In case you missed it…
Media Bias
The tax reform bill recently passed by Congress is expected to boost middle-income Nevadans’ wages by an average $610 next year. And yet, many people seem to think this major tax cut is actually a tax increase. A big reason for this fundamental misunderstanding comes from the dishonest rhetoric being used by the reform’s opponents. Equally to blame, however, is the misleading and biased reporting that has accompanied the debate. The Nevada Independent, for example, recently rated Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen’s claims that Nevadans will be “slammed” with tax increases as entirely truthful. NPRI fact-checked the fact check, and — spoiler alert — the Independent got a few things wrong. (Read more)
Criminal Justice Reform
Randy Petersen, a senior researcher for Right on Crime, wrote in a recent op-ed that “Conflating civil asset forfeiture with criminal asset forfeiture is a common parlor trick used to confuse the general public.” He’s right — but it is hardly the only trick employed by opponents of reform. Often, concern over police “safety” is politically exploited to stall transparency and accountability-related reforms. However, as Peterson observes, “our police officers deserve more than having the public’s concern for their safety manipulated to perpetuate bad policy.” (Read more)
Climate Change
Judith A. Curry is an American climatologist and former chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her resume is impressive: She’s a member of the National Research Council’s Climate Research Committee, the co-author of Thermodynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans, and has over 100 published works to her name. Until recently, she would have been considered part of the “97 percent of scientists” who believe in man-caused global warming. But when she began to question the “consensus” of climate change, and started to point out flaws in the models, the scientific community turned on her. According to Curry, the “science” of climate change has been taken over by politics — and it’s doing a disservice to the actual climate science. (Watch the video)
Public Sector
Nevada has the most “unproductive” public sector workers, according to a recently released study. Nevada’s state and local governments employed 11.7 public sector workers for per every 100 workers in the taxpaying private sector, the lowest ratio in the nation. But the state also paid those “public servants” 54 percent more than their private sector counterparts — the highest in the nation. The reason for this gross example of income inequality? According to NPRI’s Michael Schaus, the leading factor is the power that local public sector unions have over the political process. (Read more)
Education Reform
The public school establishment is hostile to any and all forms of potential competition, whether it be charter schools, education savings accounts, tax scholarships or even online educational options. One family trapped in CCSD recently tried to transfer to an online school, only to have CCSD reject the transfer. “It doesn’t make sense,” Sumer Henning said. “I almost feel like they’ve lost track of what’s important in our children and their education, and what is in the better interest of the child has been thrown out the window.” (Read more)
Government abuse
The Reno Gazette Journal recently reported on the sale of three lots within the Incline Village General Improvement District. (You can read the RGJ article here.) The story gained quite a bit of traction in the media. In response, IVGID has released a statement explaining its actions. (Read the response here.)