Constitutional litigation:
The Nevada Policy Research Institute’s Center for Justice and Constitutional Litigation has filed suit against Republican State Senator Heidi Gansert, for violation of Nevada’s constitutional Separation of Powers clause. “As a senator, she can simply not continue her employment in the executive branch — as Executive Director of External Relations for the University of Nevada, Reno — without violating this clearly worded constitutional provision,” said CJCL Director Joseph Becker. (Read more)
Cronyism:
The decision about whether Clark County should offer the Las Vegas Monorail a $4.5 million line of credit is any easy one, according to Steve Sebelius. In the Review Journal this week he wrote that “the answer is not only no, but hell no.” As he points out, taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to bail out a problematic project that has been plagued by missteps since day one. “Taxpayers didn’t create the problems that bedevil the monorail,” and they shouldn’t be asked to bail it out, according to Sebelius. (Read more)
Nevada legislature:
As Chief Clerk of the Nevada Assembly, Susan Furlong earned more than $65,000 in overtime alone, in 2015. In addition to her base salary of $99,000, as well as $3,000 in “other pay,” Furlong’s 2015 total compensation of $167,000 has raised some eyebrows. Despite this massive payout in overtime, however, lawmakers have been extremely reluctant to look at reforms that would cut back on excessive overtime for legislative support staff. “Those are the types of discussions lawmakers should be welcoming,” said NPRI’s Transparency Director Robert Fellner. “That's kind of a bigger issue than just the dollar amount.” (Read more)
Fiscal and taxes:
Congressional Republicans are currently debating the possibility of a “border adjustment tax” to encourage domestic manufacturing. In short, the result of the policy would be a tax exemption for exports, and a tax penalty for imported goods. Many small businesses owners are already worried they will be caught in the crosshairs, but consumers should be worried as well. About 97 percent of apparel sold in the U.S., for example, is imported — and even domestically manufactured apparel relies heavily on imports. The end result will inevitably mean higher prices for American consumers, and higher costs for industries that depend on international trade. (Read more)
Political correctness:
The writing center at the University of Washington, Tacoma, issued a lengthy promise to eradicate the “structural” racism and bigotry inherent in the English language. Lamenting the traditional focus on grammatical “correctness,” and describing grammar as “a rhetorical set of choices with various consequences,” the memo made national news. And while the school insists its efforts to erase “micro-aggressions” in writing has been taken out of context, it seems to stand by the argument that teaching proper English in a traditional manner somehow encourages racism and bigotry. (Read more)
