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‘The tourists pay it’ is a lousy excuse for punishing Nevadans with a regressive tax system
What type of business generates the most sales tax revenue in Clark County, home of the Fabulous Las Vegas Strip? If you guessed “food services and drinking places” ding ding ding you are right. It accounts for about 20% of the county’s total sales tax revenue, according to the Nevada Department of Taxation. But how […]
If businesses want to give money to private schools, nothing is stopping them
Nevada has a private school pseudo-voucher program called Opportunity Scholarships. Technically, public money isn’t sent directly to private schools or their parents. That would be unconstitutional in Nevada. So the Republican workaround to that, devised a few years ago when a Republican was governor, gives tax credits to businesses who donate to one of a […]
Purportedly ‘historic’ indictment actually tackles Trump at his most insipid
The Nevada State Republican Party pushing out fundraising emails with the words “weaponization” and “Soros.” Donald Trump whining. The media repetitively yet breathlessly using the word “historic.” Democrats wringing their hands in trepidation that something might be bad for them. It must be a day that ends in y. The indictment of Trump in connection […]
Lombardo’s ‘executive order’ on energy doesn’t ‘order’ much of anything at all
Gov Joe Lombardo issued an official “executive order” on energy policy Monday. It should have been titled an “executive sentiment.” The only item approximating a tangible specific policy in the “order” is Lombardo directing state agencies to conduct permitting processes concurrently instead of sequentially. And even that is only “when applicable.” Big deal. Whenever there’s […]
Lithium: ‘More economic colonialism?’ Nevada: ‘Yes, please.’
For roughly three years before it began skyrocketing in late 2021, the price of a metric ton of lithium carbonate mostly ambled along in the vicinity of $17,500. The price peaked in November 2022, at more than $86,800 per ton. More recently, it’s been plummeting, and as of Thursday morning was down to less than […]
The Fed is partying like it’s 1979
Working people in the U.S., and especially in Nevada, are not making too much money. It’s tempting to say “This message was brought to you by Captain Obvious,” and leave it at that. But there is much squawking that the Federal Reserve should hold off on raising interest rates again because that bank for the […]
No, nobody’s raising your property tax rate. But they should.
Which radical woke liberal state imposes a bigger residential property tax burden than Nevada? Texas! So does the purportedly “free state” of Florida. Property tax burdens are higher in a bunch of other self-styled freedom loving – i.e, reliably red – states, including but not limited to Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Montana, Idaho, Missouri, Kentucky, […]
Fox & fakes
The word “Nevada” pops up every now and then in the massive tranches of documents Dominion Voting Systems has been releasing as part of its defamation suit against Fox News. Mostly it’s in reference to fraudulent claims from, well, frauds, like Donald Trump surrogates Rudy Giuliani and Sydney Powell. Egged on by Fox’s on-air personalities, […]
Musk had them at ‘Hello’
Praise be. Let us one and all give thanks, for almighty Tesla has bestowed on humble Nevada such generous bounty, and let us hope that we can be worthy of such gifts. In a sign of our unwavering appreciation and worship, we offer a tithing to thee, oh benevolent Tesla, truly little more than a […]
In epic fight between Nevada Democrats, the stakes couldn’t be lower
In 1973 Columbia University Political Science Professor Wallace Sayre reportedly said “Academic politics is the most vicious and bitter form of politics, because the stakes are so low.” To which Nevada Democrats can say “hold my beer.” Sayre’s quip was more snarky than accurate. One need look no further than the Florida of Ron DeSantis […]
Why Nevada needs to outlaw fake electors
Here’s the thing about sending a fake electoral certificate to Congress, according to Democratic state Sen. Skip Daly: “We don’t have any measure that actually prohibits that, per se.” Daly was speaking at a legislative committee hearing this week on Senate Bill 133, which would make being a fake elector a crime in Nevada, punishable […]
A Las Vegas Super Bowl should be fun, but let’s not pretend it’s ‘economic development’
There are some good reasons for Las Vegas to have an NFL team. The NFL’s impact on the local economy isn’t a particularly important one. Hosting the Super Bowl in 2024 will generate “an estimated total economic impact of more than $500 million,” according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Economic projections for […]