Government Spending and Taxation.

Although our elected officials have been hesitant to use the “R-word”, there can be no doubt that our country is in an economic recession. This downturn has left many families facing foreclosure and bankruptcy. Even those who have been fortunate enough to avoid these catastrophes are still struggling to make ends meet. The value of the dollar against world currencies is at an all time low, gasoline and energy prices are at an all time high, and there seems to be no end in sight for the rising inflation rate.

In an economic climate such as this, government must exhibit extreme caution with any taxation issue. I feel the primary responsibility of government is to identify and target its own wasteful spending habits before giving any consideration to subjecting the general public to increased taxes and fees.

Politicians are crafty and well adept at using diversion tactics to fool the general public. This is especially true with taxation issues. One ploy that is often used is that taxing large corporations, casinos, or the wealthy don’t have an impact on middle class families. Nothing could be further from the truth. Taxation has a trickle-down effect. Private industry is in business to make profits. When burdened with additional expenses, they are left with two basic options: raise prices for goods and services or eliminate jobs. Either option negatively impacts all of us.

Please read through each of my platform issues on this site. I have outlined methods that I feel are realistic, and attainable, for government to maintain necessary services without the need for additional taxes.

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Education

I have a vested interest in making education my top priority. In addition to having two daughters attending public school, my wife, mother, and sister are all classroom teachers employed by the Clark County School District (CCSD).

As I see it, there are several problems facing our school system:

1. Funding

   It is possible to adequately fund our school system without the need for additional taxes and fees. Additional taxation/fees should only be considered as a last resort. Our schools receive many monetary contributions from the private sector that never make it to the intended destination. Instead, much of this money gets reallocated to the State’s general fund. This practice must stop. All outside contributions should go directly to the school district for which they were originally intended.

   Lastly, we must use forward thinking combined with available technology. I believe that it’s economically and technologically feasible to retrofit at least one school per year with solar electric generation sufficient to drastically reduce, or even eliminate, any reliance on Nevada Power Company. With net metering policies, it may even be possible for schools to receive credits from Nevada Power. I also believe that every new school should have solar energy incorporated into construction costs.

   In addition, our legislature needs to prioritize the educational needs of the state and eliminate unnecessary waste. I am specifically referring to the Nevada State College. The current annual operating budget for the college is $18,000,000. There are no degree programs being offered by the college that aren’t available through UNLV, CSN, or private universities in Clark County. In my opinion, this is funding that could be much better utilized to improve degree programs at the other colleges or to help with much needed CCSD funding. Recently, local news stories have supported my claim. The state has made an offer to buyout retirements for UNLV faculty in an effort to save $5,000,000. I feel that this is a step in the wrong direction. The emphasis should be on methods to increase the degree programs being offered, with corresponding increases in faculty, to make UNLV more competitive with other universities of its size.

2. Wages

   It’s no secret that teacher salaries are inadequate. Existing teachers are being lured away from the classroom by other, higher paying, positions within CCSD or taking voluntary separations from the profession, entirely. Many of those who choose to stay are forced to seek part-time employment in order to make ends meet. In addition, college students aren’t opting for teaching careers simply because the prevailing wages being offered to our teachers are insufficient to provide for an adequate quality of life.

3. Discipline

   The inability for teachers to enforce discipline in their classrooms is another reason that people are leaving the teaching profession. There is an increasing trend for students to exhibit a great deal of disrespect for their teachers. In many cases teachers are intimidated and fearful of their students. It only takes one disruptive student to negatively impact the quality of education for every other student in the classroom. Also, negative behavior is contagious; a disorderly situation can very quickly deteriorate when more than one student is involved. Any time that a teacher’s focus is redirected from instruction, everyone suffers. In addition, the general health of the teacher is also impacted by this lack of discipline. Dealing with a disruptive student can increase stress levels and blood pressure. Long term exposure to such environments can lead to serious illness. In many cases, the school administration is hesitant to support the teachers with disciplinary issues, which only exacerbates a negative situation and creates a rift between the teacher and school administration.

   We need to find a means to empower our teachers to deal with these disciplinary problems; possibly removing them from the general classroom setting.

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Renewable Energy

We live in a region with an unlimited potential to provide electricity through solar generation. It is my belief that every home, business and government building should be equipped with some form of renewable energy technology.

The State of Nevada Legislature and Nevada Power Company should be commended for their joint effort to support renewable energy sources. Nevada Power has established a customer rebate program and the legislature has enacted laws which created a net metering program. These are excellent programs, but are severely limited in scope and application. The rebate program is only offered once each year and is limited to a maximum of 760 kilowatts, while net metering is only being made available to a maximum of 1% of the total number of Nevada Power customers. The key to getting the most from these programs is flexibility. If elected, I would work to eliminate any and all restrictions that are currently placed on these initiatives. Every citizen who is willing to make the investment in renewable energy should be commended as well as rewarded for his efforts.

The net metering program offers a multitude of benefits. Not only can it substantially reduce the monthly expenses for the home or business owner, the utility potentially receives a two-fold benefit: First, the decreased burden placed on generating stations negates the need to purchase power from other utilities and, second, excess electricity the utility receives from net-metering can be used to furnish power to new developments in the valley or sold to other utilities.

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Job Diversity

We need to develop methods for luring new businesses to Nevada. The key to any successful economy is job diversification. In general, Nevada has failed to address this fundamental issue. We have always relied too heavily on tourism to support our economy. In times of economic hardship, travel often falls victim to a shrinking family budget.

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Senior Citizens

Many of our senior citizens are not being given the opportunity to enjoy their retirement years. The high cost of living and rising taxes are forcing an increasing number of these individuals to seek employment to supplement their retirement benefits. It’s heart-wrenching for me to see elderly people working at fast food restaurants, department stores and other minimum wage jobs. They deserve better. I believe that the state legislature needs to address issues that would reduce or eliminate certain taxes for our senior citizens. Examples of this concept might be to place caps on taxes for people who have reached a specified age or to eliminate certain taxes which fund government services that our senior’s don’t ordinarily make use of.

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Crime and Punishment

In my opinion, our elected officials did a great disservice to the citizens of Nevada on the issue of crime and punishment. In 2007, the legislature voted to weaken the State’s existing sentencing laws. I refer specifically to AB510. These changes result in putting the law-abiding public at an increased risk. When elected, I will fight to restore stricter punishment for criminals. Please use the link to view the changes to AB510.

AB510

I disagree with Bill Clinton’s policy of “Three strikes, you’re out”. Any criminal who has been allowed the opportunity of “three strikes” has left at least two too many victims (and families) in his wake. It seems that the court systems have lost sight of the consequences that these repeat offenders have on our society. They focus on ensuring that the perpetrator’s civil rights aren’t violated, but seem to forget about the fact that the victim’s rights have already been violated.

I believe that prison reform is the only solution to reduce the number of repeat offenders. Prisons should be places of punishment, where people never want to return. Instead, they have become places of leisure, where inmates are given access to cable television, computers and the internet, telephones, video games, weight rooms and libraries. They are also allowed to hire attorneys, at taxpayer’s expense, to file exorbitant numbers of frivolous lawsuits. In addition, there have been many cases in which women on the outside have been allowed to marry inmates. This is often done for the sole purpose of making it possible for the woman to qualify for government assistance programs. These practices must stop immediately.

I believe that prisoners should be required to earn their keep through hard labor. I see nothing wrong with the concept of chain gangs as long as the work they are required to do is beneficial to society and doesn’t result in a loss of civilian jobs. I also believe that work programs would lead to a decrease in prison violence simply because prisoners who are physically tired are less likely to engage in violent activities.

I also believe the overcrowding problem facing our correctional institutions can be resolved without expanding the facilities. Our correctional facilities should only house those individuals who are a threat to the general public. Too often, overzealous judges impose jail sentences on individuals who are guilty of nothing more than using poor judgment in extraordinary circumstances or have committed only minor infractions. Justice is not served by incarcerating individuals who are otherwise productive, law-abiding citizens. Simply imposing fines would be a sufficient deterrent in most cases and would ease the financial burden on our overcrowded facilities.

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