The Decision Maker's Magazine
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American businesses are finally emerging from the recession – some of us survived bruised and battered, others didn’t make it and some companies managed to succeed by a combination of business smarts, ruthless cost-cutting and just plain luck. If the value of going through a crisis lies in the lessons we learn from it, maybe… [More...]
November may seem far away now, but plans for the next elections are already well underway. Now is the time to start researching the field of candidates to decide who you want to represent your interests when the Legislature convenes in February 2015, and who you want to represent Nevada in Washington, DC. This year,… [More...]
As a Nevada business owner or executive, you’re probably hoping that 2014 will be the year our state finally climbs out of the depths of the recession, but the so-called “Education Initiative,” which will come before the voters on the November 2014 ballot, could spell the end of any hopes for economic recovery. It has… [More...]
The November 2014 ballot will contain a proposal to amend the Nevada Constitution and create a court of appeals (appellate court). Those of you who have been reading my columns awhile know that 99 percent of the time I’m a passionate supporter of smaller government. However, this is one case where adding a layer of… [More...]
Cliven Bundy is a man on a mission. He’s been battling the federal government — specifically, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) — for more than 20 years, and he’s determined to win this David-and-Goliath battle. Bundy’s family has raised cattle on the land around Mesquite since the 1870s, and he now owns about 500… [More...]
Although more than 79 percent of people in the United States identify themselves as Christians, there’s a growing body of evidence that the media and the government, including the military, are doing their best to turn Americans against Christianity. TV comedians and shows like The Simpsons regularly mock Christians, and Saturday Night Live even aired… [More...]
Since Nevada’s legislature chose to take no action on the Free Margin Tax initiative by the March 15th deadline, this important state issue has been automatically passed on to the 2014 ballot. This means Nevada voters will decide whether or not we need a Free Margin Tax. If you’re not familiar with the initiative, you… [More...]
San Francisco-based Mortgage Resolution Partners (MRP) has been pitching a scheme to get distressed cities to use their right of eminent domain to seize underwater homes and pay MRP to help restructure the mortgages. They tried and failed in several cities before finding a receptive audience in North Las Vegas. Naturally, city officials want to… [More...]
As Americans celebrate Independence Day this month, it’s fitting to ask how much freedom U.S. citizens really have in 2013, and how much we have handed over to the federal government. I won’t say the feds have taken our freedom away from us, because they’ve done so with our permission. Ever since the FDR administration,… [More...]
Two items in the news lately have reminded people that killing babies is a crime and a tragedy that affects us all. In one case, a Philadelphia doctor, Kermit Gosnell, was convicted of murder for running a clinic that specialized in aborting babies as late as 30 weeks of gestation; that’s more than 7 months!… [More...]
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...]
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...]
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Lowering the Education Bar: Nevada and the U.S. shortchange students or are we becoming a Third World country?
Americans no longer expect quality, much less excellence, from our public education system, and U.S. students now lag behind those from other developed countries. What’s happening in Nevada is a prime example of the dumbing-down of our public schools. Nevada’s high school juniors have trouble passing the math proficiency exam that’s required for graduation. In… [More...]