Where Have All the Students Gone?

Don’t Get No Respect

We’re Number One: From the bottom, that is. It has been said that the state of Nevada is 49th out of the 50 states in funding for education. Many reasons have been given for this – most casino jobs do not require an education. Dealer? Count to 21. Food server? Know when your order needs to be picked up. Casino host? Know how to glad hand. It helps if you are a sports celebrity so the patrons can go home and say, “Guess who I met in Vegas?” Cab drivers need to know the longest route between two hotels. Change persons need to know who they gave the “lucky quarters” to so they get a good tip. Cocktail waitresses need to know how to balance drinks on a tray while wiggling. Visitors and convention goers are more concerned after their meetings with good food and action rather than determining the validity of the Pythagorean theorem. They don’t care whether or not pie are square, they only care how it tastes.

A one Horse Town: Perhaps not. We have the best entertainment in the world, the most convention space, and the finest dining establishments. We have the world’s largest hotels and the most hotel rooms. Bottom line of the bottom line is that Nevada is a one-industry state and Las Vegas is a one-industry town. But what more can one expect of a town located in the middle of a desert? A town that has no logical reason to exist. A town that has over three hundred days per year of sunshine? Well, how about bringing in some clean industry like, perhaps computer of electronics? Sorry, the population base is not well enough educated for high tech industries to adequately man the factories. Ok then, what about solar energy? With all that sun, why not take advantage? Our local power company is loathe to provide the kinds of incentives to make such research viable. Also, there are not enough scientists in the state to develop the kind of technology needed. We’d better expand our higher education system and infuse our pre-college system with funding to make Nevada the premier source of education. With a small population that should not be too difficult.

Pardon me, Gov: Surely the governor, a highly educated man and former military and commercial pilot would understand this problem and help out education. In fact, his budget is due out today. Let’s see what he has done to encourage education in our state. We’re in a financial bind. Our biggest industry is gaming – whose entities pay a fraction of their compatriots in New Jersey and other states. Perhaps we could bump gaming taxes up a bit to help education. Maybe the mining industry. Since precious metal prices have spiked, maybe we can tap them for a dollar or two for education. Of course there will have to be cuts, but with education spending in Nevada at the bottom of the barrel among the states, maybe they can be spared some of the cuts.

The former pilot crashes education: Governor Jim Gibbons just put forth his proposed budget which included $ 633 million in cuts to the state’s general fund. How did the nation’s poor cousin of education fare? Eighty-six percent, $ 547 million of the $ 633 million in cuts came from an education system that ranks close to dead last in funding already. The guv is attempting to gut a system that wallows near the bottom. Teachers, not known for being among the higher paid employees are scheduled for a 6% pay cut. These are the folks who take a portion of their own salary to buy supplies for their students. These are the people in whose pockets Governor Jim Bob is reaching. Oh, he agreed to cut his own salary from $ 150,000 not including perks. I’m sure any third grade teacher making $ 150,000, a car allowance, a free mansion, and other perks would also agree to a 6% salary cut. How did his cronies in the casino and mining industries and other businesses fare? Read his lips, no new taxes.

No question about it: The Guv is not doing anything that he did not promise – leaving his cronies untouched while the children of our state suffer through cutbacks. Yes, Martha, we deserve exactly the representation we elected.

A little blogging music Maestro: “You Left Me Just When I needed You Most,” by Randy VanWarmer.

Dr forgot
http://drforgot.com

Sex Between the Bushes

The Morning After

We have the luxury to look at the current political scene with an eye on the funnybone and our tongue firmly planted in our cheek. We're not alone. A pundit once described the Clinton White House years as "Sex between the Bushes." Since our musical and theatric puns have received considerable feedback, today's lesson will continue the irreverence and describe the Democratic race in terms of song and play titles by Simon and Garfunkel and Shakespeare with a pinch of Goldsmith. Certainly what is happening politically could only happen in America (Simon and Garfunkel).

The Nevada caucus looked to be a Hillary lock, then Obama got the endorsement of the powerful Culinary Union and the Bill and Hill push back began. Some from the Obama camp described the push back and her ultimate victory as She Stoops to Conquer (Oliver Goldsmith). But the Clinton campaign denied any chicanery and insisted that Senators Clinton and Obama are simply Old Friends (Simon and Garfunkel) who simply misunderstood one another.

Bill and Hill campaigned hard in Nevada as Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare) and Senator Clinton expressed her qualifications with Tales From New York (Simon and Garfunkel). After the roar of the caucus crowds both candidates were happy to get back to their families and enjoy some Sounds of Silence (S&G).

What started as A Midsummer Night's Dream (the other Bill) for the Senator from Illinois has become a campaign trail that would turn any novice into The Graduate (S&G). Meanwhile the Clintons continue to campaign as Bookends (Simple Simon and Art). Both candidates beat the drum of needed change, describing the current administration's policies as The Comedy of Errors (Bill the writer, not Bill the lover) and both claim their candidacy is a Bridge Over Troubled Waters (SG) that will bring stability in Washington. Fortunately the criticism of the current administration did not receive the same reaction as did the Spice Girls Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme (Paul and Art). According to the gospel of Hillary, It Takes A Village. It is her hope that her votes do not come from A Deserted Village (Goldsmith).

There are many caucuses and primaries to go before the nominations at the conventions. It might come to pass that The Winter's Tale was Much Ado About Nothing (WS&WS). Both candidates will plan strategies late into the night Wednesday Morning 3 a.m. (Wild Hair and Garfunkel) and both hope their nomination will be As You Like It (Bard).

A little blogging music Maestro, Let's do that oldie "The Race is On" by Dave Edmunds.

Dr. Forgot

Who Can? Republican. Who's That Democrat?

And the winner is:

At this writing with nearly 100% of the precincts reporting in Nevada, the local Republicans have spoken. Ant the word uttered from most of the Republican lips rhymes with hit, what is what John McCain and the other Republican hopefuls took from Mitt Romney. While some pundits and pollsters predicted McCain and Huckabee running stronger, that shows their failure to become acquainted with Nevada culture.

Nevada has a large contingent of well educated, well organized, politically savvy Mormons, many of whom blatantly support their favorite son, Mitt Romney. Similar demographics exist in Wyoming a state Mitt also left smiling. But another unmentioned factor exists among Nevada voters - they don't like John McCain. He has railed against legal gambling and supported measures detrimental to the gaming industry. Although McCain is from a neighboring state, he is viewed as not a friend of Nevada. That could explain his third place finish behind the prodigal and "Who the Heck is Ron Paul."

Many pundits felt Fred Thompson would do better than a tie with Huckabee since he is in the entertainment business. Huckabee's showing did not surprise many. While Nevada is generally conservative politically, it is not evangelical. Finally, Rudy Guiliani whose face was on everybody's TV screen in the 9/11 aftermath barely eked out a few more votes than Duncan Hunter - who many voters thought was a cake mix.

The Democrat caucuses were significant if for no other reason that ten to 15 times as many showed up to caucus as in 2006. Not so surprising is that the pollsters and pundits got it wrong again. While they predicted a Hillary victory, the margin of victory over Obama was predicted at ten-15 points. It turned out to be barely a five point victory, and that is with the Clinton campaign pulling out all stops and former President Clinton stumping for his wife at virtually every Strip hotel. The two front runners garnered 96% of the votes between them. Running a far distant third was Senator Edwards who received a mere four percent, and Dennis Kucinich who came in below "none of the above."

Pundits who felt Edwards would do better in Nevada now say he could still play a significant role as king-maker depending on which candidate he eventually throws his support behind. That is, of course, assuming his star does not rise again among the forty-some states that are left to decide who will be the candidate of choice going into the fall elections.

A little blogging music Maestro... the old Dixie standard, Race Track Boogie."

Dr. Forgot

Money, Money, Money - Its A Rich Man's World

Votes "Fore" Sale?

Nevada is having problems making ends meet. Join the club. Governor Terminator of the Earthquake State next door has it even worse and has proposed drastic budget cuts. Ditto our own Guv who first said that K-12 education would avoid the 8% tax cuts of higher education system, prisons, social programs, and nearly every other state agency. Then he told the little kiddies, "Not!" and said millions had to be slashed from the peanut gallery budget. No exemptions. No excuses. Nobody gets to avoid the slashes.

"Twenty lashes," responded the teacher's union. "Not only is the Guv a liar, liar, pants on fire, the gaming industry isn't paying their fair share. We need money to educate the kids and since some states tax their gaming at a rate several times higher than Nevada, how about tacking on a few percentage points for reading, writing, and 'Rithmatic?"

"Blasphemy!" cried the gaming industry, "It will kill tourism. People will go elsewhere to dispose of their disposable income." And so it goes, from entity to entity. Everybody wants what taxes bring but each entity feels the tax burden on them is unfair, should not be increased, and if anything, should be lowered.

Then there are the golf courses. Some clever lobbyists in the year two thousand and "fore" crafted a provision and quietly slipped it into an assessor's bill that was sent it to the legislature. The provision would revalue the golf course property and lower taxes a little. How little? Assessed values changed from $ 25,000 per acre to less than $3,000 per acre. Remember, it was during a time that property values in Nevada were climbing like skyrockets in flight - a real afternoon delight.

And the taxes that were due on the golf courses? Quicker than you can say, "Meet me at the 19th hole for a drink," taxes on one of the parcels on a private hotel golf course dropped from more than $ 5,000 to $ 13 and change. Another parcel at a different private golf course got its taxes out of the sand trap - $ 134,000 in 2004 to $ 72,000 for the current year. The rates contributed to a huge budget divot of the state's $ 450 million shortfall.

The provision, it seems was, was drafted by Senator N. O'Tme and Assemblyman I. Dunno since nobody can remember who sponsored it. But the 60 or so golf courses in the Valley of the Dollars and double that number statewide have benefited by not having to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes compared to previous years. Lobbyists for the golf industry claim the tax breaks are necessary or the golfers will flee to Arizona and Florida to seek their par. That's like saying gasoline is cheaper in another state so that's the place to buy it.

Then there is the "obsolescence factor," a complicated formula that is designed for golf courses that shut down in winter months to only pay taxes on the equivalent of the months they are open. Even though the calculation is designed specifically for winter weather courses, the loophole can be applied to all courses allowing them to further eschew their tax burden. Hole in one? Sounds like some legislators had a hole in the head when they voted for this one.

A little blogging music Maestro... "18 Holes" by Gus Van Sant.

Dr. Forgot