Before hearing Gov. Jim Gibbons’ State-of-the-State address tonight - particularly on the subject of taxes, spending and spending increases - let’s refresh our memory on some things Gov. Gibbons has said in the past.
In his speech to the Legislature in 2003, then-Rep. Gibbons said: “States all across this nation are confronting revenue shortfalls, forcing you, the stewards of the precious tax dollars, in to making very difficult decisions. Yet, that is why many of you chose to run for office, to make the tough decisions. I know I did.”
The congressman added later in his address: “Quite simply, you cannot demand the taxpayers to discipline themselves during tough times if the same has not already been completely and thoroughly demanded by government.”
And finally this: “Now, more than ever, we must carefully determine where we draw the line between balancing a government program’s checkbook against the taxpayer’s checkbook. As families all across Nevada realize, you base your spending on how much you earn; you don’t base your earnings on how much you want to spend.”
A few days later, Rep. Gibbons criticized then-Gov. Kenny Guinn’s proposed tax increase, saying, “You have to justify to me why we haven’t looked at programs that need to be cut.”
And finally, this from his first gubernatorial debate with state Sen. Dina Titus (D-Las Vegas) just last fall: “This race boils down to one important issue. Over the next four years I will save you money. She will cost you money.”
It will be interesting to see if the governor’s budget matches his past rhetoric. What difficult spending decisions have been made? What spending discipline will we see? Where was a spending line drawn? Which programs that then-Rep. Gibbons said needed to be cut in 2003 are going to be cut by Gov. Gibbons in his 2007 budget in order to save us money?
Inquiring minds wanna know…
Posted on January 22nd, 2007 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: Nevada
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