There are voices of opposition to both Gov. Jim Gibbons’ no-new-taxes pledge, as well as his efforts to cut the budget. Some of these voices, however, risk serious backlash if they’re not careful.
Big Gaming is the leading voice of opposition to Gov. Gibbons taking tax increases off the table, championing higher taxes on businesses other than gaming. Gaming risks, with this position, finding the general small business community setting aside its normal opposition to ALL tax hikes and embracing one on the industry which is embracing one on everyone else. If the small business community ends up siding with the teachers union in favor of a big new tax hike on gaming, a big new tax hike on gaming becomes all but inevitable.
Big Gaming needs to stop trying to tax the guy behind the tree, lest it bounce off of them and sticks to thee.
Conversely, a rowdy group of ill-informed college students have been busy protesting proposed budget cuts in the university system. But they, too, ought to be careful traveling down this road. Indeed, if you don’t cut spending you have to raise revenue somewhere else. And one alternative to a tax hike to fund the bloated university system at present levels is…higher student tuition. So these boisterous, misguided students protesting on the steps of the capital and sending out anti-budget cut resolutions may well be cutting their own throats in the process.
Welcome to the real world kids.
Posted on December 16th, 2007 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: Nevada
According to members of the Political Science Department at UNR, fully 90% of the cost of tuition at the University of Nevada is subsidized by the Nevada taxpayers. If the UNR student has a Millennium Scholarship, they have a full free ride.
But these facts are not well known on campus, so students protest against tuition increases, as is their right. They know almost nothing about the bargain they receive courtesy of the taxpayer, and are full of wild socialist ideas to implement in order to achieve ‘progress.’
Why not have every new UN freshman sign a short piece of paper describing their full understanding of the Nevada taxpayers’ commitment to the funding of their education?
a Duoist, I would not go so far as to say that students that attend UNR and have the Millennium Scholarship receive a “full free ride”. Yes I agree that the University System needs to make cuts like everyone and that a large amount of the cost of higher education is subsidized by the states tax payers.
The Millennium Scholarship covers up to $80.00 per credit up to 12 credits per semester at UNR. The cost per credit at UNR is $120.75. Assuming that a student only takes 12 credits a semester, the student is out of pocket $489.00 plus fees and books. I am not complaining but this is not a “full free ride”