Andy Matthews
Andy Matthews is the president of NPRI.
Recent Work
Bad government!
Questions surrounding the spate of scandals now enveloping the White House have largely focused on what they tell us about the nature of the Obama administration. That is, is the administration guilty of mere incompetence or out-and-out corruption?
It’s a fine and appropriate question to ask. But to focus on it and it alone runs the risk of missing the most important lesson from these episodes.
A video for you
As I mentioned a few weeks back, I’ve been asked to participate in a new project for Channel 3 in Las Vegas, for which I’ll be providing a weekly commentary during evening newscasts. We’re about three weeks in, and I’ve enjoyed both the opportunity to work with the talented team at Channel 3 as well as the chance to share NPRI’s ideas with a new audience.
This week, I wanted to share with you my latest commentary, which aired on Monday. The topic was taxes, and in my commentary I explain how the current efforts of lawmakers to raise taxes are based on an entirely false premise — that Nevada doesn’t spend enough on its public education system.
It never ends
Have you ever heard — or, worse, had your children sing to you — “The Song that Never Ends”?
For those who aren’t familiar with the lyrics, it goes:
This is the song that never ends.
It just goes on and on my friends.
Some people started singing it not knowing what it was,
And they'll continue singing it forever just because
It is the song that never ends...
And the song continues until you go crazy or bribe your kids to just stop singing it!
I was reminded of that song this week, when I was reading a Las Vegas Sun story about how the ACLU of Nevada is considering suing the state for not spending enough on education.
Wrong way Republicans
Do you remember Jim Marshall?
No, I’m not talking about the former congressman from Georgia. I’m talking about the other Jim Marshall, the former professional football player who was a defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings in the 1960s and ’70s. ...
I thought of Jim Marshall this week while reading the latest big news out of Carson City. A half-dozen Senate Republicans have announced what they’re calling the “Education Priority Initiative,” which would slap the mining industry with a $600 million tax hike over a two-year span and funnel the money into Nevada’s broken education system.
Progress on school choice
If you’ve been keeping up with NPRI’s E-Bulletins, you know that we’ve been very active during the current legislative session. In particular, Geoff Lawrence, the Institute’s deputy policy director, has been in Carson City full-time since February, sharing ideas with lawmakers, testifying on numerous bills and keeping an eye on legislative developments.
Geoff wrote a very informative piece that we published yesterday, titled “The good, the bad and the ugly: Part I.” (I haven’t confirmed this, but I’d like to think the title was inspired by my reference to Clint Eastwood in last Friday’s Week in Review).
In any event, Geoff’s commentary takes a look at some of the bills that failed to survive the deadline for receiving committee approval and have thus been relegated to the ash heap of history, unless resurrected by legislative leadership.