So,
I went down to Las Vegas last month for a convention for mayors and city council members. The most interesting part of the convention was dinner the first night, which had absolutely nothing to do with government at all. It was dinner with a friend from high school, which we were going to repeat the next day but events stepped in and ruined it but it's something that we'll try to repeat in the future.
Anyway, the most interesting part of the actual convention was the discussion, from my point of view, about money. Government at all levels has reached unsustainable levels. The federal government can't afford to do what's it's doing (and yet keeps expanding), the Nevada State government is a couple billion short this year, and all the city government are feeling the pinch as well.
What's happening then is that these governments are battling each other for the money. The state withheld huge chunks of pass-through money last year that was supposed to go to the cities so that it could try to make up its shortfall.
Ironically, the levels above each piece of government is still passing legislation on the lower levels that requires money to put into action.
The end result of course is that taxes are going to have to go up. Obama has said the Federal government is going to need to raise taxes. Nevada is looking at raising taxes this year. The cities in Nevada are trying to create legislation so they can impose their own taxes on their residents.
On the other side of that, you hear people complaining that with a recession (sorry, I forgot, the recession is over - Huzzah!) employment trailing so far behind the recovery, this might be the wrong time to steal more money from the people.
Someone dared to ask a panel member if the state couldn't cut back on its spending instead. The answer was that if the state cut back on its spending the roads would disintegrate tomorrow and all the kids in the state would become retards. He didn't quite phrase it that way but that was his point and he chucked his microphone away from himself to say that it was a completely stoopid question.
The only answer is to raise taxes. At all three levels of government. At or near the same time.
Or we will all die. Tomorrow.
***
Remember, I'm going to be funding my return to college by being an affiliate of BeachBody.com products so please visit the site and make a purchase, no matter how small. Insanity has been released so go check it out.
Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook
Recent Comments