Editorials

Washington controls far too much land in Nevada — about 86 percent of the state — and puts far too many restrictions on its use. Nevada’s economy would be far stronger and far more diverse if much of that federal land was under state or local control or, even better, transferred to private ownership.

Since Oct. 1, U.S. Border Patrol agents have apprehended more than 52,000 children traveling alone from Central America and Mexico. Many of these kids made the dangerous trip to escape even more dangerous conditions in their home countries.

The Department of Veterans Affairs finally is under intense scrutiny for its bogus waiting lists and the unconscionable treatment delays that have caused an untold number of preventable patient deaths. But new information shows that malfeasance, malpractice and outright corruption within the VA is worse than Americans could have imagined — much worse.

During Monday’s White House Summit on Working Families, President Barack Obama assured those in attendance that his administration would “do everything we can to create more jobs and more opportunity for Americans.”

Gun control advocates have filed an initiative to require background checks for private-party firearm sales in Nevada. If the groups behind the drive collect enough valid signatures to gain a vote on their petition, they’ll still have to overcome the strongest argument against expanded background checks: the fact that determined lawbreakers who want a gun will not respect the laws written to disarm them.

Of all the senseless crimes in this country, school shootings are the most shocking and least explainable. The June 10 violence at Reynolds High School in Troutdale, Ore., was no different. The mass shooting left one student dead and a teacher wounded before the 15-year-old killer took his own life.

Income inequality is a huge issue for Democrats, one the extremely wealthy Hillary Clinton will need to be a little less tone-deaf about if she decides to seek her party’s nomination for president in 2016.

Members of Congress blame the depletion of the Federal Highway Trust Fund on the ever-increasing fuel economy of vehicles and the failure to adjust the fuel tax to inflation. These factors have resulted in more miles traveled on the country’s highways, leading to heavier traffic and more wear and tear on roads, and not enough money to upgrade and repair them because of rising construction and material costs.

If money is such a threat to democracy, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid insists, how could any candidate with a big bank account and rich supporters lose an election?

The more a government seeks refuge in secrecy, the less credibility it has with the people it serves. The longer a government refuses to answer basic questions about public business, the more suspicious taxpayers become.