March of the minoritarians

AS ATTENTIVE SOUTHERN NEVADANS may have noticed, the community's most well-known shadow financier of unhinged global militarist propaganda, Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson, really, really wants the United States to escalate its jihad on "terror" by launching yet another optional war, this time on Iran.

Well, everybody needs goals.

But Adelson has other interests, too. For instance, in his spare time he also enjoys running Nevada straight into the ground.

In the latest example of Adelson dabbling with the future of his very own personal state, the mercurial billionaire is bankrolling a ballot initiative about, well, ballot initiatives. It would require any initiative to raise taxes in Nevada to pass by a two-thirds supermajority of voters.

The meta-initiative to effectively let a minority of Nevadans rule over the majority is aimed at a couple other initiatives to raise the gaming tax rate on large casinos like Adelson's.

Last week, Forbes released its 2008 list of richest humans, and it turns out Adelson is not isolated from the economic uncertainty and hardships being felt by so many Americans who are struggling to get by and make ends meet. After ranking No. 6 in the 2007 list, Adelson has tumbled badly, and is now merely the 12 richest person in the whole wide world.

Little surprise, then, that from the point of view of Adelson and the Nevada politicians who do whatever he says whenever he says -- or Republicans, as they're more commonly known -- now, clearly, is no time to raise the gaming tax.

Polls consistently indicate that a majority, even occasionally a supermajority, of Nevada voters disagree. Noting the state's dubious tradition of failing to spend enough money on public education, and upon hearing of the Nevada State Education Association's initiative to raise the gaming tax rate on the state's large casino properties from 6.75 percent to 9.75 percent, voters have overwhelmingly told pollsters that now, actually and in point of fact, is truly an excellent time to raise the gaming tax.

So if Adelson and his fellow downtrodden oppressed peoples slaving away in the gambling industry -- normal, workaday Americans like Kirk Kerkorian and Steve Wynn -- are going to stop the electorate from scoring a higher gaming tax rate, their only hope is to change the rules and move the goal posts.

As it happens, Nevada voters already passed a minoritarian initiative more than a decade ago that says it only takes one-third of the state's lawmakers to kill any tax increase proposal in the Legislature.

So, the argument goes, why not let the minority run roughshod over public policy at the initiative level, too?

Why not, indeed?

In fact, if Nevada is going to abandon the concept of majority rule and embrace the tyranny of the minority, why limit the minoritarian impulse to mere tax policy?

In the interest of fairness and consistency, shouldn't other public policy also be forced to win bipartisan supermajority support? For instance ...

Remember state Sen. Bob Beers and his "Tax and Spending Control" wet dream to limit the growth of state government? In the event it raises its ugly noggin again, Nevadans, by initiative, should stipulate that TASC can't pass unless approved by two-thirds of the voters.

Adelson is bankrolling more than one initiative this year -- he's also backing one that would divert room taxes to pay for education. That may be a fine idea, but it's only fair that there should be another initiative demanding that any such diversion could only occur if approved by two-thirds of the voters.

Gov. Jim Gibbons, a Las Vegas Sands Corp. property, is keen to cut Nevada's state budget for various reasons but mostly because he's an extremist wingnut. To defend itself against Adelson/Gibbons, Nevada should pass a ballot initiative that says the budgets for education or any other state program, department or activity can't be reduced unless the budget cuts are first approved by a two-thirds supermajority of Nevada lawmakers.

It seems odd, really, that Nevada's supermajority requirement for raising taxes doesn't extend to higher fees charged by state agencies and such. An oversight, no doubt. But one that could be fixed lickety-split with an initiative requiring that all manner of state fees, from hunting licenses to tuitions charged by the state's colleges and universities, could not be increased without first being approved by two-thirds of Nevada legislators.

If all tax hikes require a supermajority, the same should apply to all tax breaks. And just as Adelson and his ilk are keen to enlist the citizenry's help to thwart tax increases, the citizenry should also have the upper hand before awarding any tax giveaways. So there should be an initiative requiring that no tax credit, exemption, "incentive" or any other form of tax relief can be bestowed upon any Nevada business without first being approved by two-thirds of Nevada's voters.

From the items listed above to water pipelines that cross county lines, new coal-fired power plants, corporate health insurance mergers, the criteria for licensing and penalizing medical facilities ... there are a host of policies, projects, proposals and developments that have at least as much impact on Nevada and Nevadans as taxes. And yet under current laws, those matters are routinely approved with only a simple majority of legislators -- or without any approval from elected officials at all, but just an acquiescent nod from a politically appointed commission or bureaucrat.

If a supermajority requirement is going to apply to tax increases, then requiring a supermajority for other policies is simply "fair and balanced." And not only is that a motto that Adelson can get behind. It's also a slogan that can be counted on to rally all the Nevada Republicans who have made themselves small enough to fit in Adelson's pocket.

Hugh Jackson is a longtime local journalist, former senior editor of CityLife and the proprietor of the Las Vegas Gleaner (www.lasvegasgleaner.com), where he blogs.