EDITORIAL: Democrats pretend fiscal insanity is compassion

Imagine a proposal to make every American eligible for food stamps in order to reduce the stigma for those who need them. That’s analogous to what Nevada Democrats seek to do with school lunches.

At the beginning of each session, the Legislature receives bills that the governor vetoed two years before. In theory, the lawmakers can overturn those vetoes with a two-thirds vote in both houses. That rarely happens. For one, obtaining two-thirds support to override a veto is a high burden. For another, if the Legislature wants to revisit an issue, it can simply pass a new bill.

But this year, Assembly Democrats retained four bills that Gov. Joe Lombardo nixed. One of them would have allocated $43 million to provide “free” school breakfasts and lunches to all Nevada students. Beware of the branding. Something that costs taxpayers tens of millions of dollars isn’t free.

The motive for this move is transparently political. Democrats think this issue is a winner. Last year, they attacked Gov. Lombardo repeatedly for his veto. “Nevada families will always remember that Joe Lombardo stole their kids lunch money,” Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui wrote on X last year.

That’s ludicrous. Most obviously, not providing people with a subsidy isn’t akin to stealing their money. In fact, it’s closer to theft when politicians extract money from taxpayers to transfer to a favored constituency.

Of course, no one wants a child to go hungry. But the government already provides free meals to low-income families. Further, in low-income districts, the federal government’s Community Eligibility Provision offers “free” meals to every child in the district. That includes the Clark County School District. In total, more than 80 percent of Nevada children are already automatically eligible for “free” lunches. That means a high percentage of the funding is going to help families that have the means to support themselves.

Yet Democrats want to spend $43 million subsidizing the 20 percent of upper-middle-income and wealthy families who don’t currently get free lunches. That is absurd. If the state has so much money that Democrats want to provide freebies for millionaires, that’s evidence Nevada needs a tax cut.

Instead of seeking to annually expand welfare programs to create a larger dependent constituency among the middle and upper classes, legislative Democrats should direct their energy toward implementing reforms intended to address the state’s dismal academic achievement levels.

Gov. Lombardo should remain firm. Universal “free” school lunch is fiscal insanity dressed up as compassion.