In case you missed it…

John Tsarpalas

 

 

Groundhog Day

It’s Friday, February 2nd, Groundhog Day. I am always a bit confused by what it means for Punxsutawney Phil to see his shadow and how that can possibly translate to the length of the winter season.

Does it have something to do with Global Warming?

Regardless, on this day I can’t help but think of the film in which Bill Murray is trapped repeating the same miserable day, over and over, until he gets it right.

Well, here in Nevada we have our own version of Groundhog Day when it comes to the performance of our (government run) public school system.

How long must these children have to be stuck in the same terrible schools, receiving an education that leaves them ill-prepared for success? The sad part is, they can’t do anything about it. They are not the ones who can get it right.

We are. The adults. The citizens of Nevada. The voters.

When will the school district administrations, unions and our elected officials make real change? When will the parents rise up and demand better options for their children?

When the voters put enough pressure on the system — that’s when.

NPRI is here to create that pressure. Pressure, discomfort, guilt in the conscience of those who have the ability to implement change. Conscience over the thousands of opportunities for Nevada children lost, followed by real ideas for school reform.

In the movie, Bill Murray grows tired of waking up every morning to the alarm clock playing Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe”. Well, I’m tired of waking up each morning and reading about how the schools in Nevada are terrible.

Let’s not keep repeating the same mistakes. Let’s get it right this time!

 

In case you missed it…

 

Tax reform/ global apocalypse

According to Nancy Pelosi, passage of the GOP tax reform bill “literally” marked “the end of the world.” So, the apocalypse is now upon us. But as NPRI Communications Director Michael Schaus points out: At least the end of the world comes with a bump in pay! Workers and businesses are already seeing the benefits from the reduction in tax rates — and starting this month, workers will see an increase in their take–home pay, thanks to lower withholding. In other words, despite the apocalyptic rhetoric from the reform’s opponents, Americans in every income bracket are about to see their financial situation improve. What a way for the world to end. (Read more)

 

Civil Asset Forfeiture

While many states have implemented new limits on the policing practice known as “Civil Asset Forfeiture,” Nevada has not. In fact, law enforcement agencies in Nevada are exploiting the practice even more than in years prior. This alone should be enough to concern civil libertarians, but it actually gets worse: The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is using a legally

 

dubious argument to keep the public in the dark when it comes to how, exactly, it uses the practice. (Read more)

 

Big Government

One of the policy proposals floated by President Trump in the State of the Union Address this week was the concept of federally-implemented “paid family leave.” Some libertarian and conservative policy wonks have tried to outline ways such a policy could be done without creating a new entitlement program on the federal level. One idea is to allow individuals the ability to receive paid leave through Social Security — but such concepts still have one major flaw: It’s still a new entitlement, being funded by a federal government that already overspends on social welfare programs with little regard for future fiscal restraint. (Read more)

 

Politics

Why is it that progressives constantly complain about the corruption that stems from “money in politics,” but then trust the very politicians who are supposedly corrupted by all that money to fix that problem? Indeed, on many issues, the liberal left is plagued by cognitive dissonance. But they aren’t alone. In fact, conservatives and libertarians suffer from the same phenomenon in many cases. How, exactly, are we supposed to have honest and open debate about policies, if we can’t even be honest and open with ourselves? (Read more)

 

Business

Every time we turn around, it seems as there’s another tax being levied against businesses, another regulation being implemented or more talk about raising the minimum wage. Unfortunately, these anti-business proposals are often supported by large portions of the voting public — and there’s a good reason why that is the case: Most people are under the impression that businesses have far higher profit margins than they actually do. This explains why so many voters are quick to support such policies, and dismissive of warnings that doing so will drive up prices. (Read more)

 

Second Amendment

Very few things about so-called “

John Tsarpalas

John Tsarpalas

President

John Tsarpalas is the President of the Nevada Policy, and is deeply committed to spreading limited government ideas and policy to create a better, more prosperous Nevada for all.

For over three decades, John has educated others in the ideals and benefits of limited government. In the 1980s, John joined the Illinois Libertarian Party and served on its State Central Committee. Later in the 90s, he transitioned to the Republican Party, and became active in the Steve Forbes for President Campaign and flat taxes.

In 2005, he was recruited to become the Executive Director of the Illinois Republican Party where he graduated from the Republican National Committee’s Campaign College, the RNC’s Field Management School, and the Leadership Institute’s activist training.

Additionally, John has served as President of the Sam Adams Alliance and Team Sam where he did issue education and advocacy work in over 10 states, with a focus on the web.

John also founded or helped start the following educational not-for-profits: Think Freely Media, the Haym Salomon Center – where he served as Chairman, the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity and Midwest Speaking Professionals.

A native of Chicago, John now lives in Las Vegas with his wife of more than 40 years.