Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

SUN EDITORIAL:

Lack of a real vision

Sandoval fails to offer a plan that would address the reality of the budget

In a televised speech Tuesday evening, Gov. Brian Sandoval once again tried to put a sunny spin on the state budget. Sandoval said there would be hundreds of millions of dollars of “new revenue” for education and other services.

Revised projections of state tax revenue forecast $440 million more than previously expected. Sandoval said that money would be “added back” to the budget, with $270 million going to education.

Those numbers were at the heart of a speech the governor used to try to drive home a budget message to the Legislature: He will not move on the budget or his no-new-taxes pledge. The speech will certainly have some effect on the debate because Sandoval made it seem like there’s no need for taxes given all of the “new revenue.” If that’s the case, it should solve the budget crisis, shouldn’t it?

It’s not even close.

All of that “new revenue,” although welcome, won’t come close to closing a budget deficit estimated around $2.4 billion. It also won’t make up for the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been cut from education and other services over the past several years. Nor will it do anything to help services, especially education, that have never been properly funded.

With buzzwords and simplistic arguments, Sandoval’s speech covered up the reality of the state budget as he relied on a simplistic argument, as he has since he took office. He talked about a shared sacrifice among Nevadans, but his budget plan puts the burden on students and the poor, who would see education and social services cut. Meanwhile, he gives a pass to those businesses — many with headquarters located out of state — that go virtually untaxed here.

Nevada has serious problems. The schools are underfunded and have for years been ranked in many categories among the worst in the nation. Despite the governor’s plan to “add” $270 million to education, both school districts and the university system will see dramatic cuts. The governor’s answer is once again to spin the issue. Sandoval talked about making “reforms” to education and said, “What matters most is not how much we spend on education, but how we spend it.”

Sandoval makes it sound as if there are a few simple fixes that can turn around an education system that has regularly ranked at or near the bottom of the nation in a number of key indicators. Nevada’s classroom spending per-pupil is below the national average and has been for years. How anyone can think that cutting the budget further will help is a mystery.

Never mind all of that. Sandoval said there would be a “different conversation” about funding when the Legislature meets in 2013, once again offering his rosy view of the future.

But if the governor and the Legislature won’t confront and deal with the real problems facing the state now, why would anyone expect them to do so in two years? The fact is that state leaders have for decades pushed problems off for future sessions of the Legislature.

There’s no better example than the state’s tax system. Over the years, there have been several studies that have concluded that the tax code is inequitable and doesn’t provide adequate funding. Yet the fundamental problems remain because state leaders have refused to confront the reality of the situation.

Instead of following that well-worn path and offering a vague hope that things will improve, Sandoval should be providing leadership by working with the Legislature to chart a long-term vision. Unfortunately, his plans would set Nevada’s schools and services further back and that would only undercut the state’s economic success for years to come.

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