LETTERS: GOP-led Legislature wasting opportunity

To the editor:

The recent op-ed by state Sen. Michael Roberson reminds me of the adage, “If you keep saying the same thing long enough, people will believe it” (“2015 Legislature making great strides for Nevada,” Tuesday Review-Journal). Last November, Nevadans elected a Republican legislative majority for the first time in 85 years, providing an extremely rare opportunity to make critical, necessary changes to our state’s education system, public retirement system, elections, tax policy and fiscal reforms.

Unfortunately, the 2015 Legislature squandered this precious opportunity. Instead of providing school choice for all, they passed a bill providing school choice to only a handful of our children. Why not pass a bill providing it for every child?

The Legislature passed a bill eliminating prevailing wage, which cuts costs by 20 percent or more on school construction projects. But the bill requires prevailing wage on all other public projects. If it is fiscally responsible to eliminate prevailing wage for school construction, then why not eliminate it for all public works projects? The Legislature failed to pass a bill requiring voters to show a photo identification to vote, even though more than 70 percent of Nevadans support it.

The Senate failed to reform the Public Employees Retirement System, which is bankrupting our state, and instead chose to pass the largest tax increase in state history. Ironically, this $1.2 billion tax increase is nearly identical to the one voters rejected in the last election by a 4-to-1 margin, except that it’s more complicated and easier to manipulate.

Carson City politicians can brag, but Nevadans know we can do better, and we should.

DANNY TARKANIAN

LAS VEGAS