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On Mon, May 17, 2010 at 2:44 PM, slwahl <##########> wrote:
The economic distress that has encompassed this nation has hurt the State of Nevada especially harshly. The State of Nevada and its political sub-groups are making difficult budgetary decisions and trying to stay solvent.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is a premier department in the western region of the United States; however, their manpower levels reveal that Clark County has fewer officers per capita then the national average. LVMPD has determined that they will not be hiring any new officers for at least two years, and will trim the department through attrition.
While this is taking place with LVMPD, Clark County, and the City of Las Vegas have been negotiating with public employees in an attempt to keep communities whole and safe. However, now those entities are considering dissolving entire public safety departments in an effort to achieve those goals: (https://webmail.co.clark.nv.us/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.8newsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=12486639)
My question, in these trying times, do you favor the dissolution of public safety departments, or severe personnel cuts of public safety employees such as police officers or fireman to achieve budgetary goals?
You have brought up an important and relevant subject that needs to be addressed. So, forgive me for elucidating beyond a simple yes or no. And I will post this conversation on my website, NevadaCan.com.
Politicians rule local jurisdictions much as did the medieval kings.
They terrorized their own populace, withholding support and protection
unless their subjects toed the line and supported the kings’ favorite
projects. The king made it abundantly clear that the only way to
survive was to be a strong and active supporter of his reign. Modern
populations fear criminals, fires and natural disasters, so threatening
to remove protection from these events is a good way to terrorize the
citizens into supporting the politicians with higher taxes, more
control, and greater meekness while increasing people's dependence on
the state or local governments.
Don't hate the players. Rather, hate the game. I haven't the arrogance
to believe that I can eliminate the game of playing politics with
public safety. But, I am just confident enough to believe that I can do
what is right. So, let me address your query in this manner. I believe
the best answer for our budgetary woes lies in reducing the major
non-productive expenses of government. This does not include reducing
protection to unsafe levels.
As to how to prevent our politicians from playing the 'threaten public
safety to support raising taxes to provide funding for vote-producing
projects,' I can't really say. Politicians are a wily crowd and you
just have to keep changing them for new, uncorrupted ones when they go
bad. With vigilance, you can find and support candidates who understand
and support your legitimate needs.
Alex Miller
Alex Miller for U.S. Senate, Nevada
Alex Miller for U.S. Senate