I mean that, I really do, from the bottom of my war-weary heart. The reasons are plentiful, but the ones tugging at me so vociferously in recent hours come from a florid counterpoint of dirtiness interweaving into black texture of demise.
It all surrounds growth. Some months past I gave a brief tutorial regarding the activities which have provided revenue for the State of Nevada. Ever since the Great Depression, gaming has been Nevada's crutch. However, the amount of monies the industry is capable of pumping into the coffers is not congruent to the rate of growth; the fact is, it hasn't been for a long time now. Unrestricted or, rather, uncontrolled growth (along with the social programs what generally follow) is a major concern for a fiscally sound Nevada.
Growth also provides great difficulties in a state devoid of a number of vital resources. Chief among them: water. Southern Nevada has an advantage in the form of access to the Colorado River and Lake Mead. They have a disadvantage in having to share that water with another desert state with a rapidly growing population. As it stands the Southern end of the state (along with Arizona) is bleeding Lake Mead faster than river flow is able to replenish the reservoir, which is leaving them to grab what water they can where they can find it. They began courting the town of Ely, offering them a pittance in exchange for significant quantities of White Pine County water; when the courtship failed they responded with coercion. Current populations are unable to suffice with their own resources, leaving them to pillage other locales within the state; growth fuels these atrocities.
Taxation vs. budget reallocation: each of the past two governors have had to deal with budget crises, and each have handled these crises in different fashions. Kenny Guinn decided that a massive tax levy was necessary, aimed high, and still managed to get a portion more than was necessary after three special sessions by the state legislature. Jim Gibbons has vowed to balance the budget without taxation. While I cannot envy either, nor will I condemn either in this post, the fact remains that the deficit this time 'round leads to significant budgetary constraints and some remarkable spending cuts.
What is congruent here: along with such strains upon the State of Nevada relating to rampant growth is the planning of a new community, some 60 miles north of the North B.M.I. Townsite, which is planned to comprise up to 150,000 homes (leading to anywhere between 350,000 to 450,000 residents). It's not what he's not doing, it's that Sen. Reid is an active player in the development, under the guise of job growth. Creating jobs is great...at what cost? We, as a state, can't afford this growth. We must ask ourselves, for a left-of-moderate Democrat such as Reid, what could possibly provide his motives? He is an active participant in a major engagement which will do little but to exacerbate our state's woes, and will not himself so much as provide a believable spin for the situation.
Reid is a cancer. There, I've said it.
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Unfortunately, we're in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. On the one hand, our tax revenues are nowhere near keeping up with growth, in no small part because what tax revenues we have are almost entirely dependent on real estate prices (ouch!) or tourism (gas prices - ouch again!). That said, there's no way we're going to be able to diversify enough to stop relying so much on casinos and mining unless we bring some new jobs in, which means bringing in more people, which means... yeah.
Of all the places to put more development, though... eek.
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