It’s easy for elected officials to pay lip service to how well they’re doing and talk about their achievements but, just as in school, report cards show the world what actually happened. To that end, the Nevada Policy Research Institute (NPRI) has just released its 2015 Legislative Review & Report Card, which includes a narrative overview of the session and scores every … [Read more...] about Report Card Shows which Lawmakers Stood up for Taxpayers: Only 20 of 63 Kept their Commitments to Taxpayers
The Choice Union Members Don’t Know They Have: Why Employee Freedom Scares Union Bosses
Have you ever bought a new washer and dryer only to discover that the store down the street sold the same set for $750 less? It’s a frustrating experience to find out that you had better options than the ones you knew about. This is the situation that tens of thousands of Nevada union members unknowingly find themselves in. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics … [Read more...] about The Choice Union Members Don’t Know They Have: Why Employee Freedom Scares Union Bosses
What to Expect from Carson City in 2015:Republican Sweep Creates New Opportunities for Policy Reforms
The November wave that swept Republicans to victory not only solidified their control of the governor’s mansion but also saw them capture both chambers of the Nevada Legislature for the first time in 85 years. So now what? In the lifetime since Republicans last controlled the legislative process, liberal policies, decade after decade, have generated many problems for the … [Read more...] about What to Expect from Carson City in 2015:Republican Sweep Creates New Opportunities for Policy Reforms
Medicaid Expansion Pressures Nevada’s Poor, Doctors, State Budget
Addition of 281,000 to state dole creating long waits for doctor openings Last year, almost 25,000 Nevadans found their health plans canceled, thanks to the so-called Affordable Care Act. The ACA also caused a dramatic increase in the price of individual insurance plans — with Nevada having the largest premium increases in the entire country, according to a national study … [Read more...] about Medicaid Expansion Pressures Nevada’s Poor, Doctors, State Budget
Why Teachers are Leaving the Teachers Union
It’s easy to lump individuals together in a group based on one specific characteristic. How many people have been cut off in traffic by someone with a California license plate, and then blasted those “California drivers”? Generalizations are especially prevalent in politics. Who’s heard that rural Nevada is conservative, but Las Vegas is liberal? Or that rednecks vote … [Read more...] about Why Teachers are Leaving the Teachers Union
Celebrating the Constitution: The Long-Term Benefits of its Short-Term Inefficiencies
In all of life, actions have both short-term and long-term consequences — and often those outcomes stand in stark contrast to each other. If your three-year-old child is screaming for you to buy him a toy at the store, the quickest way to quiet him is to get the toy. But your actions will have told him that throwing a fit is a great way to get stuff he wants, and so each … [Read more...] about Celebrating the Constitution: The Long-Term Benefits of its Short-Term Inefficiencies
Odds for success of PERS plan – Roughly 1 in 12 Quintillion: Nevada Retirees Risk Seeing Their Benefits Reduced as Money Runs Short
Aside from death and taxes, there are no sure things in life. Everything we do involves an element of risk. The question then becomes: How much risk is reasonable, given the stakes? In the private sector, most entrepreneurs have risked tens of thousands of dollars — or sometimes even tens of millions of dollars — pursuing opportunities to grow their businesses. They … [Read more...] about Odds for success of PERS plan – Roughly 1 in 12 Quintillion: Nevada Retirees Risk Seeing Their Benefits Reduced as Money Runs Short
Taxpayers Lose Big: Lawmakers Impose New Burdens
Three years ago, both Brian Sandoval and Rory Reid ran for governor on a “no new taxes” platform. Last year, voters in five Nevada counties rejected six efforts to raise taxes — even though Barack Obama was at the top of the ticket, driving liberal voter turnout. Given the clear will of the voters throughout the state, you’d expect that the governor and legislators would … [Read more...] about Taxpayers Lose Big: Lawmakers Impose New Burdens
31 Percent of Nevada Workers Want to Leave Their Unions
Union Restrictions Make it Difficult for Members to Opt Out Have you ever been trapped? Maybe you were stuck in traffic without A/C on a blistering summer day. Maybe an elevator door took three beats too long to open. Maybe you squeezed into clothes that were just a bit too tight and constricted your movements. Being trapped is a terrible feeling. You feel stuck, isolated … [Read more...] about 31 Percent of Nevada Workers Want to Leave Their Unions
Transparent Nevada: Nevada’s Collective Bargaining Laws Enable Government Employees to Live High at Taxpayers’ Expense
Last year, Governor Brian Sandoval made $181,586.49 in total compensation. How many government employees in Nevada made more than the governor? One hundred, five hundred … maybe a thousand? No, nope and not even close. Over 2,000 government employees in Nevada made more in total compensation than the governor in 2012. Those employees include, a community services … [Read more...] about Transparent Nevada: Nevada’s Collective Bargaining Laws Enable Government Employees to Live High at Taxpayers’ Expense
Following Florida: Why School Choice Should Top Lawmakers’ Education Agenda
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 promotion … [Read more...] about Following Florida: Why School Choice Should Top Lawmakers’ Education Agenda
Why It’s Morally Wrong to Expand Medicaid: Government should protect property, not redistribute it
Why is stealing wrong? Is it wrong because it’s illegal? Or is stealing wrong because individuals have a God-given or natural right to their own property? To some people, that’s like asking, “Which came first: the chicken or the egg?” — in other words, they think the answer is unknowable. But there’s an essential difference here: Unlike the chicken-and-egg question, we … [Read more...] about Why It’s Morally Wrong to Expand Medicaid: Government should protect property, not redistribute it
Inflated Salaries Revealed: More than 1,000 government employees made over $200,000 in total compensation in 2011
Pop quiz time. Who made more in base pay in 2011: Gov. Brian Sandoval — at $143,426.25 — or the parks director for the City of Reno? Who made more in base pay in 2011: Any of Clark County’s 15 top-paid senior attorneys or Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, who earned $140,389.37? Finally, who made more in base pay in 2011: Gov. Brian Sandoval or the building and … [Read more...] about Inflated Salaries Revealed: More than 1,000 government employees made over $200,000 in total compensation in 2011
Examining the Tax Plans of Top GOP Candidates: Proposals range from gournd-breaking flat taxes to tweaking the status quo
In 2010, Americans spent 6 billion hours, which is approximately 8,800 lifetimes, and $480 billion doing their taxes. This represents a huge deadweight loss — time and money wasted jumping through government-mandated hoops — for individuals and America’s economy. It’s also why, regardless of how much how you think the federal government needs to collect in taxes, it is … [Read more...] about Examining the Tax Plans of Top GOP Candidates: Proposals range from gournd-breaking flat taxes to tweaking the status quo
Increasing Student Achievement: Sandoval and Bush Work to Bring Florida-Style Education Reforms to Nevada
It’s easy to be cynical about education and education-reform efforts in Nevada. For decades, we’ve known that Nevada’s education system needs dramatic improvement. And for decades, unions, led by the Nevada State Education Association, have told Nevadans that spending more money would improve our schools. Thus, spend we have. Over the last 50 years, Nevada has nearly … [Read more...] about Increasing Student Achievement: Sandoval and Bush Work to Bring Florida-Style Education Reforms to Nevada