't have the luxury you have to post all of the time.
It amazes me how someone who claims to be such an advocate of the private sector can have so much free time to post comments on every article on the Sun website. If you work, your job must be posting comments - and if that is indeed your job, you don't spend much time perfecting it, as your comments are the same stale neocon rhetoric over and over.
No doubt you believe all of the right-wing lies about taxes and government being the enemy. Perhaps you are paid well to post and blog and perpetuate these lies. Let us be honest for a minute though. We know that the era of Reaganomics is dead. We know that this small time in history, that came so close to the era of the robber-barrons of the industrial revolution where the wealthy sucked on the blood of the masses, is coming to a close. We cannot continue to sustain an economic engine that relies on the debt of the masses to support the excesses of the wealthy.
Your voice is one of but a few loud extremists. I am heartened to see that you have less and less allies, and more and more posts attacking your diatribes. Continued luck with your work, whatever it may be.
The only state workers who are "unionized" are teachers Nance. In all of your time wasted on these posts I thought you would know that. State workers cannot strike against the state, it is illegal. The unions represent county and city employees. They are the ones with contracts and also the ones making the most money because of those contracts. State employees are the easy target because they have no unions to fight for them. If you need some links showing this info, I will be glad to provide them for you.
<<Cuts in the public employee retirement system for new employees.
-- Similar cuts in retiree benefits, including eliminating a health care subsidy for new employees>>>
Impossible. Universities, for example, are not going to be able to recruit any qualified faculty in those conditions
The LV Chamber study is badly flawed as has been pointed out by many. For instance, it lumps local government employees with state employees, even though most public employees are local, and they make considerably more money than do most state employees. Also, it calls for changes in health care for state employees and retirees that will make it very difficult to recruit in a national hiring market, as higher ed institutions have to do. The chamber study also points out that higher ed professionals are paid 80% of national averages. What a way to build an educated work force!
"They know that the Democrats want to raise taxes and put more private employees out of work."
Rather than offend you by calling this statement stupid, please explain why Democrats would want to put people out of work, so that I can understand how it is that you are not being an utterly partisan moron.
I want you to know that you have made me really comfortable in my positions. I am more sure now of my views than ever, thanks to watching months and months of complete nonsense come out of you.
My favorite thing you do Jim, is justify how fair you are by saying things like "I criticize both Clinton and Bush". The truth is, you criticized Bush for continuing Clintons policies.
The truth is, you criticized Bush for continuing Clintons policies.
------------------------
Yes . . . but . . . regardless of whether Clinton started it, the fact remains that Bush and a Republican-run Congress did, in fact, continue those policies. You seem to want to let Bush off the hook entirely. Who is worse - the one who started the policies, or the idiots who kept them going (and, by your logic, should have known better)?
Teaser is right.
Bush should have known better. So it is worse for him.
Also, I have critized Bush more than just continuing Clinton polices. On the Sun, I have have been critical of him for handling the aftermath afther the end of the major military operations in Iraq war and hiring that guy for FEMA. In other forumns, I have been critical of his attempt to appoint Miers to the Supreme Court and his policies to expand government in education and Medicare.
So JohneVegas is just displaying his ingorance again.
JohnELagees
Such delicious irony that Nance can't even spell 'ignorance' correctly.
I guess it kind of fits Bender's definition of irony, "words that express something other than their original intention."
"So JohneVegas is just displaying his ingorance again."
The only thing I do that is ignorant here nance, is assume you may ever acknowledge being wrong about anything ever.