(Annie Black) – As we await Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak’s official call for a special session of the Legislature to deal with the estimated $1.3 billion budget hole his #SisolakShutdown has created, now might be a good time to grab your wallet and head for the hills because…
The Tax Man Cometh!
Government employees are already in full-throated revolt over the prospect of cutting government.
Just last week representatives of AFSCME Local 4041, the union representing state government workers, filed an official complaint against the governor for not talking to them to their satisfaction.
“The way the governor is acting is a disgrace to our state and a disservice to all Nevadans,” said union president Harry Schiffman in a statement. “He needs to come out of hiding and talk to us.”
Actually, that sentiment is shared by a LOT of Nevadans these days, especially the tens of thousands still waiting on their unemployment benefits.
The governor, to the surprise of absolutely no one, buckled.
“The Governor, his staff and the Governor’s Finance Office are working hard to limit the impacts on state employees and to let them know of any proposed impacts in advance,” the governor’s staff wrote in a statement of response.
In fact, while almost a half-million Nevadans lost their jobs thanks to the #SisolakShutdown, almost NO government employees have been laid off. YOU are continuing to pay them.
And of the more than 17,000 state workers currently on payroll, Gov. Sisolak has thus far only proposed laying off fewer than 50 of them to address the $1.3 billion budget hole.
So if the governor and the Democrat majority that controls both houses of the Legislature won’t cut spending to balance the budget…that means tax hikes!
For the record: I’ve signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, so that’s not an option for me or the taxpayers of District 19 that I will be representing.
As has been the case of multiple emergency orders from the governor related to the #SisolakShutdown, the governor is giving Nevadans conflicting signals on this.
One day he said no tax hikes. A few days later he put them back on the table.
And the threat is real.
Last weekend, Hugh Jackson – editor for the liberal Nevada Current online newsblog – proposed three special session amendments to Nevada’s Constitution which would pave the way for various tax hikes.
1.) Remove the cap on mining taxes
2.) Repeal the Gibbons Tax Restraint requirement that tax hikes be approved by a 2/3 super-majority of the Legislature.
3.) Repeal the constitutional prohibition on a personal income tax.
And Jackson’s not the only left fielder calling for tax hikes.
In an editorial published on Wednesday, the Las Vegas Sun called for a property tax increase and warned that “gaming will need to step up at some point.”
And the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) released a document on June 16 titled “Nevada: Action Plan for Recovery and Resilience” which calls for “ending property tax caps.”
Make no mistake, while Democrat legislative candidates won’t say so out loud this close to Election Day, they’re all thinking the same thing privately.
Nevada’s economy, Nevada’s businesses and Nevada’s families have been suffering real and severe pain thanks to the #SisolakShutdown.
If we’re all supposed to be “in this together,” it’s time for the government and government workers to share the misery.
After all, the government is supposed to work for YOU; not the other way around.
Annie
P.S. Some people have been asking me about how I’m going to deal with being in the Nevada Legislature next year.
They want to know if I’m going to remain true to my convictions and serve the way I campaigned…or will “go wobbly” like so many other conservatives before me.
Well, look for a special AnnieGram this Friday morning titled: “Annie Black’s Declaration of Independence.” That should answer all questions.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“With massive increases in testing, the ‘case’ numbers climbed. This is not rocket science: the more people you test the more ‘cases’ you discover.
“Unfortunately, our mainstream media is only interested in pushing the ‘party line.’ So the good news that millions more have been exposed while the fatality rate continues to decline – meaning the virus is getting weaker – is buried under hysterical false reporting of ‘new cases.’
“Unfortunately, many governors are incapable of resisting the endless lies of the mainstream media. They are putting Americans again through the nightmare of forced business closures, mandated face masks, and restrictions of Constitutional liberties based on false propaganda.”
– Dr. Ron Paul, former Texas congressman
Annie Black is a Mesquite City Councilwoman and Assemblywoman-elect for Nevada State Assembly District 19. You can get more information by visiting www.electannieblack.com
