Happy Nevada Day!
Happy Nevada Day! Today, we celebrate the state’s 154th birthday with a parade in Carson City, an extra day off work for thousands of Nevadans and — as usual this time of year — beautiful weather. Arriving on the last Friday in October, Nevada Day officially commemorates Nevada’s admission as a state into the union on October 31st, 1864. So, enjoy the celebration this weekend, but be sure to take a moment to reflect on the values and the freedoms that made the Silver Sate such a remarkable place to live. Happy Nevada Day!
Healthcare
An increasing number of Democrats are getting behind the idea of “Medicare for All.” The concept, simply put, would extend Medicare coverage to virtually any American, regardless of age, income or employment status. Ostensibly, the plan would be funded by… Well, that’s the problem: No one has explained how the program will be funded. Expanding the program to “all” Americans would require a massive amount of new tax revenue, but it would also jeopardize any such program’s ability to effectively serve the very Americans it was originally designed to help. (Read more)
Minimum wage
Some media organizations have been working overtime to boost the results of a new study about Seattle’s minimum-wage increase, claiming that the wage hike has had “little negative effect” on employment. However, contrary to the headlines being promoted on Twitter and Facebook, the study actually reveals a different picture. Despite a massive hike to the minimum wage, most workers have not seen a proportional increase in income. In fact, many workers have seen their hours cut so dramatically, they have been forced to find second or even third jobs to keep from struggling financially. Even more worrisome, workers with little or no experience — the kind of workers most in need of entry-level positions offering minimum wage — are finding it increasingly difficult to get hired in the first place. (Read more)
Fiscal and tax
As Nevada Policy pointed out shortly after the state implemented its gross-receipts tax (known as the “Commerce Tax”), bad ideas tend to resurface over and over again. (You can read that piece here.) Well, it’s back again: Despite the devastating history of gross-receipts taxes across the nation, San Francisco is the latest taxing jurisdiction to toy with the idea of implementing a variation of a gross receipts tax. (Read more)
Income inequality
“Progressive” politicians are constantly telling us that the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. This talking point has emerged from a set of statistics that show an increasing gap between America’s wealthiest and poorest earners. But that’s not the whole story. As it turns out, the so called “rich” don’t always stay rich, and the poor don’t always stay poor. In fact, Americans who begin in low-income families are likely to improve their economic circumstances more than those who started in wealthy families. To put it another way: Economic growth doesn’t just help the richest Americans — it actually helps the lowest-income families more than anyone. (Read more)
