Education, Government Spending, Regulation/Economic Development

In case you missed it…

John Tsarpalas

Education

Bloated staff levels, out-of-date business practices and poor (or even non-existent) internal communications… That pretty much sums up the Clark County School District, according to a new report from the Council of the Great City Schools. “There appears to be a culture in the district of relying on out-of-date practices with no apparent sense of urgency to bring it into the 21st century,” the report explained. Compounding the problem is an absence of serious business planning, resulting in grossly inefficient use of staff by the largest employer in the state of Nevada. In some cases, multiple CCSD supervisors oversaw just one employee, according to the report. Of course, the district claims the problems are a result of being underfunded, but maybe CCSD should try cleaning up its internal troubles before clamoring for even more taxpayer dollars. (Read more)

 

Free markets

When California legalized recreational marijuana, it expected a windfall of tax revenue from the new emerging market. However, in typical Californian fashion, government was quick to hammer the newly-legal industry with restrictions, regulations, licensing requirements and hefty tax burdens. The result? The black market for marijuana continues to thrive in California and the few legal dispensaries produce far less tax revenue than had originally been projected. (Read more)

 

Job creation

The State of Nevada regularly presents itself to the world as a place where government is less overbearing and regulation-obsessed than most. But how true is that? As it turns out, when lower-income Nevadans seek to work or start a business in several Silver State industries, they actually face some of the highest regulatory obstacles in the country. An “occupational license,” simply stated, is government permission to work in a particular field — and Nevada ranks among the most burdensome states in the nation when it comes to requiring workers to obtain these permission slips. (Read more)

 

Socialized medicine

New York City wants to socialize medicine for city residents. What could possibly go wrong? Well, to start with, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposed $100 million budget for the effort works out to be enough to cover a mere $167 of health care costs for uninsured individuals per year. Beyond that, however, New York has already demonstrated it is wholly incapable of running welfare programs with any effectiveness. The city’s public housing authority, for example, has proven itself to be completely unequipped to fulfill its mission of providing affordable housing to disadvantaged residents. In fact, things have gotten so bad with the public housing authority that the feds are gearing up to come in and take over, to prevent the continued serious health and safety violations. So, yeah… the city’s government-run healthcare scheme is sure to be a similar rousing “success.” (Read more)

 

Regulations

Remember when President Trump’s FCC Chairman announced that the Obama-era “net neutrality” rule was going to be repealed? Advocates for the heavy-handed approach of Obama’s FCC claimed that such a move would fundamentally destroy the “open and free” internet as we know it. Well, it’s been more than a year now since FCC Chairman Ajit Pai successfully repealed the cumbersome rule — and if you’re reading this email it should be self-evident that the Internet is still humming along just fine. In fact, it’s actually getting better. (Read more)

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.