Where are we now, and where are we going?

I believe it is time to reflect on the changes that have been placed upon us, by our state and federal government. We all share some culpability, but not complete culpability. For when we as average Nevadans were planning our day we did not see these events coming. We have a federal government that is pushing change, but is it the change we wanted and are the results of this change what we expected. The effects and cost of these changes on Nevada are still to be determined. I am a dinosaur, I believe as our founding fathers that the strength of our society comes from having the most power at the individual level and that a small government is all that is needed, when all individuals have the good of society at its best interest. How far from those ideals we have gone are alarming to me. To have so much power centralized at the federal level will lead to a tyrant, whether it is Obama or the next President. I do not care which party is in power, this is not the direction we need to go in.




The issue is that our government is losing its moral authority to govern, both the federal and the state. We have far too much policy and procedure that by its implementation slows down any chance of a recovery. We need to be lean and mean at the moment, we have to be able to adapt and Government does not lend itself to that end. Here in Nevada We have a government that is not helping those of us that still have the ability to grow us out of this funk, by placing added cost to potential projects. I have a neighbor who is a veterinarian, he is building a new clinic, and the permitting fees and regulations that are being placed on him are getting out of hand. How much do these government agents think he is going to pay for all these fees? No one will be able to have their dogs get their annual shots if he has to build these costs into his pricing. What are we doing here, are we working together or are we destroying our ability to grow again. I have another neighbor who owns land up in cold springs and he would like to build a C Store. Well the powers that be want over $150,000.00 for a traffic study, which is ridiculous. We are talking about Cold springs here, not the spagetti bowl. Now not only is he not going to build a C store he is really thinking about selling the land.

We seem to have a state government that still believes that we need to have this level of oversight, and that this oversight is justifiable. Well it is not. The times have changed, whether we wanted this or not. The reality is that we have to downsize if we are again going to be able to grow again. I believe this justifies my stance to revisit all levels of fees, regulations and taxes of 2000, and don’t tell me that we will not have the teachers, police or fire protection that we need. I believe that we had all those people employed at that time; I am going after all the middle management and new policies that have been put in during that bubble. We have more people in the state and if the rates remain the same we should have ample monies for teachers, police and fire.