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The bill to allow county commissions to impose a quarter-cent increase in the sales tax will sail out of the Assembly today, amid high-fives and backslapping. Assembly Bill 291, the darling of Nevada's political establishment, would help pay for expansion of the Southern Nevada water system.
We are told that while state and local tax receipts have sped steadily toward the stratosphere thanks to growth, it takes "courage" and "leadership" for lawmakers to embrace higher taxes rather than force the government bureaucracy to sacrifice through a re-allocation of existing revenues.
If a willingness to raise taxes defines "political courage," modern-day Americans ought to drop to their knees and reach skyward in appreciation for being blessed with the gutsiest leaders in the nation's history. The overall tax burden on Americans, including Nevadans, remains at an all-time high, and continues to increase.
Yes, a pox on the quivering cowards who would attack the defenseless bureaucracy rather than incur the wrath of the mighty taxpayers.
But if the notion of "political courage" being synonymous with "raising taxes" seems downright silly, it gets worse.
On Wednesday, the Assembly took up an amendment to AB291, which would have forced county commissions to put the tax increase before voters. The measure was pushed by Sandra Tiffay, a Las Vegas Republican. But the state's major power brokers vehemently opposed it, so it never stood a snowball's chance in Laughlin. Yet our Assembly members, rather than stand up and be counted, broke enough arms to ensure it died via voice vote instead of a roll call. They didn't want to go on the record individually as having killed a referendum on the issue.
Courage? Yup, the boys at Iwo Jimo had nothing on the bunch in Carson City.
Agree or disagree? Write us at letters@lvrj.com
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