Government gridlock compels Nevadans to pursue progress via initiatives
By David McGrath Schwartz and Michael Squires, Las Vegas Sun
Labor is preparing a business-tax ballot initiative.
A conservative businessman is threatening initiatives to raise taxes on mining and gaming.
A maverick attorney is proposing an initiative calling for sweeping changes to the state tax structure, creating what would be, in effect, a parallel government to that run by lawmakers and the governor.
These initiatives, pushed by groups and individuals of varying ideologies, from very liberal to very conservative, suggest a state that has lost faith in the ability of its political leaders and institutions to get things done, or at least big things.
Nevada is a wounded state, with a busted housing market and highest-in-the-nation unemployment. One pillar of its economy, construction, is gone and won’t be back anytime soon. Another, gambling, has come back, but is seeing competition spread across the country and world.
Who will do something about it?