Wait a second.

"Titus pushed for a property tax freeze during the housing boom of the mid-2000s as homeowners saw bills skyrocket. The measure was defeated by a coalition of Democrats and Republicans, "

The key vote to defeat it in the Senate came from a Senator who switched his vote at the last minute ...Joe Heck.

getalife, Anjeanette Damon and Ralston got the HPV issue wrong. Their knowledge of the HPV issue seems to be in the "nothing" range.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/sep...

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/aug...

I'm glad Metro got them off the streets. They could have killed someone.

Lesson's learned today:

1. University employees make less than the national average.

2. There are far fewer University professional (non-teaching) employees per student than the national average.

3. Mining can and should pay its fair share of taxes.

4. Patrick Gibbons thinks that there is no need for Higher Education at all, despite the the two billion Higher Education generates for the Nevada's economy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9hDgfk7C...

"the man who makes over $200K"

Regarding the HVAC example (not that this has anything to do with Higher Education in the least)... The examples that you give our trully strange and do not add up. The example of the man who makes $200, when you click on his name this is the breakdown:

**************
Position HVAC MECHANIC
Clark County
Notice * For Clark County, "Total Pay" figures include many pay categories not included in the "Base Pay" or "Overtime" figures, including: leave pay, sell backs, allowances, longevity, premium pays and separation pay.

Year: 2009
Base Amount: $31,370.57
Overtime Collected: $749.16
Total Pay: $229,826.40
Benefits Accumulated: $14,413.76
Total Pay & Benefits: $244,240.16
********

His base salary is $31K, and his benefits are $14K. That seems in line with private sector, or maybe even less than someone working in the private sector. I don't know how these numbers are calculated, or what happened in this man's specific case, but I can't say that I trust "Transparent Nevada" to get everything right. I certainly don't trust NPRI to interpret things in a non-biased manner.

Quick facts:

1. Mining rights in Nevada are owned by international conglomerates.
2. These international conglomerates have an effective tax rate of less than one-half of 1%.
3. These international conglomerates are making record profits, and taking the profits to Australia/South Africa/Etc.
4. They CANNOT MOVE operations to another state.

It's time that these international conglomerates pay their fair share in taxes for the benefit of Nevada's public schools and other agencies.

I don't see how the above can be logically refuted.

The only way we stop being a "poor state" (read pathetic in that we are 49th in the country for learning outcomes), is through education and diversity of our economy and jobs.

Patrick_R_Gibbons, again with local government. If you are going to criticize the University System, why are you using statistics from the local government? They are not the same things. They are not funded the same way. According to the Chamber of Commerce study, NSHE employees make less than the national average.

@johnmanrule, "Lies, damn lies and statistics." It is worth noting that Nevada has the lowest number of employees per capita than *any other state.* There are fewer people doing more things. Additionally, Nevada has to compete with California for good quality employees. These factors would naturally contribute to salary and compensation.

Patrick_R_Gibbons, I'm not familiar with what HVAC Techs make, but it did occur to me that all the outrageous examples of large salaries are from Clark County. NOT the State of Nevada, NOT the University System. Come on Patrick, get in the game. If you want to be an effective critic, at least know who you are criticizing (the current topic is the University System) - and don't assume that we won't notice your little switch and bait.

(Also note that HVAC techs are not "administrative" or "professional staff." Also, also note that the salaries listed on Transparent Nevada *include* benefits such as healthcare and retirement matches. Base salaries for public employees are much smaller than what is listed, and they are comparable to the private sector. Do you think we are so stupid we won't notice that Patrick?)