Joe Heck is a shill anyway. His race against Ann O'Connell was disgusting and a testament to his complete lack of any character whatsoever. Who cares what happens to him?

God help the state if Bob Beers is voted out and the morons are given complete free reign to tax and spend with no voice of reason whatsoever.

Re: "How about someone taking a long hard look at how Florida works their infrastructure?"

Because, it's not about raising revenue... we have plenty. It's about the spending and the waste of the money that is generated.

What is really bad is the PERS bill that is coming up for Nevada. As with the auto companies, unions will be the death of Nevada as well.

If you think you're paying more for food and services over gas prices - just wait for the "broad based business tax" and the "Nevada efficient" beheamoth agency that will be formed and staffed with morons to assess and collect it.

Some of you guys how the educrap establishment is so grossly underfunded in Nevada are either shills for the school unions, benefactors of the waste (CCSD Administrators), or just morons.

The "empty headed idealogues" that voted for Gibbons did so PRECISELY because he promised "NO NEW TAXES" - did you think it was for his sparkling personality?

Is is nauseating that some of you think that think that "those that can pay more (taxes) easily" should have to when what is being overcollected NOW is WASTED so completely as it is.

To those of you that think corporations don't contribute, try starting one and hiring just ONE employee besides yourself and see how little you pay. You obviously have NO IDEA.

I say forget it... SHUT THE ENTIRE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM DOWN EXCEPT UNLV AND CCN - and if they can't start pulling their own weight in tuitions, close them down too. As long as we aren't Yale or Oxford or MIT, everyone here is just going to complain anyway. If you are so desirous of whatever school you're drooling over, MOVE THERE. I bet the resorts there suck! Hell I will contribute to your leaving the state.

Perhaps Jim Rodgers should bequeath a majority of his wealth to the states frugal and capable hands since he is so desirous of more money for education.

I am just so sick of the cash sucking education system in Nevada returning NOTHING, having NO ACCOUNTABILITY, etc. I just want to join up with them or be a vendor for them like McGraw Hill since together they are the biggest criminal enterprise ever!

Want better education? Start with the apathetic parents, then stop the school administration from throttling great teachers, fire 2/3 of the administrators at CCSD, then give that money to those teachers who were supposed to be the beneficiaries in the first place.

Until Rulfles and his team are put under a financial MICROSCOPE, prosecuted and put against the wall, don't whine to me about "we need more money"... ugh... annoying.

Pumping more money into this school system is like pumping more seawater into the Titanic. Want to fix things? Want to be at "the top of a list" ???

Outlaw the NSEA and the NEA, cut the education budget in 1/2, fire 3/4 of the administrators, give the money due the teachers to them, but make them WORK for it, have greater accountabilty for parents of these dredges, offer huge rewards for evidence of major corruption and waste, and enact the death penalty for corruption of the school superintendant and his team. Done deal.

You could pump another 10 billion into this disaster and you wouldn't even notice.

lvmachead,

I don't want to be insulting, but you have no idea what you're talking about. Perhaps you could use some of the "education" you speak of. ;-)

Washington state was dealt a crippling blow when they lost their LARGEST (by far) employer (Boeing) by enacting the dreaded kiss of death, the gross receipts tax. Care to guess where Microsoft keeps their money and liability? Actually, this was Nevada. (I'm not sure if this is still the case) - this is how they avoided the gross receipts tax on 50b in annual revenue. (Microsoft actually has a large office in Reno btw negating your argument).

You refer to a "solid public school system"... what exactly is it that you think is holding us back from that? It sure isn't money. Schools in Nevada are MORE than well funded. Factor in the constuction bonds that the crybabies love to ignore and we're right in the middle as far as funding goes.

If you look at the most well funded school districts in the country, you will find that their performance is dismal. You're missing the point. Schools are a business. They don't make money if they turn out honor roll students. If they turn out garbage, they can go beg the legislature for another billion dollars going wah wah... they've figured out this secret, and it's a great scam. Sure there are great teachers in the system that want to teach, but they are more than often held back by the district. CCSD has NOTHING to gain by doing a good job - and EVERYTHING to gain by turning out morons. When Las Vegas Academy was turning out the most well educated kids in the state, what did the CCSD do? THEY CHANGED ALL OF THE MANAGEMENT THERE. I'm sure the "problem" at LVA has been "fixed" now and that they are turning out the morons the CCSD needs to keep fueling their cash cow.

If we outlawed the NSEA and NEA and enacted the death penalty for school administrators found guilty of corruption, you'd be shocked just how quickly things shaped up around here.

UNLV is never going to be MIT or Oxford. If you want MIT, you attend there. Conversely, MA has lousy gaming resorts. Do you think they are stressing out about not having great casinos? No place can be all things to all people.

I know some valet drivers that clear 80k+ a year. Try that in Mississippi. Also, with Mississippi's tax structure, I wouldn't worry about them surpassing us in any regard.

You also seem to be missing the point that all of those companies in CA generally put their money in another state or incorporate elsewhere - Wyoming or Nevada or Delaware precisely to AVOID California taxes.

Once it costs as much to live here as it does in California, people will just move back there... why? The ocean, the beauty, less police to harass you. It sure won't be for their failed and collapsing school system which will only get worse now that we have the architect of CCSD's downfall Carlos Garcia guiding them.

LOL... Jon (Ralston? LOL) - You don't own a business, do you? Our low tax rates ARE the ONLY reason businesses come to this state. Wha? You thought it was the temperate summer weather?

If Microsoft moves here - trust me, the "educated workforce" will follow. The truly educated workforce goes where the jobs are. Also, if you think about it hard enough, you'll realize that the most powerful companies and largest employers in this state are hardly interested in too large an "educated" workforce.

Also, it is true that our workforce is um... underwhelming, but it has nothing to do with a lack of funding, but rather apathetic parents, (some - not all) lazy teachers, a greedy union, and a massive bureaucracy of bloated fat cat administrators with no accountability headed by Rulfles and his corrupt educrap mafia who will NEVER give teachers more than enough to scrape by on since the unions and the administrators know this is the key to being able to cry and beg for more cash every 2 years. Wah wah.

Ask Rulfles how many six-figure administrators were let go in the recent cutbacks. Uh huh...

As for Gibbons, I didn't support him initially, but it is refreshing to see a politician keep his campaign promises for once. Go Gibbons! (are you listening Governor?)

I own several businesses in Nevada so I like to think I know what I'm talking about. If Nevada implements massive business taxes, watch all non-gaming jobs defect to other states.

The real key to the current budget crisis is to fire 2/3 of the useless administration at the school district, use 1/2 of that money to give to teachers, and return the other 1/2 to the taxpayers. Then, cut all other agencies across the board until there is money left over.