Nevada NewsMakers Blogs
Are Regulations Really Killing Jobs?
Published: 11/30/2011 12:23:18 PM- Since 2005, there has been a 60 percent increase in pending federal regulations that are defined as “major” or “economically significant” – costing the economy $100 million or more.
- There were 224 “economically significant” rules issued last year, an increase of 22% over 2009.
- There are 4,257 pending federal regulations, including 845 that affect small business, an 11.5% increase from 2009.
- The EPA alone has more than 330 new regulations under consideration. They plan to establish regulations on smog, mercury, carbon dioxide, mining waste and vehicle emissions that will affect every corner of the economy.
- Regulations cost a business of 20 employees about $2400 per worker.
Additional Voices Offer Support for Radio
Published: 10/19/2011 1:44:00 PMI previously blogged about “Protecting Radio’s Ability to Protect Us.” In short, local radio stations are instrumental partners in keeping people safe. Their ability to continue to provide top-notch emergency broadcasting and disaster relief services is threatened by a longtime item on the recording industry’s agenda. The item I’m referring to could close small local radio stations – the performance royalty tax.
My arguments in support of radio and in opposition to a performance royalty tax were echoed in this recent op-ed in the Reno Gazette-Journal. Entitled “Local Radio is Essential to Public Safety,” the op-ed was co-authored by State Senator Mike McGinness and the Nevada Sheriffs’ and Chiefs’ Association. Here’s an excerpt:
Radio stations go above and beyond to make sure listeners can get the information they need in a timely manner. This includes coordination with local public safety officials and other local radio stations. It also includes working extra hours to make sure listeners' needs for information are met.
It should be noted that this dedication doesn't end when public safety is no longer threatened. Instead, radio stations donate time, equipment and other resources to support many causes in communities in Nevada and across the United States, not because they have to but because they are a part of the fabric of our local communities. …
A resolution in opposition to the imposition of any new performance tax on radio stations was introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate in February. It has bipartisan support -- including the support of U.S. Reps. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City; Shelley Berkley, D-Las Vegas; and Joe Heck, R-Henderson. U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., has expressed support as well.
We firmly believe radio is essential to our public safety and hope [the Local Radio Freedom Act] passes so we can be confident that Nevada's radio stations will be there when we need them.
At a time when Congress is scrounging through the couch cushions looking for money, I fear they may try to add any kind of tax. This one not only threatens small business, but impacts how we as a community communicate.
Almost all of Nevada’s Congressional delegation is on the record in support of radio. As a former spokesperson for the Red Cross in northern Nevada, I know that local radio stations are lifelines during fires, floods, tornados, and numerous other disasters. I hope the remainder of our delegation demonstrates support for radio.
The State Wants Your Unused Gift Certificates
Published: 10/13/2011 3:06:24 PMAn old law means new trouble for small business in Nevada, as the state begins to crack down on small businesses that do not return a portion of their unclaimed gift certificates.
NRS 120A.520 states that for every business in Nevada: “Sixty percent of the unredeemed or uncharged value remaining on a gift certificate which is issued or sold in this State and which has an expiration date is presumed abandoned and subject to the provisions of this chapter on the expiration date.
One store owner received a letter from State Treasurer Kate Marshall’s office stating they had received a complaint from a consumer who was unable to reclaim a gift certificate that had expired. The letter stated that every business in Nevada is to report their “abandoned” property annually, which includes items in safe deposit boxes, credit balances, insurance refunds, etc.
In this case the business had expired gift certificates going back to 2005, when she purchased the business. Since the state had received a complaint, they are allowed to now come into the business and audit their books going back to the start of their business – even before she owned it. The real concern here is the Treasurer’s staffer said that if the previous owner had unclaimed certificates, the current owner would be liable for those as well, at 100 percent of the value! (In 2007 the law was changed to require only 60 percent of the value.) They also told the owner she was subject to an 18 percent interest fine.
To avoid such a fine, you can “turn yourself in.” But if someone complains, watch out.
You can read about this law here and how it impacts you. But in the mean time, I’ll be calling some legislators to discuss how this far reaching statute could very well close some small business, as may be the case in this situation.
Create Jobs by Taking One Step at a Time
Published: 10/10/2011 1:56:36 PMThe challenge with President Obama’s proposed “Jobs Act” is that it has too many moving parts – payroll tax reductions, reducing Social Security taxes paid by workers, changing tax deductions, aid to local governments – that make it too unwieldy to create jobs. (Though keeping up with the paper work for these new regulations will likely require a new employee!)
Economic recoveries have three critical components: a broad, low-tax structure; a legal climate that makes it difficult to file frivolous lawsuits; and a stable regulatory environment. We know that government can’t multi task, so maybe Washington should tackle just one issue first: stopping burdensome regulations.
National Federation of Independent Business CEO Dan Danner, commenting on the president’s jobs proposal wrote that a tidal wave of new regulations is currently bearing down on small business from Washington. “Over 4,000 new regulations are in the pipeline with no sign that the pace of rulemaking will let up, reflecting a 60 percent increase in major federal regulations since 2005,” said Danner.
We need to stop that tidal wave.
In a recent Wall Street Journal guest editorial, Frank Keating, the president of the American Bankers Association and a former governor of Oklahoma, related a discussion he had with a banker in Nebraska. “For the first time, he said, his bank now devotes more work hours to compliance than to lending. Specifically, he has 1.2 employees on compliance for every one employee focused on lending and bringing in business,” Keating wrote. “Managing this mountainous regulatory burden is a significant challenge for a bank of any size, but for the median-sized bank—with 37 employees—it’s overwhelming
No wonder there’s little incentive for banks to loan money right now!
The main political influence over the economy comes from Washington, D.C., but states have a significant role. Gov. Brian Sandoval is to be commended for ordering a freeze on new regulations and asking his cabinet to review all existing regulations by the end of this year. But is seems a few folks missed that “no new regs” memo. Ross Miller is attempting to remove the home-based business exemption though regulation, while the Gaming Commission’s has proposed onerous requirements for small taverns like Dotty’s. Such actions send a strong message to businesses that it’s not safe to start hiring. Such regulations won’t help create jobs!
If you want to see a stop to these burdensome regulations, please join us at www.SensibleRegulations.org, and tell your story of how regulations are increasing your costs or preventing you from hiring.
As for the other two legs of the economy, policymakers need to remember that low tax rates for every business produces more jobs than targeted tax breaks for pet industries. And court rooms limited to truly aggrieved parties make it more inviting for out-of-state business to move here.
Economies are born and maintained on Main Street. Government should stop being the wino sleeping in the doorway and preventing commerce.
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Randi Thompson is Nevada state director for the National Federation of Independent Business.
Honor small-business owners and entrepreneurs on holiday
Published: 9/13/2011 12:42:19 PMReno Gazette Journal, September 1, 2011
Randi Thompson: Honor small-business owners and entrepreneurs on holiday
A great example of what is wrong with the American economy will take place on Monday in Detroit.
There, the president will make a Labor Day speech to a dwindling number of union workers in a city whose major industries were rescued not by innovation, but by a massive Berlin airlift of taxpayer dollars.
It's time to junk the traditional Labor Day and honor the real labor rolling up its sleeves and pulling the rickety buckboards of our economic wagons -- small-business owners and the self-employed.
Labor Day was established in 1894 to honor the contributions of union workers. But today, labor unions are a distant echo of the numbers they once had. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of union members working in the private sector is 6.9 percent. By comparison, 15.3 million individuals were self-employed, including both those who had incorporated their businesses and those who had not. That is 10.9 percent of the workforce.
Add to the 10.9 percent self-employment rate those small-business owners who consider themselves employers, as opposed to self-employed. While difficult to obtain an exact number for this group, it's easy to see that combined, they outnumber unionized workers.
The reality is that the new majority of "laborers" in our county are small-business owners and entrepreneurs who are most likely not taking Monday off!
Our government needs to take actions to support this new labor movement, or this economy will not recover. The formula for a successful and thriving small-business economy is really no mystery and can be summarized in three goals: low taxes, minimal regulations and a legal environment that discourages frivolous lawsuits.
In Carson City earlier this year, the National Federation of Independent Business worked with various coalitions and lawmakers from both parties to:
• Kill bills backed by the construction trade unions that would limit an independent contractors' ability to be self-employed.
• Defeat a construction-defects bill that would have allowed more frivolous lawsuits and killed even more construction jobs.
• Protect home-based businesses from higher fees and potential fines.
Much more needs to be done to help small-business owners who will guide us out of this economic storm. But they can't create jobs when we have labor unions and state officials resurrecting regulations and ballot questions that are the same job-killing bills that were defeated in the Legislature earlier this year!
Secretary of State Ross Miller is now trying to use regulations to remove the home-based business fee exemption. Unions are working on a ballot question to increase taxes and still are pushing for limitations on independent contractors through the Nevada labor commissioner's office.
All of these moves will do only one thing: kill jobs -- and primarily nonunion jobs.
This Labor Day, we need to celebrate the real laborers doing the heavy lifting in America and Nevada: small-business owners, their employees and the self-employed.
Randi Thompson is Nevada state director for the National Federation of Independent Business
Regulations Coalition
Published: 8/15/2011 4:24:07 PMAs Nevada’s State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), I hear from many business owners how regulations impact their business that increase costs to their customers.
Small businesses today face increasing compliance costs as more and more federal regulations are handed down from Washington, as well as Carson City.
The Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy recently noted that compliance with environmental regulations, for example, costs 364 percent more in small firms than in large firms. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has over 331 environmental regulations currently under consideration.
For example, two separate rules, one affecting pre-1978 housing (finalized in 2008) and one affecting public and commercial buildings (tentatively expected to be proposed this December), are having an impact on small contractors and construction companies. The 2008 rule required small businesses to pay for expensive certification and training, and to conduct costly testing that drove up the price of projects, even when there were no potential risks. Even worse, the EPA’s inability to adequately enforce the rule has decreased the likelihood that a compliant small business can compete for work since non-certified firms – by doing the work illegally – can charge lower prices.
Then there was the “spilled milk” regulation. Despite the fact that FDA regulates milk tanks, containers and pipes on dairy farms, the EPA was going to expand the definition of “nonpetroleum” oil in a regulation to protect waterways and shorelines from oil spills. The definition would have included milk because of small amounts of butterfat in milk, and animal as well as vegetable fats are subject to the agency’s spill rules. So if milk spilled from a truck, it was subject to the same regulatory treatment as toxic oil. The proposed regulation created such an outrage that cooler minds prevailed. Milk is not considered a “nonpetroleum” oil – at least for now.
So what can you do to help stop burdensome regulations?
You can join the new program that NFIB is launching to raise awareness of how federal regulations are adversely impacting small business.
There is no cost to join or participate. Just go to www.sensibleregulations.org.
“Small Businesses for Sensible Regulations” is dedicated to ensuring that regulations handed down by this administration do not irresponsibly hamper the nation’s economic recovery. This broad coalition of small businesses, local officials, manufacturers, farmers, and other associations seeks to give voice to the countless Americans whose jobs and livelihood will be negatively impacted by a mountain of new costly regulations.
You can learn more at www.sensibleregulations.org and join us today.
Next blog I’ll talk about some of the State regulations that are hurting small business!
Protecting Radio's Ability to Protect Us
Published: 6/10/2011 3:44:02 PMRadio is one our key resources for local information, especially in times of emergency when the power goes out and you depend on a battery-operated radio for news. Local stations strive to make sure listeners get the information they need in a timely manner, along with providing entertainment. However, with the proliferation of satellite and internet radio, we are seeing fewer and fewer local stations that cater to our communities. With these changes we are losing avenues to not only stay informed on local events, but losing an important medium for companies to reach customers through advertising.
Along with the increase in competition to radio, there is increasing competition in the recording industry, specifically music downloads. A couple of years ago, the recording industry went to Congress saying their profits were dropping off because CD sales were in sharp decline. Their solution, which many lawmakers embraced, was to levy a performance royalty tax on local radio stations.
As the sister of a professional singer, I see both sides of this issue, but to “tax” radio stations to make up for changes in the market place is just wrong.
The performance royalty fee that the recording industry is now pushing, and could be considered by Congress, would be in addition to the royalty fees that stations already pay to the songwriters and music companies. If the recording industry succeeds, this would place heavy financial burden on our local stations that could cost jobs, force stations to change to nationally-syndicated formats, or even close their doors.
Local radio stations are directly responsible for some $2 billion in music sales annually. Radio airplay is like gold to record labels and performance artists. Radio airplay can stimulate the popularity (read sales) of a song; it can make or break an artist’s career. So it seems a bit ironic that the recording industry would go after the people that really make them money.
According to the Free Radio Alliance, Nevada is home to about 100 radio stations. These radio stations collectively have over 1,000 employees and made over $45 million in charitable contributions. At times of disasters, these stations have helped raise over $2.3 million for disaster relief.
Along with keeping us informed about pending natural disasters or actions we should take in the case of emergencies, the car radio plays a critical role in keeping us current on traffic snarls, road closures or hazardous situations.
Radio is essential to our public safety and our community. I hope Congress will stop this tax on radio stations so that Nevada will have local radio stations when we need them.
Not Dead Yet! The Continuing Saga of a Project that Just wont Die
Published: 5/24/2011 1:35:32 PMFor about five years now I’ve heard Senator Harry Reid and our entire DC delegation tell us that “Yucca is dead.”
It reminds me of that rather humorous scene in Monty Python’s “Holy Grail” where a younger man is asking the undertaker to take away his father. The undertaker tells the young man that he can’t take the man if he’s alive. The son replies that “he’s nearly dead… well, he’ll be dead soon!” All while the old man keeps saying, “I’m not dead yet… I’m getting better!”
In the Yucca scenario, the young man is Harry Reid, trying to convince Nevadans and Congress that Yucca is dead – really, really dead -- or will be soon!
In truth, I want it to be dead, Burying spent fuel is a stupid idea. Congress must kill the repository idea so that out of its ashes can come a project that will greatly benefit Nevada…but more on that later.
Back to reality: Yucca is not dead. Few in Congress plan to kill the project. If anything, they are determined to see it restored. In the past month:
Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee criticized the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) for intentionally stalling on a decision of whether to halt the licensing
process or not. The House Oversight committee is starting an investigation of the NRC as
well.
Several members of the House Energy Committee toured Yucca Mt., despite strong opposition
from Democrat House leaders and even the DOE, who refused to let them inside the facility
beyond about 100 feet.
The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, released a report
criticizing the Obama Administration’s pledge to “kill” Yucca, saying the action was for political
and policy reasons, not technical or safety reasons, and said that scrapping the program would
increase waste storage costs at Hanford (WA) by as much as $918 million, and millions more
at other sites.
None of the recent developments are particularly surprising, as all in Congress recognize that President Obama agreed to kill Yucca as a favor to Reid. But after Japan, and the reality that 34 states are home to millions of spent fuel rods, like those that burned in Japan, the political heat is getting hotter to deal with this issue.
The administration is rejecting Congressional pressure and the GAO's findings, but DOE Secretary Chu hasn't offered a credible alternative to why he shut down the project. He said his "judgment is not that Yucca Mountain is unsafe or that there are flaws in the license application, but rather that it is not a workable option and that alternatives will better serve the public interest.” Quite a vague statement for a Nobel Laureate in science! The same one, by the way, who endorsed Yucca as the nation’s repository when he headed the UC Berkley Lawrence Laboratory!
Along with increasing storage costs caused by the delay in opening Yucca, the idea to abandon the repository and build another would be impossible. With about $15 billion spent on developing and building Yucca, it’s doubtful the utilities' waste fund would have enough money left to site and open another repository. That is why a new report by the DOE says that the “new” approach to long term storage is to build one or more above ground storage facilities made of enough concrete and steel to resist a potential terrorist attack and to store the spent fuel safely for decades. But many view this suggestion as one only worthy of the trash can.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want a better explanation for the DOE and the NRC are refusing to finish the licensing process. Ironically, leading the charge to kill Yucca is the man who leads the office in charge of reviewing the license – none other than former Reid staffer Gregory Jaczko – Chair of the NRC. You don’t have to go too far to connect those dots! Jaczko claims there has been no final vote on the issue, but three other NRC commissioners testified that they have cast their final vote, while others have sent letters to Congress detailing the political shenanigans.
There are other reasons this process stinks, including the hasty way DOE dismantled its Yucca Mountain operation -- killing over 1500 Nevada jobs -- despite pending lawsuits challenging the decision and the absence of a ruling from the NRC. Several DOE officials have said they had never seen such a large program with so much pressure to close down so quickly.
Then comes the disaster in Japan, illustrating the dangers of indefinitely storing spent fuel rods in reactor cooling ponds. That is why the GAO recommended that Congress consider whether "an independent organization, outside of DOE, could be more effective in siting and developing a permanent repository for the nation's nuclear waste." That is essentially what the Nevadans 4 Carbon Free Energy are proposing -- a nonprofit organization that would operate not only the temporary storage facility, but also a research complex to study reprocessing of spent fuel that would build demonstration projects of the most economically and efficient technologies.
Many in Congress realize that as long as Harry Reid is Majority Leader, the chance of opening Yucca is slim, but many are starting to realize that it should die. Burying spent fuel is a stupid idea!
Current stock piles of spent fuel still contain enough power to generate 5 trillion KW of power! That is why the House introduced legislation in May that would accelerate investment in new nuclear power plants and also establish a fund to “assist in reprocessing and recycling” used nuclear fuel.
It’s time to increase research and development into reprocessing that will bring about commercially viable recycling technologies. Such research will likely lead to a process that will allow spent fuel to be treated not as a “waste” product, but as one that can generate power for decades to come. There are emerging technologies that could possibly eliminate any waste after recycling. Such research can mean patents (and big money) for the Universities that develop the process – research that UNLV and Nevada are already doing. New technology means new facilities for reprocessing the fuel, and possibly a new power plant to burn the fuel to generate power. This would translate into construction, manufacturing and operational jobs; it will mean new export industries; and it could make Nevada a net exporter of power. And where better to host this research facility then at home of nuclear research – the Nevada Test Site and the tunnels at Yucca Mt.!
It is time for Yucca to die – at least as a long term repository. It’s an old outdated idea. We need to update the law to focus on reprocessing and recycling spent nuclear fuel to generate power. Such a project could enrich our state’s economy while resolving a national problem. Now if we could just get our politicians to think about this!
Self Employment under Assault
Published: 4/1/2011 12:11:39 PMIn a choreographed but chaotic hearing, the Senate Commerce, Labor and Energy Committee listened to five bills in March week that would essentially make it illegal to be self employed.
The choreography came from the construction trade unions who packed the hearing this week with over 100 “workers” to show the committee how they strongly support the bills that Senator Breeden (D-LV) wrote as chair of the Misclassification committee. The intent of the bills is to go after businesses that hire workers under the table, call them independent contractors, and then underbid on projects because they don’t have to pay workman’s comp or payroll tax. This is plain wrong and needs to be stopped. But we have laws on the books now that makes this practice illegal.
The chaos came when Ms. Breeden chose to hear the bills separately, instead of all at once, as they really were a package. All the witnesses were prepared to discuss them as a package, but instead people had to come up to the table four times to discuss essentially the same topic again and again. This ridiculous mismanagement led to over 4 hours of hearings, with a recess in between. So the hearing that started at 1:30pm, finished at 9 pm. Ms. Breeden’s inability to run a hearing was matched only by her inability to grasp the impact these bills would have on law-abiding Nevadans.
Over a dozen business lobbyists, including me, told the committee that these bills were not only contradictory to each other, had drafting errors and violated federal law, but they would essentially outlaw all Independent Contractors. But our voices fell on deaf ears, as the four democrats voted along union lines to support three of the five bills. The remaining two will be heard again, and we’ll be there to fight, again.
The five bills the committee came up with don’t go after just that underground economy; they go after consultants, hair stylists, computer techs, software engineers, package deliverers, taxi cab driver, even emergency room physicians. I guess the unions don’t feel they can tackle this issue unless they ban all Independent Contractors. These bills are not only an assault on those who chose to be self employed, it’s an assault on the American way of life!
People often chose to be an “independent contractor” so they can retain more flexibility and control over their time. But now there are legislative and legal proceedings being considered in Nevada that threaten their businesses and lifestyles. In a time of tenuous economic recovery, we should be encouraging people to take this work option if it is right for them -- not dictate against it.
Independent contractors are virtually everywhere. There are more than 10 million of them across the United States - more than 7% of the total workforce. They are essential to our economy, accounting for $473 billion in personal income, or one in every $10 earned. More and more women are finding the independent contractor model one that works for them and their families. In 2005 female independent contractors comprised 35.3 percent of all independent contractors in the United States.
Just as importantly, many of them are expanding their independent contractor status into small businesses that create jobs for others. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, small companies -- many of them arising out of independent contracting beginnings -- create three out of every four new jobs. They are the key to job growth and economic recovery.
Yet despite their crucial role in our economy, Ms Breeden and Senator Schneider who chairs the “Commerce vs. Labor” Committee want to make it illegal for independent contractors to grow and prosper. There’s no question that companies and independent contractors should obey all laws and pay taxes as required. But broad-scale attempts to reclassify independent contractors and turn them into rank-and-file company employees is harmful to those who play by the rules and can stifle their innovation.
Independent Contractors like the flexibility and autonomy that comes with this line of work. They can take care of sick family members, kids or older parents. They can ski on a fresh powder morning. They can be their own boss.
Our legislature risks driving out innovation, job creation, work-life flexibility and entrepreneurship at a time of 15% unemployment! Legislators should not impose rules that limit a company’s ability to use independent contractors. It makes no sense to add another layer of bureaucracy to regulate job classifications if the result makes life more difficult for businesses and independent contractors to thrive.
Our entrepreneurial freedom makes our economy the envy of the world. The hard-working people of Nevada should be free to pursue the way they want to work and how they want to work, and I will continue to fight for that right.
Nevadas Continue Failed Attempt at Diversification
Published: 3/23/2011 11:33:47 AMRecently NPRI did a five part series on the state’s unsuccessful history to diversify our economy. It espouses several reasons why the state legislature has continually opposed any attempts to diversify the state’s economy and tax base, stating that legislators have partnered with the special interests that raise the barriers to diversity – primarily big gaming and government employee unions.
The first four parts of this series detailed the prolonged efforts, over many years, by the Nevada Resort Association (NRA) - big gaming - to discourage new, non-gaming businesses from entering the state. NPRI claims that a significant diversification of Nevada businesses beyond gaming would diminish the industry's relative political power and thus endanger the de facto control the industry often exercises over state legislation.
The NRA has claimed for decades that growth doesn't pay for itself and that non-gaming businesses don't pay their "fair share." Both assertions have fatal weaknesses but, as the gamers had expected, they were music to the ears of Nevada's power-seeking politicians. The politicians loved the conclusion the premises led to: Taxes should be raised on non-gaming businesses. You hear this call to raise taxes now from politicians supported by gaming, and from government-union lobbyists.
The NRA’s assertions are based on a NRA-commissioned study titled "The Fiscal Impact of Population Growth in Nevada," which featured the repeated complaint — still made on the NRA website today — that taxes paid by the gaming industry are not proportionate to its number of employees. (NPRI president Ransom Webster has long stated that the taxes gaming pays does not cover the societal “ills” that gaming creates, but that is a much bigger debate that I won’t tackle here.)
Another perspective of the “down side” of diversification is made by UNR Economics professor Tom Cargill. He points out that one of the problems with the casino industry is that the workers don't really learn transferable skills, so they can’t easily go to a non-gaming environment. With a more diversified economy comes a more educated and trained labor force that can demand higher wages. Thus, Cargill surmises, casino owners viewed that diversification would increase costs along with weakening their political position.
NPRI points out that in the 1980’s, the NRA began to sponsor many tax proposal and policies that helped discourage the entrance of other industries into Nevada. In 1987 gaming urged the hiring of consultants and the creation of a commission to advise lawmakers on how to change the state's tax structure and levy new taxes on non-gaming business. The study and subsequent commission argued that people moving to Nevada were not paying their "fair share" of taxes and that, therefore, Nevada needed to increase its take from state taxpayers. Kenny Guinn was appointed commission chairman in 1988 and lobbied vigorously throughout the state in 1990 and 91 for higher taxes on non-gaming businesses. (As Governor in 2003 he fought for a gross receipts tax, the tax most favored by gaming.) In 1988 gaming launched a ballot initiative – that is now part of the constitution - that banned an income tax on individuals but explicitly allowed income taxes on businesses. All of these actions, NPRI claims, is evidence that “big gaming” has consistently fought economic diversification and a broadening of the tax base.
Unfortunately, similar patterns exist for almost every large Nevada employer — whether public or private.
Nevada's 20 largest employers have actively used the political process to impede diversification of the state's economy. The Clark County School District, with over 30,000 employees, is by far the largest employer in Nevada. Second-largest, with more than 8,500 employees, is the Washoe County School District. UNLV is the 12th-largest employer, with over 4,500 employees, and UNR is 16tth with over 3,500 employees. For decades, the districts and universities have deployed their ample political resources to maintain and, at every opportunity, expand their control of public education spending, while continually calling for tax increases on non-gaming business.
By now the legislative session routine is familiar: Everyone with any stake in the current distribution of tax dollars enters the political fray -- from teachers to labor unions that build schools. The clout the districts and universities have translates into political power that has been able to stop any needed reforms to education and economic diversification.
To no one's surprise, private-sector unions, on the policy front, have used their political leverage to pursue goals that will give them an advantage in the short run, no matter the larger harm to the state. Prominent examples include:
-- The 2006 minimum-wage constitutional amendment
-- The gross-receipts tax that unions and gaming supported in 2003
-- The county-level labor agreements that now make Nevada local-government employees some of the highest-paid in the U.S.
The fact that the legislature has ignored numerous tax “diversification” studies over the past two decades, and that, as a state, we have made little effort to diversify our economic base, seems to support NPRI’s claim that state lawmakers have been complicit in special-interest schemes to evade competition. They bear primary responsibility for the lack of economic diversification in Nevada.
Business Not Bullish on the Economy
Published: 3/3/2011 11:10:26 AMWith all the talk in Washington and Carson City about the importance of small business and how it will spur our economy and lead us out of the recession, you'd think small business owners would be feeling "the love" and be more optimistic about the future. They should be encouraged by the legislative proposals designed to help get them loans, lower their unemployment insurance rates, or provide incentives to hire more workers... but they aren't.
According to the National Federation of Independent Business Index of Small Business Optimism, there was only a slight increase of 1.5 points in January on their "optimistic" scale. The modest increase was felt primary by the manufacturing and exporting sectors - industries and activities that are not labor intensive. Meanwhile construction, an industry historically dominated by small firms, remains depressed.
Over 2100 small business owners in the nation responded to a survey on their "optimism" about their future, grading such items as employment, sales and inventories, capital spending and outlook, inflation (pricing), earnings, and credit.
The score for employment reached "zero" in October and November, turned negative in December and deteriorated further in January. The average employment change per firm over the past three months was -0.15 employees. Over the next three months, 12% of the companies surveyed plan to increase employment (up 2 points), and 8% plan to reduce their workforce (down 1 point), yielding just 3% of owners planning to create new jobs - a 3 point loss from December.
The frequency of reported capital outlays over the past six months rose 4 points to 51% of all firms; while an increase, this is historically low and far less than needed after years of recession and depreciation. The percent of owners planning capital outlays in the future rose 1 point to 22%, but is still historically quite low.
Sales over the past three months improved by 5 points for a net negative 11%, 23 points better than March 2009 (near the recession bottom) but still indicative of weak customer activity. Overall, sales trends do not appear supportive of a widespread recovery in the small business sector. While 33% of businesses expect improvement over the next three months (up 7 points), 26% expect declines (down 10 points), both of which are solid gains. While the outlook is still tentative, it appears that the inventory reduction cycle is about over.
The downward pressure on prices appears to be easing as more firms are raising prices and fewer are cutting them. January is the 26th consecutive month in which more owners reported cutting average selling prices than raising them. However, the trend is clearly supportive of higher prices in future months. Plans to raise prices rose 4 points to 19% of owners, the highest reading in 27 months.
Positive earnings trends improved in January - to a negative 28%! While an improvement, there are still far more owners who report that earnings are deteriorating quarter on quarter, and not rising. Of the owners reporting higher earnings, 60% cited stronger sales as the cause and 7% credited higher selling prices. For those reporting lower earnings, 50% cited weaker sales.
Access to credit has been the biggest challenge for small business these past years, but only 3% reported financing as their top business problem, down 2 points from December. But part of that may be because 52% of business owners did not even attempt to borrow in 2010, as they think credit is more difficult to obtain today than a year ago.
So what are the main reasons for the lack of optimism among small business owners? Weak sales was the top problem for 27% of the respondents, followed by 19% citing taxes and 17% saying government regulations and red tape were their main problems. The historically high percent of owners who cite weak sales means that, for many owners, investments in new equipment or new workers are not likely to "pay back." This is a major cause of the lack of credit demand observed in financial markets along with the deficiency in housing starts, a million units below "normal."
Poor sales and uncertainty about the future continue to be the greatest problems for small business owners. They are skeptical and pessimistic about what politicians says they will do to help the economy - as they have watched for over three years the implementation of ineffective policies. So it appears the "bunker mentality" that business has exhibited for the past few years will continue. They won't borrow money to expand their products or hire employees, they won't take risks and build homes or offices on "spec", and they won't lead our nation out of this recession.
But if they won't, who will?
Saving you the cost of those little pricks
Published: 2/25/2011 2:59:14 PMNeedle pricks that is…
Assemblyman Segerblom is pushing for legislation again this session to mandate that insurance providers include acupuncture treatments as part of their services. Many of the county and state health insurance carriers, as well as private insurers, currently provide reimbursement for acupuncture, but it an option for plans, not mandated. That is how it should stay.
The bill, AB 89, would mandate that acupuncture must be covered, just as cancer screenings, mammograms and colonoscopies are. While acupuncture has proven to be an effective treatment for pain management, allergies, headaches, neck and back pain, weight loss and quitting smoking, it’s not a life-saving procedure like cancer screenings, so having it mandated is a bit severe.
The state director of the public employee health benefits system testified that the mandate would cost $5 per person per month for those in the state PEHP plan. There are 32,000 people in the state’s system, so if it’s that much for each of them, you know the cost to a small business will be significant.
While I have used acupuncture and find it effective, it should stay as an option for health insurance, not a mandate. The more mandates the legislature adds to insurance, the more employers will be tempted to just stop providing it.
The bill was sent to a work session, where I hope it will stay!
Huge Health-Care Victory for Small Business
Published: 2/1/2011 4:03:09 PMSandoval Gets It!
Published: 1/27/2011 10:52:47 AMGovernor Sandoval understands how to get Nevada working again! We have to get business growing again, especially small business. His ideas for job retraining, economic development and job growth are critical to getting our economy moving again.
“Roughly 80 percent of new jobs will be created by local businesses, and we need every one of them to put Nevadans back to work,” said Sandoval in his address. “New economic development initiatives will include rural manufacturing workforce development and business expansion programs for small, minority, and veteran businesses.”
The Governor also understands the burden that taxes, fees and regulations have on small business.
“Despite what some would have you believe, businesses are sharing in the necessary sacrifices of our times. Whether it’s through increased health insurance premiums, the steadily increasing federal costs for unemployment insurance, or even the decreased Medicaid reimbursements to health care providers necessary under my budget, every Nevada business finds it harder and harder to make a profit – and thereby keep workers employed.”
He also unveiled bold reforms to public pensions, government operations and economic development that are what Nevada needs to get state spending under control. He supports many of the SAGE Commission recommendations such reforming PERS and PEHB, reviewing all regulations and sun-setting of all state boards and commissions by 2013. Kudos to you Governor!
Much of his reforms for education were echoed by President Obama in his State of the Union address. Both parties agree we need reform. Now it’s time to come together and fix a system that we all agree is broken! Throwing more money and hiring more teachers is NOT the answer folks.
It’s time we took some radical changes like Sandoval said and stop tenure, fire bad teachers, end social promotion, allow merit pay, and let counties decide if class size reduction is working, and give the universities more autonomy over their budgets.
I will work with the Governor’s office during the next session to support his bold agenda for Nevada, because it’s what we need to get Nevada working again.
Will Legislators Stop Kicking the Can?
Published: 1/4/2011 4:01:39 PMThere are many new, inspiring leaders around our nation right now, taking on tough issues like education reform, state budgets and under-funded pension plans. These new leaders are not playing “politics as usual” but reforming government to be more efficient and effective.
One example is Atlanta’s mayor, 41-year-old Kasim Reed. A recent New York Times article by Tom Friedman talks about when Reed took office, Atlanta had $7.4 million in reserves, an out-of-control budget and laid off so many firefighters there were only three personnel on a truck, below national standards. A year later, Atlanta has $58 million in reserves and is hiring again. Reed started his reforms by enlisting professionals, not cronies or long-time government workers, to help run the city. Then he tackled the city’s biggest problem: runaway pensions.
In Nevada, with 19 new Assembly members and 11 new senators, I’m hoping we’ll see some new leaders in our state that will have the courage to stand up to politics as usual and push for the reforms we need.
With no dominant majority in either house, there is the opportunity for a productive and cooperative legislative session this year. These new legislators have the chance to take a fresh look at our state’s budget, confront the tough issues, and stand up to “politics as usual.” With so many of the “old guard” legislators now gone, the issues they have protected for decades – PERS and PEHB, the hundreds of boards and commissions, collective bargaining for government workers – could finally be reformed.
But in a conversation I had with a freshman lawmaker, I fear that those new leaders may not rise to the tasks ahead and face decades-old issues with new determination.
“I’ll do whatever leadership tells me to do,” the Freshman Reno Assembly Democrat said. “They’ll put me on whatever committees they want, and I’ll vote the way they tell me.”
Wow, there’s a real leader for you. And I thought our legislators were to be an independent voice for the 50,000 of us they are to represent. I was so hoping to see new ideas, leadership, and enthusiasm. Alas I fear we will see a few “old timers” consolidating their power, and leading a class of 19 Freshmen lemmings.
So as our legislators prepare for the 2011 session, I challenge the new members to consider “being the change” they promised to be. Look around country, you’ll see that you can take on the system and make the reforms we need, and get re-elected. You are the new generation of leaders, and there are good examples of strong leaders for you to emulate. Find the courage to stand up to party leadership and be the leader you were elected to be.
That’s not just me saying that. I’ll end with the words of Mayor Reed: “The bottom line is that for the country to do and to be what we have been ... there must be a generation tough enough to stick out its chin and take the hit. ... It is time to begin having the types of mature and honest conversations necessary to deal effectively with the new economic realities we are facing as a nation. We simply cannot keep kicking the can down the road.”
Why the Legislature Should Add Districts
Published: 12/10/2010 4:15:18 PMIn 2001 the legislature chose to not create more legislative seats but instead keep the total number of legislators at 63 and shift three assembly seats and one senate seat from the North to the South. If they don’t increase seats in 2011, the expectation is that northern Nevada will lose two more assembly seats and one senate seat, for a total loss of 7 Northern Nevada legislators.
Unless more districts are added, Northern Nevada will likely lose at least two Assembly seats and one Senate seat. The fourth Congressional seat will be in Clark County, and several legislators are anxiously waiting to draw the lines of that district so that it includes their homes.
Right now 66 percent of the Assembly and Senate members are from the South. If the legislature doesn’t add seats, then southern legislators would hold 15 of 21 senate seats, and 30 of 43 assembly seats, or 70 percfent. Losing more power in the north means the legislature will likely go after such industries such as mining whose revenues are not significant to Clark, but are to about 12 other counties.
Nevada has added 700,000 residents since 2000. Because of that growth, Nevada is one of only eight states that will likely be adding a Congressional seat. This session the legislature should also look at adding seats in the state Legislature to compensate for the population growth, instead of giving Southern Nevada more power.
Beyond the disparity of power between north and south, the legislature needs to fix the lack of equal representation that currently exists. In District 11, a Democrat-dominated seat in Las Vegas, fewer than 8000 voters are registered. In District 13 there are over 100,000. (The law states that each assembly seat is to represent 50,000 residents.)
One Senate seat in Vegas is so large that instead of making two districts out of it, they elect two Senators – giving the voters in that district two votes - clearly a violation of "equal representation."
We have to change the district boundaries this session to provide balance in our representation and add fairness to our elections. But we also need to add seats to ensure that all the political power is not concentrated in the south.
If you look at some of our neighbors, you’ll see we have the smallest legislature in the West. Montana has less than 1 million people, but has 150 legislators. Utah has 2.8 million people and 104 legislators. New Mexico has 2 million people but 112 legislators.
Any seats added this year will likely go to the south, and that will add to their power. But to take away seats from the North and send them South will truly change the focus of the legislature from a body of policy makers that should be focused on state issues, to one that will be dominated by Las Vegas issues.
We talk about diversifying our economic base. We need to diversify our political base as well.
Fixing the Retirement and Health Care Systems Should be Main Goal in 2011
Published: 5/13/2010 4:26:39 PMThe
The state’s pension fund for state, local, and other public employees is invested in stocks, bonds and other instruments. But right now it is less than 80 percent fully funded, thanks to a dramatic decline in the market, leaving it’s liability at $9 billion. The program is a “defined benefit” which is almost extinct in the private sector. Without a significant increase in the annual contributions, that fund will continue to remain a looming taxpayer liability.
The unfunded liability in the health system is about $2 billion primarily due to the fact that state employees pay an average monthly contribution of $0 to $28 for their health insurance, while in the private sector those costs run over $100 month for an employee. That means
The result is that taxpayers are now paying about $200 million a year MORE in benefits to state government employees than if they were employed in the private sector.
Changing PERS and PEBP was the top SAGE recommendation, and is something that every state is looking at. Some of the suggested changes from SAGE and other states that are being considered should be on the agenda in the 2011 legislature.
So during this election cycle, I encourage you to ask candidates for the legislature if they will support some if not all of the following:
PEBP changes:
Eliminate all PEBP subsidies for future retirees.
Reduce subsidies for all current retirees 25% in the first year, 50% in the second.
Eliminate PEBP subsidies from Medicare eligible retirees.
Increase contributions for all new employees
Eliminate members of boards, commissions, the legislature and other part-time (under 20 hours a month) from participating in the program.
PERS changes:
Redefine “compensation” to include only salary and not overtime.
Eliminate members of boards, commissions, the legislature and other part-time (under 20 hours a month) from participating in the program.
Divert salary increases into a pension contribution in 2012 - 2014.
Set a retirement age for all new hires to match that of Social Security.
Extend the time that retirees can access the money if they retire before 60.
Why the Rush to Run this Year?
Published: 3/18/2010 10:45:33 AMBe Ready for More Taxes in 2011
Published: 3/9/2010 12:13:40 PM“Look, $30 million is three $10 million high rollers,” he said. “To the average person who is really struggling to make basic decisions about how to keep their families together, the idea that the entire gaming industry can’t pay” rings hollow.
Senator Schneider (D-LV) who is term limited, continued the whipping. “We have kept the lowest gaming tax in the world here. We have changed laws. We have allowed them to make lots of money. ... And they have built markets around the world on Nevada dollars we let them take out.”
Next, it was business lobbyists who were taken to task for not willing to pay more in taxes. Representatives from the chamber, retail, manufacturing and trucking were called the “Group of No” and were told that their argument that more taxes would mean more businesses closing up shop and fleeing the state “a bunch of bull.”
What was most frustrating for the business lobbyists was the legislators’ inability to recognize that the budget they passed in 2009, which was $700 million more than the Governor’s recommendation, was the reason for this special session. Had they followed the advice of the state’s budget office and Economic Forum, the state would not have been $800 million in debt. (I know hind sight is 20-20.)
The Inconvenient Truth About Yucca Mountain
Published: 2/3/2010 12:03:02 PMI’m having a hard time with Nevada politicians praising the loss of 2000 Nevada jobs for a project with an annual budget of $1.5 billion (80% of which was spent in Nevada.) But that is what happened when Senator Reid and Governor Gibbons got all giddy as the President said he was going to pull the plug on Yucca.
Then I see that the President wants an extra $11 million for the Dept. of Justice to cover the legal costs it will take to defend the Feds against all the lawsuits that will result from the premature pulling of the license for Yucca.
This just doesn’t make sense. But the fight against Yucca has never made sense, especially when we have never been told the truth about the project from our elected officials.
Here’s just a few of the recent “truths”:
Senator Reid’s truth:
From his January 28, 2010 media release: “President Obama and I have worked closely to stop dumping taxpayer money into Yucca, and I have fought hard to ensure Yucca Mountain is dead.”
The Inconvenient Truth:
Taxpayer money was not used to build the repository at Yucca Mountain. The funds come from the users of nuclear power.
Several million households have paid about $1.25 a month since the 1980’s into the Nuclear Waste Trust Fund. Those funds are designated specifically to pay for a repository at Yucca Mountain, as required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. If Yucca is “dead,” then our government is collecting those funds under false pretenses. They are perpetuating a fraud on the millions of Americans who get their power from a nuclear power plant.
Senator Reid’s truth:
From his statement on January 31, 2010: “…funding for the proposed Yucca Mountain project will be eliminated and the Department will take steps to withdraw the license application in the near future.
The Inconvenient Truth
If the Department of Energy pulls the license application for Yucca, it will violate the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. It will be subject to law suits from millions of nuclear power users and nuclear power companies. It will likely have to pay back the Nuclear Waste Trust Fund the $10 billion spent to build Yucca (funds that will come from taxpayers this time.) It will be subject to law suits from several states that have agreements with the DOE. It will delay the future expansion of nuclear power, which even President Obama has endorsed in climate change and energy legislation.
Senator Reid’s truth:
“Yucca is dead.”
The Inconvenient Truth
The law of the land, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, states that the Department of Energy shall take possession of nuclear spent fuel and store it at Yucca Mountain. That law has not changed. All Senator Reid has done is cut funds to the project, increasing its cost, delaying the government’s legal obligations, and costing 2000 Nevadans their jobs.
Senator Reid’s truth:
Designating Yucca Mountain as a nuclear repository was a political decision.
The Inconvenient Truth
True. The so called “Screw Nevada” bill was written to punish then Senator Dick Bryan (D-NV) for derailing the National Energy Strategy bill that was backed by the Senate Energy Committee.
What you don’t hear is that Yucca was the site most favored by the scientific community for a repository, prior to the writing of the Screw Nevada bill.
However, the attempt to kill Yucca is also political. If the site is truly unsafe as Senator Reid claims, he should allow the license application process to continue to prove his claim.
For Senator Reid, his truth is that Yucca must be stopped so he can be re-elected…regardless of the national legal and economic issues associated with this truly political decision.
Then there is the inconvenient truth: A repository at Yucca is still the law of the land. Yucca is vital to meeting our nation’s growing energy needs. Yucca has proven to be the safest place in America to store spent fuel. With an operating budget of $1.5 billion a year, Yucca has positive economic aspects for Nevada… but not as just a repository….
Burying spent fuel is an outdated, stupid idea. It’s time Senator Reid used his power to amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act to incorporate emerging technologies that will use the spent fuel to generate power, something that is being done around the world. He should make Yucca the new nuclear test site: a place to research and develop nuclear technologies to better address spent fuel and help meet our nation’s need for clean energy. Such a project would also mean hundreds of construction and manufacturing jobs, and over 2000 operational jobs… for over 50 years! The project’s budget would be about $2 billion annually, and provide cheap power to half of Las Vegas.
Where is the common sense in this fight? Where is the common sense in Washington?
Not a Waste Dump but an Energy Park
Published: 1/4/2010 2:53:01 PMConsidering that Nevada is the most economically-stressed state in the nation, it will take bold leadership and action to get Nevada back on its feet and KEEP us there. We can no longer depend on tourists and gaming to fund our state. We have to find new revenue sources.
That is why many of us are re-thinking Yucca. Not as a “waste dump” but as an Energy Park.
This park could host a research facility, an interim and long-term repository, and a reprocessing plant that will generate clean energy. (And yes, there is enough water in the Armargosa valley for a nuclear power plant.) The Park could bring in over $2 billion to Nevada and support a Trust Fund (similar to Alaska) that would provide substantial monies annually to Nevadans.
Despite the rumors and wishes of some Nevada officials, Yucca is NOT DEAD.
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act is still the law of the land, and it says that Yucca will be a nuclear repository and nothing else. We don’t have the votes in Congress to change the Act, as 34 states have nuclear power plants, and they want a resolution to the issue. No matter how powerful Senator Reid is, he can not get that Act changed until there is an alternative to Yucca.
But we HAVE that alternative! Make Yucca a reprocessing site that will generate power, resolve a national problem, provide jobs, and bring substantial monies to our state!
With DOE’s announcement last month that it is not going to pull the license application, Yucca is still alive. If we act now, we can offer an alternative that will be safe for Nevada and develop a new energy sector that can bring in thousands of jobs and billions of dollars to our state!
Our political leaders need to change the plan at Yucca, as burying the spent fuel is an old and stupid idea.
We should work with Congress and the Feds to incorporate emerging nuclear technologies that will use the “waste” to actually fuel a power plant!
Nevada is in a great position to offer Yucca as a national testing facility to explore reprocessing technologies. Eventually Yucca could become a regional reprocessing site that would reprocess fuel from contiguous states (reducing the transportation across the country.)
By acting now, Nevada could:
· Seek money for new rail lines, roads, bridges, schools, etc.
· Seek funds for facilities at the site to expand research into nuclear and renewable technologies.
· Seek funds for a permanent trust fund (like Alaska) that will allocate money directly to qualified Nevadans.
· Take title to the spent fuel rods to re-sell or reprocess in the future.
Yucca is the ideal location for this facility. It’s the most studied piece of land on the planet and is proven to be safe for storing this material. The land is already contaminated from nuclear testing and has no other economic potential. (And storing and reprocessing fuel is a lot safer than detonating nuclear bombs.) And its remoteness in an already super-secret security area (next to the Test Site, Area 51 and Nellis AFB) makes it one of the most remote and secure locations in America.
So come on politicians, wake up. We are being offered a multi-billion dollar project, and we just keep saying no. It’s time to re-think Yucca and make it work for Nevada.
Increase Your Car Insurance Coverage Now
Published: 11/4/2009 10:18:45 AMI was in a bad car accident in September that was not my fault. I was stopped in heavy traffic and a truck hit us from behind. My SUV was totaled. My mom, dad and I were all hurt, and mom was taken to the hospital by REMSA.
The incident taught me an important lesson: the $5000 medical coverage on my car insurance is not nearly enough. I chose the minimum amounts because I had to frame of reference for just what costs are involved in an accident. Now I do, and I’m increasing all my limits.
Here’s why.
Mom’s ride in REMSA - $800
The emergency room doctor - $720
The three CAT scans of her head and neck - $8400
The emergency room fee - $8000
Mom didn’t need surgery and was released after a few hours with a few wounds bandaged. But even that care cost nearly $18,000.
Since the accident was the fault of the driver that hit us, his insurance will have to cover the excess cost, IF he has enough coverage. Since three cars were totaled in this accident, and two others were damaged, the maximums on his insurance will likely be hit. I’m grateful I have underinsured and uninsured coverage, but I can see how even those high amounts of $100,000 a person and $300,000 an accident could be reached if further medical care is needed, which is likely in a case like this.
I understand why Congress is working to make health care more reasonable and affordable. But who knows when they will get that done. So in the mean time, I’m taking action to protect myself and increasing my car insurance coverage. It won’t fix the system, but I’ll feel better.
Why Would Anyone Run for Office?
Published: 10/28/2009 1:23:31 PMI'm Not Credit Worthy
Published: 9/10/2009 11:08:40 AMAre there actual people working at credit card or insurance companies, or is corporate America all computer automated?
I ask this because I just can’t believe that a person would actually make some of the decisions that these companies are making these days. I can’t believe a person working for, say an insurance company, would actually increase someone’s car insurance rate right now just because their credit score went down. Forget about how you have always paid on time and have no tickets or accidents. Suddenly a long-time good customer is now a bad risk?
In this recession, with millions of people in foreclosure, hundreds of businesses going bankrupt every day, credit card companies reducing credit, and 12% unemployment, credit scores are falling faster than the stock market after Ben Bernanke speaks.
Even those of us not in foreclosure or bankruptcy are seeing our debt ratio rise as credit card companies lower our credit line. Yet, with the Fed loaning money at 0 percent, and prime rate down to 3.25 percent, isn’t it odd that the national average rate for credit cards has actually risen the past year from 11.3 percent to 12.1 percent.
For businesses dependent upon client billings, when a client is slow to pay (or goes bankrupt) it makes it a challenge to pay our bills on time. And without adequate credit to “float” for a month or two…well, a credit score of 780 drops to 630 real soon. But is that score a true reflection of the person, or is it more about the times we are in? Suddenly, millions of hard working folks aren’t credit worthy.
I know the law allows auto insurers to raise rates based on credit scores, but come on people! Look around you. Small business is hurting! We’re not the ones getting bailouts and receiving million dollar bonuses.
We’re the ones employing about half of the work force. We’re responsible for 52 percent of sales and 50 percent of private sector output. We generate over 60% of net new job growth. When we make money, you service industries make money.
Punishing us for this economy is a sure way to not only lose customers, but delay an economic recovery.
It’s getting harder to believe that I can ride out this economy when I see corporate America punishing the working folk. I know their losing money because of all those people who bought a house they couldn’t afford or invested in a housing market that tanked. But we’re pretty much all you have left. If you suck us dry, then who will be around to build this country back up?
Maybe I should just walk away. I’ll quit working 6 days a week. I’ll stop buying food or gas. I’ll let the bank take my house. Then I’ll just hang out at that nice homeless shelter on Record Street and watch an Aces game through the fence.
Corporate America, you are beating us small business folks down. Can’t you step away from your statistical reports and actuarial tables…and just be human?
A house of ill repute and disrespect
Published: 5/29/2009 1:37:56 PMBusiness Owners Beware: The Government is Not Here to Help
Published: 5/28/2009 5:24:41 PMIt’s the Entrepreneurs, Stupid
Published: 5/12/2009 11:11:44 AMThe Business of Politics Should be Looking out for Business
Published: 5/11/2009 12:05:37 PMOr better yet, go testify at a hearing, or visit your legislator, if you can get an appointment in between lobbyists. But be warned! Spending a day at the legislature may so anger you that you’ll think about doing something foolish, like running for office.
There is Reality, and There is the Legislature
Published: 5/11/2009 11:14:35 AMIt’s often said that our elected leaders in Washington DC are out of touch with the voters, but I’m shocked at how out of touch the legislators in Carson are with the voters.
Legislators are struggling to come up with new taxes, but they refused to tax the oldest and most regulated (and legal) profession in this state.
They passed two bills to change constitutional amendments that voters already approved.
They need to make serious reductions to the state’s budget, but they refused to discuss the recommendations from the SAGE commission that spent months researching and surveying state employees on ways to best reduce state spending.
They are looking at increasing our taxes but refuse to negotiate for funds that we are allowed - by Federal law - to request for Yucca Mountain.
They are considering a 100 percent abatement of property taxes for 10 years for companies that develop “green” energy, but they refuse to even discuss changing plans at Yucca Mountain to include a nuclear reprocessing center that could generate 500 megawatts of clean power at no cost to us! It seems likely they will also increase to 25% the amount that utility companies have to purchase from renewable sources. Do you know what that is costing us, the ratepayers? It costs about $88.75 a month to power the average Nevada household from coal, and about $1,387 from photo voltaic solar. Compared to $21.25 for nuclear power, I really wonder if anyone in Carson is looking at options.
They called the Governor’s $6.1 billion budget dead on arrival, when just four short years ago the state budget was $5.9 billion. The 2005 and 2007 legislatures spent money as if the word “recession” was not a possibility. Now as we face revenues of about $5 billion, they just don’t know what to cut! Well they can start by reducing or eliminating what they created and expanded the last two sessions!
However, it sounds like the “elite few” who have been meeting behind closed doors to develop the budget will not consider such reductions, as they have apparently developed a $7 billion budget.
The way this budget came about is such a great example of the “new era” of an open and transparent government, isn’t it? It’s incredible how we let them get away with it.
A local government official told me one of the reasons he wants to run for the legislature is so he won’t have to deal with the open meeting law!
Amazing how our legislature is inspiring the leaders of tomorrow. It is truly astonishing how out of touch our legislators have become.