Attention citizens: It is the spending

Democrats in Nevada who remain in denial about the state's finances continue to think that if they only built a better, broader, deeper tax scheme in Nevada, we'd be on our way to a land of milk and honey.

One need only look at any number of other states — with exactly those "better, broader, deeper" taxes to know that premise is not true.

Consider New Jersey this morning. New Gov. Chris Christie (full text linked here) gave his speech on the state budget in which he said: "Today, we must make a pact with each other to end this reckless conduct with the people’s government. Today, we come to terms with the fact that we cannot spend money on everything we want. Today, the days of Alice in Wonderland budgeting in Trenton end."

He was speaking about exactly what Democrats in Nevada want to do in the 2011 Legislature.

But the answer is not more taxes and more spending. It's not even more taxes and less spending.

The answer is less taxes and less spending.

As the November elections roll around and we elect our representatives to the Legislature, I hope voters will pin candidates down on this point. I don't know about you, but I don't want to end up on the verge of bankruptcy like New Jersey.

(Postscript: I'll be writing on this topic in Sunday's Review-Journal. I hope you'll do me the honor of reading it.)