Editorials

Before Obamacare was signed into law in March 2010, the overwhelming majority of Americans had health insurance, and most of them were satisfied, if not very satisfied, with their coverage. One staple of that coverage: being able to see a physician at a private practice.

Today is Bill of Rights Day. The observation, first ordered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941, commemorates Dec. 15, 1791, when the first 10 amendments to our Constitution — known as the Bill of Rights — took effect. President Roosevelt ordered the recognition because he saw the Bill of Rights as “the great American charter of personal liberty.” And it’s not difficult to see why.

To call a new Tax Foundation study of Nevada’s revenue structure a starting point for tax reform discussions wouldn’t be accurate. Over the years, the state has seen too many tax studies to count, all of which have been considered by the Nevada Legislature to varying degrees, then thrown into desk drawers and onto top shelves to collect dust. Lawmakers and state leaders have talked and talked about tax reform for decades and done nothing to address core flaws in the way Nevada funds state government.

It was a move straight from the textbook on political crisis management. When a disaster of incompetence or nonperformance emerges, an elected executive appoints a task force, or a blue ribbon commission, or a select panel, or any group of people willing to address the outrage. Said task force then takes forever to produce a report that makes a nice paperweight come Christmastime, and nothing improves.

The necessary ouster of Sparks Assemblyman Ira Hansen as speaker-designate, and the sensible appointment last week of Las Vegas Assemblyman John Hambrick to replace him, resulted in a historic shift in legislative power.

Before Wednesday, it was hard to measure the fiscal cost of the Culinary union’s reckless and economically harmful political stunts.

Congress is quite adept at protecting its self-interest while ignoring the public’s interest, but this week offered a glimmer of hope that lawmakers still care about good governance and accountability. On Monday, the Senate unanimously passed the Freedom of Information Act Improvement Act, a bill critical to changing the federal government’s culture of resistance to openness.

The Internet might be the last truly free part of the U.S. economy, and the lack of government interference has led to transformative innovation, ferocious competition, waves of job creation and favorable costs for consumers.

There has been no shortage of media coverage, outrage and commentary on the death of Eric Garner in New York City. That narrative has focused overwhelmingly on race (Mr. Garner was black, the officers were white), on the way police took him down in July, and on the grand jury’s decision last week to not indict the officer who had Mr. Garner in a chokehold.

Think about every state government entity and public agency calling for additional taxes and fees, then prioritize their needs. What can you live without?