EDITORIAL: Government should take cue from MGM

Last month, MGM Resorts International announced it would begin charging customers to park at its nine Strip resorts. That was followed early this month by an announcement that MGM would outsource its parking operations, including valet parking personnel. Then, last week, the Review-Journal's Howard Stutz reported that MGM would outsource staffing for the company's three Las Vegas arenas/events centers.

While all three decisions have drawn some criticism, all are also a matter of a private-sector company rightfully making decisions that help save money, particularly with regard to the moves to outsource parking operations and arena staffing. If only the public sector were as interested in fiscal responsibility, government at all levels would be saving taxpayers money left and right.

As we've mentioned numerous times, there are many areas where outsourcing is not only a viable option, but absolutely the best one. With regard to local municipalities, why haven't the cities of Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas, along with Clark County, outsourced park maintenance? All have budget needs to address, and private companies do a fine job maintaining communities and parks all over the valley, at far less cost. At the federal level, the government has proven wholly incapable of land management, veterans health care and myriad other areas under its purview.

Government as a whole would be wise to take a cue from MGM's moves in recent weeks, and the moves of successful private enterprises everywhere. And government should have even more incentive to do so, since it serves the most important customers: taxpayers.