COMMON SENSE PAYS
Consider candidates with fresh ideas, as most officials still think more money fixes problems
BY HEIDI HARRIS

Heidi Harris is co-host of KXNT 840 AM's morning show with Alan Stock. Listen to her Monday through Friday from 5 to 9 a.m. Other stories by Heidi Harris

This campaign season, the rhetoric is as terrible as ever, with both sides hurling accusations. Democrats criticize the Republicans' lack of success in various areas, and Republicans point out the Democrats' lack of ideas. I would agree that the Republicans have not shown the leadership one would expect, but I would argue about the Democrats' lack of ideas, at least in one area. They continue to believe more money equals more success. 

Even Gov. Kenny Guinn's son Jeff is getting into the act, stating that Nevada's taxes need to be raised to meet the state's needs. As if his daddy's $800-million budget increase wasn't enough! Currently, our state is experiencing a surplus, validating yet again the arguments made in 2003 by those opposed to the increases. 

Even the most hard-boiled conservatives (like me) agree some services and infrastructure are necessary in order for society to function. Liberals never give us credit for it though, accusing us of lacking compassion, not caring about children, not wanting to live in a "world-class city," etc.

On the other hand, liberals seem to believe every societal ill can be solved through revenue. During her UNR debate with Jim Gibbons last month, Dina Titus claimed we need to "invest in Nevada." For a liberal, "investing" simply means taking more money out of your pocket, whether the investment is sound or not. 

So many of our societal problems can be solved, or at least minimized, with little taxpayer money, through creative ideas or just plain common sense. Private industry has to function effectively, but government agencies' only creativity is demonstrated when they ask for more money while simultaneously avoiding accountability. 

Recent examples: The Clark County School District wants more school police officers at a cost of $1 million. If you ask any police officer, he or she will tell you they spend 90 percent of their time chasing 10 percent of the people. If you're a campus criminal, you should be evicted, period. Government has us convinced we're entitled to a free education, but not at the expense of other students. Evict the miscreants and let their parents educate them, either at home or privately. If you can't behave in public, you shouldn't be out in public. Why should a school be exempt? 

And the cost to taxpayers? I promise it's less than $1 million.

The new Clark County Department of Family Services Director, Tom Morton, wants to spend $25 to $30 million to revamp child welfare services. We're all in favor of doing whatever we can for innocent children, but once again, a very obvious solution is overlooked. 

As I mentioned in my last column, many of the problems in the child welfare system are exacerbated by a judicial system that does not put children first. It's not a particular judge's fault if two inept losers create a child, but if bad judges return children to abusive homes or delay adoption proceedings, we're going to have overcrowding, which no amount of tax dollars can alleviate. 

Yes, it costs money to run a government. I'm happy to pay for a state-of-the-art military, police force and fire department. I wouldn't even mind paying for public education, if I felt I was getting a return on my tax dollars. Heck, I'll even shell out for roads and people to maintain them. But why not at least try to apply some common sense to some of society's issues? Remember, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting a different result. We've tried the same more-money approach over and over, yet the problems remain. 

This election season, let's look for candidates who have some new ideas. If our elected officials begin to look for common-sense solutions, our non-elected government administrators will have no choice but to follow. LW