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twitterThe Legislature: analysis:
The Jim Gibbons voters elected
Four days remain: an analysis
Brad Horn / Nevada Appeal
Gov. Jim Gibbons vetoes legislative bills related to the state budget Thursday on the Capitol steps in Carson City.
Friday, May 29, 2009 | 2 a.m.
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Sun Archives
- Gibbons’ veto stings educators at rally (5-28-2009)
- Governor vetoes tax bills, lawmakers look to override (5-28-2009)
- Gov. Jim Gibbons’ statement on tax bill vetoes (5-28-2009)
- Gibbons' veto of rights for gay couples appears safe (5-28-2009)
- Tax bill veto will bring Gibbons to 12 for session (5-27-2009)
- Gibbons signs 43 bills into law, vetoes two (5-26-2009)
- Gibbons vetoes hospital bill, signs others (5-23-2009)
Sun Coverage
Beyond the Sun
Carson City — Nevadans should not have been surprised Thursday when Gov. Jim Gibbons vetoed legislators’ spending bills and the $780 million tax increase to pay for them.
He pounded down the veto stamp on eight bills in a made-for-TV event that was like an unofficial 2010 reelection kickoff.
This is the governor Nevadans elected.
Despite the Legislature’s cuts in state worker pay and benefits, social and health programs, and schools and universities, Gibbons denounced the budget: “We all deserve the freedom to choose life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” he said, “rather than the tyranny of oppressive government and oppressive taxes barging farther into our lives.”
Gibbons has governed exactly as he pledged he would: During his campaign in 2006, he promised no tax hikes and little else. He showed only mild interest in the machinery of government and the services it provides.
He continued Thursday to be the Jim Gibbons Nevadans have come to know, his performance just like the ones that have come before — the enigmatic eyes, the reflexive anti-tax ideology, the occasional stretching of the truth, the awkward stagecraft.
But as always, it was hard to look away.
He came out under his now-signature banner: “Governor Jim Gibbons’ Vision: The people of Nevada deserve a Government that works for them, not against them.” Nearby, two easels displayed grainy, oversized mug shots of Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford and Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, both Democrats, next to statements they made in the past opposing taxes.
His image consultants, the ones who guided him through one crisis after another during the final weeks of the 2006 campaign, are all gone now — a mutual parting.
Gibbons’ staff has never employed a fact-checker for his speeches.
In a rhetorical plea with legislators, he asked, “With food prices up, gas prices up, energy prices up, virtually all the basic necessities of life costing more, will your vote help the people you represent?”
Except that American consumer prices declined 0.4 percent during the first quarter, according to The Economist, and many analysts fear deflation, not inflation.
Then there was this: “The liberal leadership in the Legislature took the easy way out with these bills,” he said.
Except that the budget and the $780 million tax increase were supported by five Republican senators — a majority of their caucus. For these legislators, who are certainly no liberals, the vote was surely not an easy one, but they voted yes anyway to support — in the words of Republican Minority Leader Bill Raggio — “essential services.”
Moreover, many would argue Republicans used their leverage wisely, gaining key concessions on public employee benefits and the rules governing collective bargaining for local government employees. Gibbons continued: “I encourage legislators to rethink the devastating burden these bills will place on the people of Nevada.”
Except that even with the tax increase, Nevada will have one of the lowest per-capita tax burdens in the country to support one of the smallest governments in the country, measured by per-capita spending, employees per capita and government as a share of gross domestic product, according to Census Bureau data.
The tax increase, which was coupled with spending cuts to close a nearly $3 billion budget hole, was supported by the mining and tourism industries and the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.
In part because of these disconnects, Gibbons has played virtually no role this legislative session.
“It’s been two months probably since I talked to the governor,” said state Sen. Warren Hardy, R-Las Vegas.
Gibbons’ original budget cut state worker and teacher pay 6 percent and slashed 36 percent from higher education. That effectively meant 50 percent cuts in the budgets of the University of Nevada, Reno, and UNLV.
Senate Republicans were as critical of the plan as Democrats.
While the economy continued to crater and revenue numbers fell further, Gibbons offered no real plan to deal with the worsening fiscal news, other than a dead-on-arrival scheme to securitize the state’s tobacco settlement money.
There was also a willful forgetting at the event: The governor included in his budget a 3 percentage point increase in the hotel room tax. He did not sign the measure when it passed in March, though he did not veto it either, and it became law.
About two dozen conservatives — many of whom spent the session arguing against fluoridation of the water supply — cheered Gibbons wildly. For these faithful, the governor has upheld his promise.
After two legislative sessions and with two-thirds of his term complete, indeed he has.
Sun reporter David McGrath Schwartz contributed to this report.
Discussion: 34 comments so far…
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this guy has a image consultant while regular people are hurting, shame on the womanizer
Three people behind him for support? Gibbons really is crazy. Where was your Veto for the voter approved room tax, Gibbo? Once again, the Governor has NO idea what he says. Future2012, your boy is headed to the showers. Then Dawn, will take him to the cleaners.
News Analysis.
It is just an excuse for a cowardly reporter to provide commentary without taking responsiblity for his views.
Sorta sounds like you are doing the same thing MSNBC
Puhleeeeeze. Spare Nevada and yourself the embarrassment of a re-election campaign. Although I suppose it might be kinda fun to watch the major a## whoopin' that would ensue.
Gym Gibbins/Larri Craig, GOP 2012
The economy is about to prove the Governor correct. He isn't running for reelection. He did what was right for the taxpayers and the Nevada economy.
ANY system funded by theft through taxation deserves to fail, taxation should NOT merely be vetoed, taxation should CRIMINALIZED.
"He isn't running for reelection. "
Wrong again. He's already launched his reelection website. He honestly thinks he's "leading" Nevada in the right direction. His vetoes are being overridden one-by-one. He's powerless.
Meanwhile, only 11% of those polled said they would vote to reelect him.
Great job, Jim! Nevada can't stand you!
Why won't this insensitive clod approve tax raises and spending increases? Clearly that model has worked so well for California.
We appreciate what your doing for us Gov Gibbons! This is a bad situation for Nevada but you took steps that needed to be taken. So many government officials would of "reacted" versus legislating smartly. Thank you sir!!
I think you're going to be surprised, Nevada. Gibbons was elected on a no tax hike platform and he did what he promised. What makes you think the same people who voted for him -- and got exactly what he promised -- will vote him out of office?
I love all these people who compare Nevada to Californina. There is no way you can even begin to compare the two states. The tax structure is radically different from Nevada. I guess the minute you see the word TAX you get all self righteous when in fact I doubt most of you will even see a difference in daily expenses. And lastly read the article and pay close attention to this fact "Even with the tax increase, Nevada will have one of the lowest per-capita tax burdens in the country to support one of the smallest governments in the country, measured by per-capita spending, employees per capita and government as a share of gross domestic product, according to Census Bureau data." Enough of the sky is falling down talk, buck up the extra $10 a year this tax increase will cost you, surely our future is worth $10.
Actually, our state and local government ranks 25th in spending per capita. What Patrick meant to say (he knows better, he just can't separate his reporting from his spin) is that our residents pay comparatively little because our visitors pay amongst the highest visitor tax burdens in America.
And in his fourth paragraph, he uses the words "legislators' cuts" awfully, well, liberally. Actually, most, perhaps all, of those categories of spending will increase, on an absolute basis, with the legislature's tax hikes.
Check out this graphic: http://www.lasvegassun.com/photos/2009/m...
Game over.
BOB BEERS???
oh NOOOOOOOO!
WAKE ME UP! MAKE IT GO AWAY! AHHHHH!!!!!
And seriously, Beersy, you just put your own spin on patrick's spin...verrrry verrry clever.
Please, DO NOT RUN for elected office again. It's too painful to watch. Or listen. Or READ. Why dont'cha take Gov'ner Gym and go on a nice, long trip somewhere.
To our little linn...ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!
GOOD ONE!
Coolican, can you PLEASE do a story leaving out your biases, opinions, and slanted interpetations of events. Try using facts. Try writing about what happened and what was said or done, not what your biases or bosses are telling you to write.
And THANK YOU PATRICK for the LINK. That was BEUTIFUL!
But it will fall on deaf ears. BOB BEERS AND GYM GIBBINS and the rest of their ilk do not CARE about FACTS.
The same Beers who lies about state employees getting two raises "regardless of job performance," even though they must pass an evaluation in order to get one of the raises? If they fail the evaluation, they don't get that raise. Sound like "regardless of job performance?" No.
The same Beers who repeatedly pointed to an Excel spreadsheet exclaiming that it proved state and local employee pay "ranks very high," even though the spreadsheet he was pointing to was labeled "Local," not state. He had to release a mea culpa regarding that one. He's an accountant who has problems reading column headers.
Sum Zero does look like the Grinch who stole christmas.
Imagine he can still put us poor folks on his tax free ranch in Elko to harvest the hay and support the local cat houses.
Anyone know how many girlfriends he has now? Imagine still only one wife.
Now that he is free to text all day the state should be safe.
Jim Gibbons is NO Republican. He is a Libertarian extremist. He is what he is.
Is it just me or have his lips completely disappeared?
I did not vote for this idiot of a governor. Please continue your run for 2010. Seeing the local GOP is like watching a ten car collision. Morbid curiousity but gratitude I'm not a part of the destruction.
"Check out this graphic: http://www.lasvegassun.com/photos/2009/m......
Game over"
First you should use your staff logon so that your comments are bright yellow to let people know that a staff member is posting.
So for those graphs..........
The first graph is just based on state spending. Nevada has two large counties where their budgets combined are nearly equaled to the entire state budget.
Also on a per capita basis, like Bob said, we are ranked 25th in the nation in state spending.
The second graph does not show the income and benefits that our government employees get. In benefits, we are probably in the top 5 in the nation. In salaries, on the state level we are around mid teen's and on the local level we are in the top 10.
If we had the same number of employees as the other states then we would need probably another $3 to $6 billion a year to fund that.
"First you should use your staff logon so that your comments are bright yellow to let people know that a staff member is posting."
That's hilarious, coming from someone so cowardly he won't use his real screenname and hides behind a second one, jfNance32. Hypocrite.
Thank you Governor, I appreciate you upholding your promise not to raise taxes, sans the hotel room tax in which you did not veto.
With all sincerity, I wish the people could understand....we don't need extra taxes to solve the problem, taxes are the problem. Without all the tax increases throughout the years there would be no budget crunch. When the 'teat' was full, government programs latched on....and now that there is a shortage of milk and they have sucked the teat empty...they don't want to detach. Thus demanding that someone else miraculously make the milk reappear. The government is not helping those that rely on them....they're crippling them for life by not letting them live and learn. Thus creating self confidence, self esteem and self reliance. What happened in New Orleans was beyond aweful...but I for one wouldn't want to be one of the people still waiting to this day for the government to come and help me.
So, I guess I'm one of those 'self-righteous' anti-tax guys who doesn't want to pony up that extra $10 a year. Because....it's only '$10' this time. What about next time and the time after that or all the previous bills in which Gibbons has vetoed. Very few, not me, can say where all of our tax dollars go and some of those that do know, know because they are the devisors or simply an ill-advised recipient of the People's tax dollars. Police, firemen, military no sweat. The People must provide adequate protection for the State against agression. I get and agree with that. However, illegal aliens cost Nevada $630 million a year but not many want to discuss or DO ANYTHING ABOUT THAT!!! Not to mention the hundreds of other unneccessary garbage programs that were created and exist under the guise of 'having a heart' only to pad politicians wallets. So...let's do it Nevada, let's raise taxes more and more and more so that additional leaches (some already here) can come here and take advantage of our land of opportunity instead of embracing it by earning and paying their own way through. Thus flourishing in our country and adding to our rich culture.
Worried about class sizes for children are some? One solution out of many: deport illegal aliens that don't pay 'crucial' taxes and/or don't want to go through the proper steps to gain citizenship or at the very least, won't obtain a temporary work status. Boom, automatic State revenue and reduction of class sizes. It's not a racist policy, it's a culture and financial one. Although some will take it that way because it affects them personally. But seriously, who cares what color your skin is or what you eat as long as you contribute to this wonderful country and not exploit it.
And for all of those who will automatically hate me after reading this: my wife and I have had job loss and/or had salary and benefit cuts, along with 401K contributions being unrenewed. So I know first hand the ill and desperate feeling of sinking fast. I just don't feel that it is my neighbors responsibility to bail me out.
I don't type this to mince words, argue or offend. It's only to remind some that we don't need government to solve our problems. We're all strong, willful and intelligent Americans that can do for ourselves whether we know it by now or not.
To all of those so very "concerned" about Patrick's "spin": Does the "spin" of the R-J bother you so? How about the "spin" of Fox "news"? Any AM radio talk show?
Or are you only "outraged" by what you are told is a "left wing spin"?
One last question ..... if the left-leaning slant of the SUN bothers you so much, why not stay at the R-J where you all think exactly alike? This way your little heads wouldn't explode from all that "spinning".
Jim Gibbons is betting that there are enough hard core right wing extremists living in Clark County that he will be able to successfully run on his wacked-out Libertarian ideology and seal the deal with overwhelming support from 50,000 rural Libertarian sympathizers. Not only the tail wagging the dog, the TIP of the tail will be wagging the dog. As someone once said, FOR EVIL TO TRIUMPH REQUIRES ONLY THAT ENOUGH CLARK COUNTY DEMOCRATS DON'T VOTE.
Gibbons ran on a no tax stand and won more than a 50% majority. I guess there are a lot of people who support that.
The recent polls stated that over 60% of the population was against the tax raise on employement.
Duh....exactly why did they raise taxes on employment?????
I am willing to bet that the Democratic nominee for governor will be yelling and screaming that they will not raise taxes in their run for governor.
I am not sure how Buckley will pull that off because she just led the charge for the biggest tax increase in Nevada history during the worst recession in Nevada history. Does that make any economic sense?
I doubt she will be the state nominee.
It will hard for her to overcome that baggage.
Wow, listening to jfNance32, err, Jim F Nance, Jr, err, SgtRock, you might think that the voters of Nevada love love love Jim Gibbons like he does.
Sorry, reality paints a much different picture.
"More than half of Nevada voters have already decided to vote for someone other than Gov. Jim Gibbons in next year's gubernatorial election, according to a new Las Vegas Review-Journal poll."
"Fifty-four percent of the registered voters surveyed said they would definitely vote to replace the Republican incumbent if the 2010 election were held today."
"Just 11 percent said they would vote to re-elect him, while 30 percent would consider another candidate."
Jim Gibbons swore on an oath to veto and and all attempts to raise taxes. He then submitted a budget that demanded a tax increase. When that tax increase came to him desk, he did not veto it.
He explained himself by saying he wouldn't stand in the way of any tax increases approved by the voters. He took the cowards way out and broke his oath. Then, he turned around and vetoed tax increases approved by the voters in Washoe Country.
A liar and a hypocrite, and his supporters, like jfNance32/SgtRock still foolishly think people support Jim Gibbons. What a joke.
The legislature, in a bipartisan effort, kept our state functioning, while submitting both tax increases and tax cuts. Under the legislature's plan, the most vulnerable small businesses will actually pay less in payroll taxes, while large businesses, like WalMart, will begin to contribute to our state's welfare.
Jim Gibbons' cheerleader should be ashamed of himself.
"Gibbons ran on a no tax stand and won more than a 50% majority. "
Another jfNance32 LIE.
Gibbons was elected with a plurality, NOT a majority. He garnered 47.9% of the vote NOT "a 50% majority."
LOL, you can change your screenname, but that doesn't change your behavior, James F. Nance, Jr.
I am grateful that Gov. Gibbons did not allow the legislature to marginalize him, he's doing a fine job all by himself and needs no assistance in that arena.
As much as I would love to see him impeached (like we have the cash to do that) maybe we could just request that Barbara Buckley issue a Proclamation naming him "State Speedbump" since apparently his duties are merely ceremonial anyway, thus removing the potential public embarrassment (for all concerned) of a re-election bid.
At least term limits do not threaten this Governor...
JPC,
see page 9: http://www.taxfoundation.org/files/sr163...
Game Over. Bob Beers was right...when looking at ALL TAXES COLLECTED divided by residents Nevada ranks 25th.
You didn't even address Mr. Beers' point.
And if that really was Mr. Cooligan responding to Mr. Beers (I doubt it because they would have a yellow market identifying them as a Sun employee...) then shame. I showed Mr. Cooligan that graph in person when we met at a Buckley town hall meeting in which she was citing that report but failing to mention that fact.