A lot of Nevada Republican legislators are proudly and rightly patting themselves on the back these days for ending the 2007 session without any new taxes. But on the other hand, every one of them once again voted for a boatload of new government spending. Those Republicans should bear in mind these words of wisdom by North Carolina GOP Rep. Virginia Foxx…
“Lest we forget, new spending is soon followed by the bitter pill of higher taxes.”
The “no new taxes” 2007 session will be seen as a pyrrhic victory for fiscal conservatives if Republicans don’t soon start taking the spending side of the equation seriously. Merely limiting budget increases to the combined rate of inflation and population growth ain’t gonna cut it. Only cutting it will cut it.
But legislators who are more concerned with re-election than principle are scared to death to say so, let alone actually propose such cuts. That’s why we got that gargantuan tax hike in 2003; legislators found it easier to raise taxes than cut spending. Indeed, Republicans who voted no for the tax hike in ‘03 failed to produce a list of spending cuts as an alternative. Some Republicans claim such a list exists, but I think Big Foot is keeping it where Hillary’s Rose Law Firm billing records were kept all those years.
At this rate, ‘09 is going to be ‘03 déjà vu all over again.
Posted on July 2nd, 2007 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: Nevada
I think the government spending issue is partly related to the illegal immigrant issue.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal printed an article in their Sunday edition detailing the estimated number of illegal immigrants in Nevada vs. in other states. Also, the Heritage Foundation has done some studies on the economic revenues vs. costs of illegal immigrants on a national basis. Chuck, are you aware of any studies that show the government revenue vs. the government expenses associated with illegal immigrants in the State of Nevada, Clark County, or Washoe County?