In the final months of his presidency, President Obama used his executive authority to place millions of acres of western lands “off limits” to development — and big-government environmentalists cheered the move. Certainly the protections put in place by declaring large swaths of western lands “protected” is a policy result that pleases the ecologically concerned — but … [Read more...]
Thanks to Capitalism, the Future Is Quickly Arriving
The future is apparently upon us. It’s true that we don’t yet have flying cars, cities built on clouds or Back-to-the-Future-style hover boards. But we are on the verge of having self-driving cars. And we already have telephones with more computing power than the system that successfully landed men on the moon. And now, thanks to retail giant Amazon, we will soon have … [Read more...]
Transferable Tax Credits
Private hands in taxpayers’ pockets It might be illegal under the Nevada Constitution for the government to give any private business a direct “gift” or subsidy — but since when does the ruling class let little things like constitutional intentions get in their way? The purpose of the constitutional ban on giveaways and subsidies to private corporations makes sense. Such … [Read more...]
The Elections Aren’t the End: They’re Just the Beginning
For far too long now, Nevada has been increasing the regulatory and tax burden on businesses, while simultaneously giving special handouts to politically connected companies and industries. It’s an environment that is ripe for corruption, abuse and political shenanigans. It breeds “protectionist lobbying,” allowing politically connected companies to squeeze out small … [Read more...]
The Immoral Crusade for More: Government Intervention Needs to Stop
It seems that whenever someone attacks the core principles of free-market capitalism, they do so with a self-righteous attitude of moral supremacy. After all, the push for redistributing wealth, regulating businesses and expanding government always seems to be “for the greater good,” so it’s easy to see why big government advocates are so smitten with themselves. As such, … [Read more...]
Political Elites Send a Message: ‘Dissent Will Not Be Tolerated’
Nineteen U.S. senators, organized by global-warming alarmist groups, took to the Senate floor recently in an attempt to smear anyone who dares publicly criticize Big Government’s “green energy” schemes. Harry Reid led the charge — singling out the Nevada Policy Research Institute (NPRI), by name. “Those who ignore the climate crisis, or deny it exists, do not have a valid … [Read more...]
If Cronyism Is the Problem, Maybe We Should Stop Empowering Its Enablers
America’s young adults don’t seem nearly as turned off by socialism as do their parents and grandparents. Actually, they seem pretty receptive to the concept. No doubt decades of class warfare have helped make younger generations feel more inclined to “soak the rich.” But, it also seems likely they’re more prone to flirting with socialism because of general disillusionment … [Read more...]
Teacher Unions Put Unions First, Not Students
Teachers in Detroit went on strike last month — demonstrating once again that union bosses are not nearly as interested in quality education for children, as they are in maintaining the political power of their unions. Of course, union apologists will argue that what happened in Detroit, where teachers are legally barred from striking, was not technically a “strike.” … [Read more...]
ESA’s Aren’t About Politics — They’re About the Students
If Nevada is serious about improving education throughout the state, it needs to begin focusing on children — not taxpayer-funded bureaucracies. By using students and teachers as little more than political props, the established public school system routinely pressures voters, taxpayers and politicians for an ever-increasing amount of funding. Governor Brian Sandoval used … [Read more...]
History Repeats Itself
One of the problems with “progressive” ideas is that they often turn out to be the recycled remains of already tried-and-failed concepts. Nevada’s Commerce Tax — set to take effect this summer — is a prime example. Billed as an innovative tax on large businesses, the Commerce Tax will soon slap a new cost of doing business on any company with more than $4 million in … [Read more...]
Good or Bad Financial Times, Government Just Keeps Growing
Many government workers are probably wondering what all the fuss is about when they think back to the “great recession.” Sure, home values dropped and things seemed to slow down a bit, but it wasn’t really that bad, right? Well, not for them. It’s no secret that government employees enjoy considerably more job security than their private-sector counterparts, but the … [Read more...]
