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December 1, 2004
The government's holiday wish list
People scurried everywhere to find the best bargains, many without an idea of what to buy. The pros were armed with wish lists, coupons, rebate forms and store ads. Andrea, my wife, sounded almost envious when she spoke of people already leaving the store at the crack of dawn with their shopping carts full and moving on to the next store. No matter where she went that day, and she was gone for most of it, she saw people looking at items and comparing the prices in one store with the ad from another. They all seemed to be looking for the best deal for the best price and were keenly aware of where the values were. To a non-shopper such as myself it would have appeared to be chaos incarnate. But Andrea saw and heard people discussing their holiday budgets and making on-the-spot decisions as to whether or not this item or that would best fit within that budget. This display was a testament to the frugality of the American people and their desire to get the best value for every dollar spent. This same scenario was played out around the country in cities and towns large and small. People looking to get the best value for their hard-earned dollars, not to further enrich themselves, but to give to others the benefits of their labors. Americans are second to none in the world when it comes to giving. This is also the time of year when our many levels of government are also developing their wish list of goodies for the coming year. And there resides the greatest irony of the holiday season. Large and small, committees, agencies and departments are busily going over all the programs and procedures they desire to fund - and are actively developing new and better ways for the people to pay for them. These policymakers rarely look to remain within current budget or guideline figures. Now is the time for every bureaucrat, elected or not, to develop his or her wish list for spending programs for the upcoming year. Some of the old programs must be continued simply because those charged with completing them have not been able to do so. The upgrading and renovation of I-80 and many of the off-ramps and side streets in Reno will again require millions of dollars to continue. The I-15 corridor from Blue Diamond Road to Anns Road in the north, and most of the Highway 95 corridor must also continue. This project has been going on for so long it appears to be the first cradle-to-grave employment opportunity in road construction. Just a couple of years ago the voters of Clark County approved a .25 per cent increase in the sales tax to provide funds to improve traffic flow by fixing the timing pattern of streetlights. This was one of several year-end wish list items to eventually become law as a means of improving the quality of life in the area. Anyone who has driven the streets of Las Vegas recently can decide for themselves the result. On the Las Vegas Valley Water District's holiday wish, about 14 years ago, was the taking of water from rural areas of Nevada in White Pine and Lincoln counties. Nye County has fought the application ever since because our leaders believe it would impact the flow of the underground river through our borders. True to the law of the government jungle, Congress passed a bill to allow for a speedy review of the application of the rights and construction of the pipeline to send the water to Clark County. Since it was Sen. Harry Reid who sponsored the bill, I guess some one should have told the Nye County Commissioners there might be more than one price to pay for their support of Yucca Mountain. Regardless, if the state approves the application we may as well rejoin Clark and Lincoln counties into a single county and be done with it. The biggest item on our local officials' wish list is the proposed new public utility enterprise to ensure the installation of water and sewer lines throughout our valley. As demonstrated above, expense and good sense are of no consequence in this desire, just the growth in strength of the government and its impact on our lives. Isn't it a shame our elected officials can't pick up any clues from the shoppers and people of this holiday season? Perhaps if they were constrained by the same rules the rest of us live by we would all have a more joyous season, now and for the balance of the year. We could look forward to having fewer problems to solve and less need for an uproar each legislative cycle on how to separate the people from the fruits of their labors. This will be my holiday wish for as long as it takes. Little writes from Pahrump. His column, "The Other Side," appears here on Wednesdays. |
