Thursday, May 15, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Editor's Note: Surreal life in Carson City

"Education costs money, but then so does ignorance."

--Sir Claus Moser,

British scholar

The mantra of anti-tax lawmakers and lobbyists in Carson City is that a broad-based business tax would deter companies from moving to Nevada. While this belief is doubtful on its face, it's even more wrongheaded when you consider the effects that major state budget cuts would have on business development.

By which I mean, mainly, the effects on the schools. Tell me, what legitimate business requiring even a semi-skilled work force is going to invest in Las Vegas if the schools are in session only four days a week, class sizes are ballooning out of control and students don't have any extracurricular activities? This is not a setting that attracts high-tech businesses, or any other desirable businesses, for that matter.

Think, damn it. This happens every two years when state legislators hole up in Carson City. They listen intently to political consultants and industry lobbyists and tune out the real world. They let the lobbyists write the bills, they attempt to follow a script that will get them re-elected and they wait until the 11th hour to handle the most important legislative business.

So, in the interest of putting things back in perspective, let's review: Children who receive a good education are more likely to succeed when they reach adulthood. They are more likely to secure gainful employment, more likely to keep their personal affairs in order and less likely to burglarize your home. They are less likely to go on welfare or become homeless. Businesses that hire employees--which is just about all of them--appreciate having quality applicants. Being able to read and write, perform arithmetical computations and think logically are among the attributes of a good employee. A good educational system will help to generate these quality applicants.

There's another benefit: Children who receive a good education are more likely to be decent citizens when they reach adulthood. They are more likely to vote, more likely to participate in community and cultural affairs and less likely to act like an idiot at the movie theater or while driving in traffic. These are not ironclad rules, of course. Sometimes it's the Ph.D. who won't shut up at the movies. But for the most part having a solid educational foundation leads to more civic-mindedness--a trait that is sadly lacking in Las Vegas.

Rather than whining incessantly about a business tax, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce should be leading the campaign for more state revenue to fund Clark County schools, which have already cut $90 million over the past three years. It's interesting that the casinos, which, by their nature, are able to hire many unskilled workers, support Gov. Kenny Guinn's tax package, while the chamber, many members of which require skilled employees, opposes it.

No tax proposal is going to satisfy everyone. But any politician from the Las Vegas area who doesn't believe the state needs more revenue--a lot more--has been brainwashed. Guinn's gross receipts tax has been the most thoroughly vetted option on the table, and it appears to raise the most money with the least pain (it exempts 60 percent of Nevada's smaller businesses). Most important, it imposes a long-warranted tax burden on very large companies such as Wal-Mart and Bank of America that are simply not paying their fair share in Nevada.

The Legislature must settle the tax question in the next three weeks. If lawmakers act in the best interests of the state and their constituents, the worst-case-scenario budget cuts the Clark County School District has prepared will not come to pass.

Last word on

Wild Bill Bennett

You gotta love the outing of yet another conservative hypocrite. William Bennett, best-selling moralizer by day, high-stakes gambler by night, is the latest in a long line of two-faced right-wing kooks. What more is there to say about this juicy tidbit of a story?

Not much. Except, perhaps, that two things have been missing from the voluminous commentary that has followed revelations about Bennett's $8 million slot machine habit. The liberals are blasting the "Bookie of Virtues" as a hypocrite, of course, while conservatives are noting that the former national drug czar hasn't condemned gambling in his books and can spend his own money any way he chooses. Fine. But on that latter point, I can't help wondering whether Bennett's $8 million stake could have been spent on something more worthwhile, such as a university endowment or a hospital wing or, well, just about anything else.

Of course, as a Las Vegan, I'm probably a bit of a hypocrite just for wondering.

The second point is this: What self-respecting high-roller plays slot machines? Is blackjack or baccarat too complicated? C'mon, Bill, step up to the adult table.

--GEOFF SCHUMACHER