Government must tighten belt just like we do

Greg Miller, Henderson

Monday, May 12, 2008 | 2:04 a.m.

Jon Ralston, in his Friday column, seems to think that Nevada’s budgetary shortfalls will result in “Katrina-like devastation” to the citizens of this state due to cuts in funding to current programs. The carefully unspoken implication is that only by taking another course of action (raising taxes, obviously) can this devastation be avoided.

Our economy is in a downturn. This clearly means that the taxpayers of the state have less money to spend and have to find ways to make their current income fit their budget. Our government needs to do what we, the taxpayers, do when times are tough, which is review the budget and make tough decisions about what to keep and what to cut.

Government has a strong tendency to add programs when revenues are up, then claim the new programs are indispensable when shortfalls occur. We have an opportunity as a state to make a different, and more difficult, choice. We can insist on fiscal responsibility without further burdening the taxpayers who are feeling the same financial pressures as the state government.

Gov. Jim Gibbons’ new panel represents an opportunity. The problem, of course, is whether the Legislature and the governor have the testicular fortitude to follow through with recommendations that require cutting programs, not just imposing across-the-board budget cuts. There will be an outcry; there will be those who claim bias or bigotry no matter what choices are made. We need our elected officials to do what is right for the state, not just what is expedient.