Government Spending and Taxation

Nevada is in the midst of one of the greatest economic downturns since the Great Depression. Our unemployment rate is 13% and we have the highest percentage of mortgage foreclosures in the country A crisis of this magnitude mandates that government be fiscally responsible with our tax dollars. Government must exercise extreme caution with any taxation issue. Citizens are struggling to make ends meet and cannot afford more taxes. Government must identify and target its own wasteful spending habits before giving any consideration to subjecting the 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 in business to make profit. 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 our society.

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Education

Education is my top priority. When education fails, our society fails. I have a vested interest in making education my top priority. In addition to having two daughters attending public school, my wife and mother are classroom teachers employed by the Clark County School District.

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

1. Home and Family

   Education starts in the home. Children who don’t get assistance and support from their parents or guardians will always fall behind those who do. Increasing funding for schools won’t improve these situations. This is a social dilemma that is beyond the scope of our public school system.

2. Federal Government Mandates

   The majority of educators agree that the “No Child Left Behind” program has proven to be an ineffective method for educating children. The program places too much emphasis on test scores, which are not indicative of a child’s true progress. This has forced many teachers to alter their usual curriculums to teach solely to a test standard. The program creates undue stress on educators to meet the federal standards for acceptable yearly progress (AYP). It has also lead to an increase in expenditures for books and learning materials. I personally know of cases in which new books have been discarded, in favor of new books and learning programs, when a school has failed to meet AYP.

   The federal government should not be allowed into Nevada classrooms. The Nevada Legislature needs assert our state sovereignty in matters such as this. We should have the right to reject federal mandates in favor of a system that works for our students.

3. Funding

   The school districts and the legislators must coordinate their efforts to prioritize the educational needs of the students and to eliminate unnecessary waste. One of the largest money pits that taxpayers are funding is the Nevada State College. The annual budget for this ‘white elephant” is $18,000,000. The college offers no coursework or degree programs that aren’t readily available through UNLV, CSN, or the multiple private colleges in Clark County. The money allocated for this albatross could be better spent improving degree programs at our universities, community colleges, or K-12 education.

4. Wages and Waste

   The best way to improve education is to improve the quality of teachers we recruit and, once recruited, keeping them in the classroom. The only means of doing this is to offer competitive wages that are sufficient to keep pace with the cost of living that provide for an adequate quality of life. Teachers are on the “front lines” when it comes to educating our children and they must be compensated appropriately.

   The current trend is for teachers to leave the classroom for higher-paying positions within the school district. Ultimately, were losing seasoned teachers, which creates a need to continuously recruit and train new, or less experienced, teachers. Many of these higher-paid support positions are unnecessary and should be eliminated. This would force these people back into the classrooms, where many of them started, and where they are most needed.

   I also believe that the positions and salaries of upper management and administration should be reviewed. Positions should be eliminated and wages reduced, where necessary. Salaries for these positions should reflect the necessity for the daily functioning of the school district and the direct impact they have on the student’s education.

   Lastly, I believe that too many families are taking advantage of the free and reduced lunch program. In some schools, the entire student body is on this program. We need to reassess these families need, and eliminate those who have the ability to pay.

5. Discipline

   There is an increasing trend for students to exhibit a great deal of disrespect for faculty and staff. It only takes one disruptive student to negatively impact the quality of education for every student in the classroom.

   Faculty and staff must be empowered with the necessary tools to deal with these students in a swift and appropriate manner. Both parents and students must have a clear understanding of the repercussions for disorderly conduct, and schools should enforce them consistently.

6. Illegal Aliens

   On April 14, 2009, The Pew Hispanic Center released a report declaring that 10% of the students attending K-12 public schools in Nevada, were children of illegal aliens We are under no obligation educate these children. These people do not contribute to our tax base and their children must be removed from our school systems immediately. These students place unnecessary burdens on school districts and the taxpayers of Nevada.

   This will also reduce school districts expenditure by eliminating the need to provide interpreters and to print every document in two languages.

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Renewable Energy

We live in a region with unlimited potential to provide electricity through solar generation. In recent years, great strides have been made in this direction. It is my belief that every home, business, and government building should be equipped with some form of renewable energy technology.

The net metering program, created by NV Energy and the State Legislature, is an excellent program, but it’s severely limited in scope and application. The key to obtaining the maximum benefits is flexibility. When elected, I will work to eliminate all restrictions that are placed on this initiative. Every citizen who is willing to make the investment into renewable energy should be rewarded for his efforts.

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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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Welfare

We are all responsible for our own prosperity and well-being. The government does not owe any of us a living. In 2009, the taxpayers of Nevada were burdened with $36,000,000 in welfare expenditures. Of this, $4,300,000 was dispersed to illegal aliens.

Welfare reform is an issue that must be addressed in the 2011 legislative session. Illegal aliens are not entitled to taxpayer funded services, and should never receive public assistance. In addition, no able-bodied person should be eligible to receive welfare payments. The only way to improve our society, and our economy, is to promote and enforce an attitude of self-reliance.

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Illegal Aliens

The number of undocumented citizens (aka illegal aliens) is growing at an alarming rate. We must step up our efforts to apprehend and deport illegal aliens. In April, 2009, the Washington DC-based Pew Hispanic Center released a report estimating that 230,000 undocumented immigrants are living in Nevada. Our state ranks 13th nationwide for this problem. We must increase our efforts to apprehend, and deport this drain on our economy and society.

The biggest enticement for these people to come here is to have their children born on American soil, thus making them U.S citizens. This entitles them to apply for welfare and other public services that they do not contribute to. I believe the federal government needs take a proactive approach to this problem by repealing this law.

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