Don't blame government spending for growth woes

     
     Ever since Vin Suprynowicz. the Review-Journal's assistant editorial page editor, published his flawed treatise on growth in the Las Vegas Valley ("Does growth pay for growth?" March 23), there have been a number of congratulatory letters from self-serving home builders endorsing his conclusion that sufficient taxes and revenues are currently being generated to pay for existing growth. Letter writer Eric Horn on April 2 added to the amen chorus that "government" is to blame, if only it would set its priorities straight.
      Mr. Horn states that "government income increases over three times the rate of growth." What kind of bogus statement is that? Government income does increase with growth, but not nearly enough to pay the full costs of that growth. Mr. Horn is correct when he states, "Nothing can pay enough to satisfy the euphoria of uncontrolled spending" -- particularly when that spending is driven by the uncontrolled growth he and his get-rich-quick developer friends peddle.
      Regarding the Suprynowicz article, it is cheap and easy to raise the Clark County Government Center as the prime example of flawed spending priorities on the part of the county. I agree that the way this palace was conceived seven years ago was flawed -- it should have gone before the voters. But that battle was decided five years ago, and no palaces have been built since then.
      It is also cheap and easy to blame a lack of infrastructure funding on government employees -- most of whom appear to be hard working and dedicated to serving a demanding public despite the huge influx of population and demands for all sorts of services. Check the statistics and you will find that the growth in the number of government employees has not nearly kept pace with the growth of the population. Chamber of Commerce types love to vilify labor as the devil in funding issues when those same fat cats without hesitation have no qualms making their fortunes at the expense of the population as a whole. How many millionaires work as government bureaucrats? Where is the "real money" being made in this town?
      The Review-Journal earlier this year published an article which stated that approximately 22,000 residential housing units were built in calendar year 1996 in the Las Vegas Valley. That is a phenomenal amount of building and selling. Obviously, the home builders are making tons of money. This demand for housing units is a result of targeted marketing to retired seniors, and the runaway building of gambling hall resorts on and off the Strip brings thousands into our community every month.
      Members of the Clark County Commission and Las Vegas City Council are controlled by the gamblers and home builders -- most of them are political pawns who couldn't get elected without the campaign contributions which effectively "anoint" them into office. Why else would local governments rubber-stamp every gambling and housing project proposed? This despite the obvious harm done to current residents in the form of destroyed neighborhoods; crowded schools, roads, parks and public facilities; polluted air, land and water; insufficient police and fire services; and the general degradation of our quality of life. How brazen of Mr. Horn to blame "government priorities" when in fact home builders are the ones pulling government's puppet strings while laughing all the way to the bank. Yeah, blame government -- that's the ticket.
      If for each of the 22,000 housing units built last year there was a $2,000 impact fee earmarked for school construction, there would be $44 million annually available to the school district to pay for schools -- a need that would undoubtedly be generated by the influx of new residents. That would take pressure off existing residents to continue passing bond issues to subsidize "growth."
      And if gamblers can ask other states to legalize gambling with the bribe that they would pay up to 12 percent taxes on their gross receipts, perhaps it is time for the paltry 6 percent Nevada gambling tax to be raised -- substantially. Steve Wynn alone owes Las Vegas several new freeway interchanges and numerous schools. The Howard Hughes Corp. just lobbied the city of Las Vegas to degrade the Red Rock area with its get-rich development plans -- where is the special assessment to the company to help pay the $300 million required to widen U.S. Highway 95? All current (and apparently insufficient) efforts now underway to mitigate the impact of growth are subsidized by the average citizen.
      The Nevada Taxpayer Association declares that growth really does pay for growth, despite abundant evidence to the contrary. Perhaps up really is down. If growth pays for growth, why have citizens been asked to fund so many bond issues in the past eight years -- for new schools, parks, police, fire stations, libraries, "justice" centers, family courts, transportation infrastructure, jails, flood control, etc.?
      I predict the feudal lords of gambling and home building will again stick the cost of their schemes on the average citizen. Because they also own the Legislature.
     Paul Reber is a local government consultant. He writes from Las Vegas.