Nevada Officials: Get Off Your Butts and Fix the Budget!

Thus begins the rant of the day: I am in amazement that the State of Nevada continues to blast news of dwindling coffers and over-budget arguments when the state representatives refuse to look at the one area that can and would get us out of our hole with the expediency of a Space Shuttle launch: the casinos. It is a fact that the average state gaming tax in this country is 30% (figures contained within this blog come from the American Gaming Association website). While other states figure out that gaming taxes can be directly earmarked to pay for improved education, infrastructure and state programs, such as Medicaid, the State of Nevada has the LOWEST gaming tax in the nation, at 6.75%! We have the most gaming revenue of ANY state in the Union (and this is by a large percentage) and yet Nevada continues to allow the casinos to operate with massive profits (even with lower patron numbers, which by the way are very much skewed) and not have them pay their share. Our teachers are struggling to survive on an average wage of $27,957, while the median income for other workers in the state is $44,426 (teacherportal.com), and there are more cuts proposed. Gee, let's see if we can figure out why our state education rank is 49 (and 50 in some categories)! Until this state gets off its collective duff and start doing something about this short-fall in the state gaming tax, we will continue to see these numbers drop, and our student dropout rate will continue to rise. There is no way to attract better teachers to a state that refuses to provide them with adequate resources and salaries. A proposal that was put forth recently by the state legislature suggests implementing a state lottery to help pay for education and other needed programs, but of course the big casinos in Las Vegas want nothing to do with the "competition", as that means less money in their pockets. Let me propose this to the state...FORCE THE CASINOS' HAND (no pun intended). Give them an ultimatum: Pony up more money by way of a gaming tax increase, or we implement the lottery! Anyone who has travelled out to Primm to go over into California and purchase lottery tickets knows how busy the station that sells lottery tickets gets. Lines go around the building, sometimes two to three times. This is just one location! There are statistics that show how successful state lotteries can be in earmarking money for needed programs and departments, such as education. The casinos know that this is a legitimate threat, and will do anything to keep this from happening. That being the case, it is time to hold our elected officials responsible and make our opinions known! Remember, this is OUR government. We don't answer to them, they answer to US! Stand up for our state and call your representatives to send a clear message: no elected official will get support from their constituancy if they are not willing to make this ultimatum a reality! One voice CAN make a difference! It's time for the citizens of Nevada to stop complaining and start taking our government back!