The Decision Maker's Magazine
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
The Clark County Education Association (a.k.a. teachers union) has once again proved that its leaders care more about their own power than about their members or the community. The latest controversy arose when it was revealed that the health trust created by the union is in dire financial straits. At a closed union meeting on… [More...]
The White House has been trying since Obama’s first term to silence dissent, targeting conservative media outlets and conservative commentators. Why? Because they seem to be the only ones asking the hard questions. Who else is asking what really happened at Benghazi and why four of our citizens were left there to die? Who else… [More...]
No man’s life, liberty or property is safe while the legislature is in session,” Mark Twain famously said while covering the biennial mess in Carson City. Despite Twain’s warnings, Nevada lawmakers are meeting once again, for the 77th regular legislative session, and Nevada taxpayers are realizing, once again, that their property is not safe. That’s… [More...]
The tax revolt at Lake Tahoe has reached the 10-year mark, with no end in sight. The Village League to Save Incline Assets was formed in December 2002 by a small group of Incline Village and Crystal Bay property owners to protest outrageously high property tax increases. This small group of determined taxpayers has been… [More...]
School choice, not Pre-K, has raised Florida’s test scores In 1998, Florida and Nevada had the exact same score on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test for fourth grade reading. In 1999, however, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush instituted a series of reforms, including corporate tuition scholarships, vouchers, grading schools from A-F, ending social… [More...]
During the 2012 presidential campaign, both major parties competed to see who could paint the most negative picture of this country’s economy, society and future. This gave them a chance to blame their political enemies for the sorry state of affairs and show how their candidate was the only one who could pull us back… [More...]
Nevadans will find out this month whether the Clark County School District (CCSD) qualifies for a $40 million grant from the federal government’s “Race to the Top” program. The money would provide high-tech tools and programs at 63 schools to help 41,000 students with limited English skills. It would fund 46 new jobs for teachers… [More...]
Nevada’s unemployment rate has lingered at unacceptably high, double-digit rates for nearly four years. That uncomfortable statistic — reflecting deep human costs inflicted on many Nevada families — has led the state’s political class to make much ado about promoting “economic development.” During the 2011 legislative session, for example, lawmakers created a new “state framework”… [More...]
You may never have heard of a sage grouse, but this chicken-like wild bird will cost Nevada millions of dollars if federal agencies put it on the Endangered Species list. Conservationists, industry stakeholders and government representatives in Nevada have been discussing the sage grouse since 2000, and the governor even appointed a blue-ribbon commission to… [More...]
Imagine you’re a plumber living in Mesquite. For most jobs, you’d probably earn as much as a plumber living in nearby St. George, Utah — $19.67 per hour, on average, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor. If you can get work on a public works project financed by Clark County or the… [More...]
Barack Obama was elected in 2008 with a message of hope and change. Unfortunately, the change we got was for the worse. There is little hope left that the country can pull itself out of the recession anytime soon, and we’re left hoping that the Middle East won’t erupt into flames that will consume us… [More...]
Another reason why government shouldn’t pick winners and losers in the economy In August, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hosted his fifth annual National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas. Delivering the keynote address, former president Bill Clinton claimed that if every state had a renewable-energy standard it would “put a lot of people… [More...]
In Governor Brian Sandoval’s State of the State speech, he encouraged everyone to “shop Nevada first” and said Nevada should make “supporting private sector job creation a way of life for all government agencies.” I heartily endorse both these ideas, but the state has a long way to go to prove its support for homegrown… [More...]
As Nevada’s children return to school this fall, many parents will again be frustrated, recognizing that their children will be relegated to sub-standard education. Parents who can’t afford to live in the wealthy neighborhoods that host the best public schools, and who can’t afford private-school tuition, will discover that the educational opportunities available to their… [More...]
As we are bombarded this summer by political ads and robo-calls, it’s tempting to tune it all out and ignore politics altogether. After all, we have more important things to do, don’t we? The answer to that question is “No!” There is nothing more important than finding out which candidates support conservative causes and convincing… [More...]
Few decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court have captured the public interest as did its June opinion in NFIB v. Sebelius. This long-anticipated ruling was widely perceived as the final judicial test for one of the most controversial acts of Congress in decades: the Affordable Care Act (ACA), popularly known as Obamacare. The challenge centered… [More...]
The North Las Vegas City Council made a courageous move on June 1 by standing up to the powerful public employee unions and giving the city manager the authority to discard portions of collective bargaining agreements in order to prevent devastating layoffs. The firefighters and police unions had negotiated generous contracts with the city when… [More...]
In a long-anticipated move, the hard-left union bosses of the Nevada AFL-CIO and the state teachers union marked D-Day this year by launching another assault against Silver State businesses. A ballot initiative filed by the unions would ask lawmakers to hammer businesses with a new margins tax and then earmark the money to directly benefit… [More...]
Nevada’s so-called “prevailing wage” laws cost taxpayers millions of dollars each year – many of these dollars go into union coffers instead of to workers. Once you know the facts about it, you’ll be as outraged as I am that this politically motivated system has been allowed to continue. Prevailing wage laws require contractors who… [More...]
Harry Reid likes to brag about all the money and jobs he’s bringing to Nevada by “earmarking” alternative energy projects. However, a little research shows that many of the companies receiving government loan guarantees and grants aren’t even based in the United States. One recent example involves the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project being constructed… [More...]
While classroom teachers have been eating Ramen noodles so they can afford to buy school supplies, teachers union bosses are living high on the hog. Considering that teachers often have to purchase classroom supplies and teaching materials with their own money, and that they’re also expected to pay for continuing education classes, their salaries don’t… [More...]
|
|
|
Gun Control or People Control? What Are the Real Issues?
After the shootings in Aurora, Colorado and Sandy Hook, Americans are searching for ways to prevent future tragedies, and politicians are taking advantage of the public outcry to advance their own political agendas. For example, when Harry Reid used to represent the citizens of Nevada, he voted to support our Second Amendment rights. Now that… [More...]