Who ya’ gonna call? Myth busters

The fall campaign has entered its final, furious sprint to the Nov. 4 finish line. That means Question 3 supporters will run wild with false narratives to sell voters on their ruinous initiative.

Question 3, if passed by Nevada voters, would impose a 2 percent margins tax on all state businesses with at least $1 million in annual revenues. The question, also known as The Education Initiative, was placed on the ballot by the Nevada State Education Association, the state teachers union. The pitch: More money — tons more money — will by itself make Nevada schools better.

But the tax would punish employers to the tune of at least $800 million per year by taxing them on their revenues, not their profits. Which means many businesses will see their profits wiped out. That will cost thousands of Nevadans their jobs.

We’ve brought this upon ourselves, the Question 3 supporters claim. We never “properly” funded education. The greedy business community was a blockade against better schools. The margins tax will create more than enough education jobs to offset private-sector job losses. And voting for Question 3 guarantees a big funding boost for schools.

It’s all bunk. They’re banking that recent Nevada transplants won’t do their homework, and that longtime Nevadans have short memories. Let’s bust some Question 3 myths, shall we?

Myth: Nevada has never adequately funded its worst-in-the-nation schools. Truth: The record tax increases of 2003 were supposed to take care of that. More than $800 million in tax hikes sent Nevada’s per-student spending soaring, from about $6,500 in 2002-03 to almost $8,900 in 2007-08, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The result: no significant change in achievement.

Myth: Businesses have always opposed paying higher taxes. Truth: Businesses have always opposed stupid tax policy, like taxing top-line revenue.

Myth: Businesses have always opposed increased funding for Nevada schools. Truth: Businesses have always opposed pouring more money into underperforming schools without accompanying education reforms and meaningful accountability.

Myth: The NSEA moved forward with The Education Initiative because of frustration over the Legislature’s reluctance to raise taxes. Truth: The NSEA moved forward with The Education Initiative partly out of rage over relatively minor education reforms — changes to tenure, layoff criteria and teacher evaluations — passed as part of a 2011 budget deal that preserved education funding amid the economic downturn. In recent years, the Legislature has always had the Republican votes necessary to raise taxes for schools, but not the Democratic votes for the reforms the GOP would demand in return. The NSEA is pushing Question 3 for two purposes. The first is more money. The second is to kill any accompanying reforms and accountability in a legislative grand bargain.

Myth: Question 3, if approved, would create thousands of teaching jobs. Truth: The Clark County School District doesn’t have the building capacity or the capital funding necessary to expand full-day kindergarten or reduce elementary school class sizes. And Question 3 specifically forbids the use of margins tax money to build new schools. The system can’t hire thousands of new teachers without thousands of new classrooms. Besides, the union’s priority is not to hire new teachers. It’s to give existing teachers big pay raises — with no nexus to performance.

Myth: Question 3 will finally deliver adequate funding for Nevada’s public schools. Truth: Government will never have enough of your money (as we learned post-2003), and there is no guarantee that schools will see a significant funding increase if Question 3 is approved. Yes, the Legislature could easily shift existing school funding to other state programs. But Question 3’s passage would compel many lawmakers to oppose an extension of temporary tax increases that will expire June 30, 2015. At a minimum, lawmakers would allow the payroll tax to fall to its pre-recession level — even some Democrats have acknowledged that recovering businesses cannot be expected to pay both the margins tax, which would take effect Jan. 1, and the payroll tax at the same time. And many lawmakers would allow motor vehicle taxes to fall as well. That would offset hundreds of millions of dollars in new margins tax revenue.

Question 3 comes with no accountability, no accompanying education reforms and no guarantees beyond job losses in the private sector. Don’t buy into the myths. Vote no on Question 3.

Hashtags &Headlines

Attention all political junkies: If you’d like some insight on and analysis of this fall’s elections, and you’d like to enjoy a good meal while hearing it, plan on attending the Review-Journal’s Hashtags &Headlines policy breakfast on Oct. 20. I’ll join Review-Journal columnists Jane Ann Morrison, Steve Sebelius and John L. Smith in a discussion of the most interesting races and what they mean for Nevada. The breakfast will be held at Texas Station’s Houston Ballroom from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Tickets cost $35 and are available at www.reviewjournal.com/hashtagsandheadlines, or by calling Karen Tarver at 702-224-5520.

Glenn Cook (gcook@reviewjournal.com) is the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s senior editorial writer. Follow him on Twitter: @Glenn_CookNV. Listen to him Mondays at 4 p.m. on “Live and Local with Kevin Wall” on KXNT News Radio, 100.5 FM, 840 AM.