Russell: You're thinking of it incorrectly, this isn't a way to transport Las Vegans to SoCal it is a way to get SoCals to LV. That's the traffic/transportation problem we have.

Mandy: In not the so distant future driving a car any distance or flying in a jet will be so unbearably expensive that rail service will be one of the only long distance mass transit alternatives available to the middle-class. Oil is finite, that means we need alternative transportation services to places like Las Vegas in which their entire economy is based on getting people there cheaply.

RevTomPerl: You make a lot of sense, but we need to think beyond the old model of AmTrak. A wide spread high-speed rail system is one of the few answers to

Patrick, you really want to help bring efficiency to government move to California, New York, Massachussetts, Florida or any number of other states that actually have "big government" problems. Being a libertarian watchdog in a libertarian state is like like a blind man teaching other blind people to read.

You want to learn about Nevada's tax situation go to a non-biased source like the Tax Foundation:

http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/to...

Nevada has ranked in the bottom 3 in tax burden since 1977 and currently rank 49th out of 50 states for tax burden. It is also the lowest it has been since 1977 (6.6% - it was 7.9% in 1977).

http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/sh...

http://www.taxfoundation.org/files/sr163...

So with what you call massive increases, of which you do not account for population growth nor the increased strain on existing services, we actually have seen a dramtic decrease in tax burden? How is that?

Please leave Nevada and go to another state where your perspective might be of use.

What really gets me is that you and your cohorts at NPRI aren't doing it for the greater good of fiscal conservatism; you are doing the bidding of a man that hates Nevada and the people who live here, Sheldon Adelson.

Firefighters . . uhg. They work 3 days a week, play basketball and clean their trucks most of that time and make an average of $85K a year (with a large number making over $100K). All in a town with some of the strictest fire codes in the world. On top of that they all have second jobs (insurance, real estate, etc.) because they have the time to do so. They all drive $65,000 trucks, own $500,000 houses. Are you kidding me? Am I mad become I'm jealous, you bet! I actually had to go to school for a long time, my decisions can sometimes be life and death. Not only that but they can be worth hundreds of millions of dollars for my clients. My hourly rate doesn't come close to what a firetruck jockey gets paid. Rediculous! I appreciate the service but they better get a clue. Just because they walk districts for politicians doesn't mean they aren't hurting their public image and that's all they have. Politicians are affraid of not being endorsed by these guys, if they keep getting paid too much, do too little work and keep whining they will find themselves on the other side of the political coin.

Sebelius is such a cry-baby LOL

Surprised? Are you kidding? The Mendenhall family, and its Mormon public project construction mafia is still alive and kicking. Local politicians know full well, concrete and paving contracts go to the Mendenhall family and no one else. 4Lux, I respect your expertise but I've been here a long time (family also is involved in construction) and I'm sure that Mendenhall is probably the best to do the work but anyone that thinks this was going to be a fair fight to begin with is fooling themselves. "Screw the staff, screw the attorney's opinion the Mendenhall family gave me money (either campaign or under the table) . . . they get my vote!"

The happenings in Carson City are sad. I call a few of the people up there friends but I will actively campaign against them as it is becoming ever apparent they are not equal to their jobs. Public service isn't about watching out for one's back, it is about making tough decision and doing what's best for all. Buckley, Horsford . . . this was your time to shine. You lied, you had had no comprehensive revenue plan. This was your time to show genuine leadership and you all have failed not only your selves but your state. I like each of you personally but it is time to find serious people willing to do something that might not be in their own political best interest. Raggio, you could be the white night. The swan song could be that you helped save the state from itself. I'm sick of it and quite honestly I am planning on leaving Nevada after living here for 23 years. With the state of education and health care (not to mention the deplorable social culture) poised to be gutted even futher I owe it to my children and wife to find a more suitable ans serious place to live.

Rely solely on a revenue source that can be outlawed by the U.S. Congress (not very likely) or rely solely on a revenue source that already accounts for more tax dollars than any other source. WHY CAN'T WE AS CITIZENS OF NEVADA BE RESPONSIBLE? Raise property tax, insitute a corporate profits tax, establish a personal income tax (never gonna' happen). Why does everyone with a solution always find people other than themselves to tax. I live her, tax me.

Jfnance32: Stick to those Gibbons guns - I regret voting for the idiot and admit it. Taxes are rarely good in a bad economy, I give you that, but purely cutting blindly without addressing our terrible tax system and increasing revenue in some way is reckless.

First, Cali is in the mess they are in because they provide too many services to everyone (including illegals) and they allowed thier hands to be tied by Prop 98 and Prop 13. Do you think taxation through initiative is a good idea? We don't have to be like Cali.

I ask. In all your wisdom what government services are worthy of saving in a state with very few government services? Or are you like Bob Beers and the RJ editorial staff which are borderline anarchists which think any government is too much to begin with?

I'm a moderate, not a tax and spend liberal - I HATE TAXES. And the strength of Nevada has always been its low tax environment. But to cut essential services that will cost us 4 times as much to restart when things rebound is even more fiscally irresponsible than modest tax increases on a population that enjoys one of the best tax climates (tell me where you get your numbers for Cali and Nevada - oh wait, Bob Beers) in the country and historically one of the least taxed (Anywhere from 47th to 49th)populations in the country (thanks to gaming) Cali on the other hand always ranks among the top 10 most taxed per capita (usually around 5th most).

Here is where I get my numbers which is pretty much used by everyone. http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/sho...

Boys and girls I don't see any way out of this without both cuts and tax increases. I just hope the folks we have up in Carson (most notably Buckley, Horsford and Raggio) are ready to do their job for once and make tough, unpopular decisions. I'll vote in 2010 and 2012 for those who display leadership rather than political "cover my butt" cowardice even if it does mean, as a Nevada resident, I have to step up and take more financial responsiblity for services Nevadan's need and use like education, transportation, and health. I'd rather have a comprehensive tax/budget plan developed by professional state budget architects than have another round of shootfromthehip populist ballot tax initiatives. Increased taxes won't make us look like California if done correctly, remember Cali did a lot of their tax policy via ballot initiative. And please can we stay away from the gaming, sales and room tax as sole sources of increased income!? We already depend way too much on the resort industry for tax revenue in this state, that's part of the reason why we are in this mess.

I rarely agree with you jfnance32 but I whole heartedly agree with you on this one. In any case NV Energy seems to be doing a lot and plan to do a lot more than most with renewables: solar, wind and geothermal.