DAN SCHINHOFEN: It’s a joke, but it isn’t funny

The Show in Carson City would be laughable if the damage being done to our state was not so serious. The cuts that the Democrat-led Legislature has put forward are also a joke, but not funny. In the midst of a “health crisis,” they are proposing cuts to the Health Department and Education. (You’d think we could use some education during these times.)

Even with these “draconian cuts” by Democratic standards, the budget will still be higher than the last Sandoval budget. While many businesses have cut to the bone and some of those are now bankrupt, the state is asking employees to take 1 day a month in furloughs. Just that will, they say, save $66 million dollars. Let me see, $66 million against a one-billion-dollar deficit. Some of those employees at the state are mad at this even though they were still being paid while many of us were losing our businesses.

The Repository at Yucca Mountain, which should have been up and running by now, would add thousands of jobs during construction and bring in revenue directly from the rate payers that use nuclear power.

Meanwhile, the state, led by Little Cesar Sisolak, continue to fund the Nuclear Projects Board, whose sole purpose is to say no to Yucca Mountain. The state also has budgeted over $5 million a year for an out of state law firm to fight the repository. Oh yeah, they also pay a former employee of the state Attorney General’s office $500K a year to consult on saying no to the national repository. Add those cuts up, and it could justify keeping Little Cesar’s new jet.

For years, the state has told us that the repository at Yucca Mountain is not safe, but they refuse to stop fighting long enough to have their science heard by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) the board that is tasked with all things nuclear in this country. If the state would simply tell the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that they will stop throwing money at out of state lawyers, and will welcome the NRC hearings, money can be had. You may even get the billion you need to continue a bloated budget.

The hearings can be held here in Nevada, and the state will finally have to show us their science instead of useless talking points like, “The Zone of Death.” By just saying no to this multi-billion-dollar, multi-generational project, we have cut our state out of high paying jobs and revenue for storing spent fuel.

Of course, there are those that say we should not store this spent fuel because we do not have nuclear power plants, but about 20% of the state’s power comes from nuclear power plants. Moreover, we store actual nuclear “waste” at the “Test Site” in Area 5 (Located in Nye County) .

That stuff is in storage containers just 40 feet below the ground and the state signed off on that as being safe, and yet they say storing it in canisters, inside a canister 1,000 feet under a mountain is not safe. I have been saying for years, “Prove it!” Stop spending our tax dollars just to slow down a project that is a national security issue.

So, we have a budget short fall of one billion, give our take a few hundred million, and they are still budgeting money to fight the biggest generator of jobs and income for the state. No tax breaks need to be given, and this project could be restarted quickly if the state will just stop obfuscating on this issue. It seems that all of these problems have been self-inflicted and then they want us, the taxpayers, to make up the short fall, while they keep our businesses closed and more jobs are lost (Silly, isn’t it.?).

Ultimately, it seems that our Democrat governor and Legislature are only going through the motions until they get the all clear sign from Nancy Pelosi. Of course, that will likely come just after the elections in November.

Here in our state, the people need to know it is the Democrat majority that has done little to nothing to save our economy. They continue to allow the governor to act like a dictator, but that may be just for cover. If it all goes bad (how could it get worse), they can blame him and if it all turns out well, they can say they had faith in him.

Last thing, I have spoken before about government unions and the threat they pose. We elect our school board to make decisions for us not teacher unions, so imagine my surprise (sic) when the school board in Clark County was told that their plan to reopen was “rejected” by the union. Funny, but we did not elect the union to represent the public, but his shows how powerful government unions are and how they create “Super Citizens.” This nonsense must stop. We pledge allegiance to the flag and to the “Republic” for which it stands, and yet the Union is dictating to our elected representatives.

One way or another, all of this nonsense will stop right after the elections in November. The problem with that is, I do not think we can survive until then. Call the Governor and our elected officials and tell them this dog and pony show just will not fly, and it is past time they listen to the actual taxpayers and business owners that fund this state. You need revenue? We need businesses to open to generate that revenue and asking the Mining companies to pay a year ahead will only make you short next budget cycle. If masks and “social distancing” are keeping us safe, then open up the State already or are all these “safety measures” just another canard.