MUTH’S TRUTHS

Fiscal reality is such that when the cost of government goes up…due to growth, inflation and other factors…legislators have two choices: Either raise taxes or cut spending. It’s just that simple.

But here’s the thing: Whenever government wants to grow, Democrats (and some Republicans) ask for new or higher taxes and fees. Many Republicans reflexively say no. And some even stick to it. Not very often. But sometimes.

And while I applaud Republicans who “just say no” to tax hikes, it’s not responsible to simply say “no” without proposing specific spending cuts as an alternative. This was the problem back in 2003 when Gov. Guinn proposed his tax hike and the so-called “Lean 15” Republicans in the assembly said “no” without providing specific spending cuts as an alternative.

You see, elected officials are scared to death to propose real cuts. After all, every government program has some constituency which will yelp like a scalded dog if you take away their Maypo. Which is why Ronald Reagan once remarked that “a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth.”

So here we go again. Tax revenue is down in Nevada, and the government wants to grow…especially in education (mediocrity costs a bundle to maintain!) and highway construction. So we need to either (a) raise taxes or (b) cut spending.

Democrats want higher taxes. Some Republicans, led by Gov. Gibbons, have said “No way, Jose.” So the Legislature is either going to have to over-ride a gubernatorial veto of a budget with tax hikes in it (not likely), or will be forced to actually think of serious budget cuts and reprioritization.

Most will, Democrat and some Republican alike, tell “we the people” that the Nevada state government is already running on a bare-bones budget…despite that $833 million tax hike back in 2003…and that there just isn’t any more meat on the bone to be cut.

Enter Mark “The Butcher” Warden.

Warden is the head of Budget Watch Nevada (a new project of Citizen Outreach) and believes that Tommy Jefferson was right when he said the best government was the least government. No, I mean he REALLY believes it…unlike all too many elected Republicans. Warden actually thinks there are things the government is paying for with OUR money that the government shouldn’t be doing in the first place.

What a radical.

Anyway, when you hear elected legislators whining that there isn’t anything to cut in either the existing budget or the governor’s proposed spending increases, send ’em for a walk over to Budget Watch Nevada’s new website and click on the “Budget Cuts” page. There you’ll find over $358 MILLION in specific spending cuts and The Butcher’s reasoning for x-ing ‘em out.

And as you stroll down Pork Barrel Lane, bear in mind that this is just Part 1. More suggested Grade-A, USDA-approved spending cuts are on the way!

That being said, let’s acknowledge that Mr. Warden and myself are decidedly budget amateurs. The state budget is, indeed, an extremely complicated animal. Probably the top two elected officials in the state with the greatest understanding of the budget and the budget process…former Gov. Kenny Guinn and state Sen. Bob Beers…often couldn’t agree that two plus two equaled four when it came to the budget.

So some of Mr. Warden’s proposals might well be non-starters due to unknown factors…particularly when it comes for federal mandates and matching funds…which the Average Joe taxpayer simply doesn’t know. But that does NOT change the fact that there ARE specific budget cuts which COULD be made if only state legislators would screw up the nerve to make them rather than hiding behind the relatively less painful notion of raising taxes.

It is OUR job as fiscal conservative grassroots activists to make the notion of raising taxes at LEAST as painful as the notion of cutting spending. Which is why it is so critically important to contact state legislators such as Sen. Dennis Nolan and voice your opposition the minute they even THINK about raising taxes and fees. Kinda like whack-a-mole.

The key question is as relevant in Nevada today as it was back in Ronald Reagan’s day: Are Nevadan’s under-taxed…or is the government over-spending. A fair, honest and open debate on this subject is LONG overdue. Hand me a drumstick.

Posted on March 31st, 2007 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: Nevada