How does this promote fiscal responsibility?

“A liberal is a person whose interests aren’t at stake, at the moment.” —Willis Player, American author

Some days I just love this gig—even more so when the profundities of liberalism help me prove the assertions I routinely make here.

Witness the attempted shenanigan the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (www.planevada.org), the Culinary Workers Union (www.culinaryunion226.org), and a group calling itself the Reno Taxpayers Revolt (www.RenoTaxpayersRevolt.org). Admittedly, it’s an odd assortment of “progressive activists.” Or perhaps not.

It seems they are pushing a petition (filed by five Culinary Union members) to block Las Vegas-based Station Casinos from building a resort at the Redfield Center south of town. The petition needs the signatures of 11,661 Reno-registered voters by June 30 to make it on the Nov. 7 ballot.

The petition is apparently designed to place a special tax on any casinos built outside downtown—ostensibly to help pay off the train trench. They claim the casino would lure business from the downtown resorts and so deserves to be taxed up the proverbial ying-yang, because it is, after all, only fair. (OK, I made that last part up, but you get the point.)

This is from the Taxpayers Revolt Web site: “We are Reno taxpayers who want to protect our taxpayer interests in Downtown. We are a nonpartisan coalition made up of taxpayers from all over the city, including members of the Culinary Workers Union that work Downtown and pay taxes, the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, and other interested groups.”

Except that it seems most of the culinary union members are actually in Las Vegas, not Reno. Plus, I’m not aware of many “nonpartisan” people who either belong or subscribe to the viewpoints of unions generally or PLAN specifically.

Here was what Progressive Leadership Alliance director Bob Fulkerson in a Reno Gazette-Journal report: “This [petition] is for fiscally responsible growth. If downtown declines, taxpayers are going to be on the hook for the debt.”

OK, are we clear here? “Fiscal responsibility” in terms of Fulkerson and his ilk means hosing suburban development and hitting the Station Casino with a “special tax” to help support downtown casinos that apparently can’t compete. You see, here’s where liberals don’t get it. Higher taxes are never an incentive to attract new business anywhere. Ever.

Oh yes, and Station Casinos estimates some 2,000 jobs would be brought in by their three proposed projects for Northern Nevada. So the potential loss of these jobs is an example of “fiscal responsibility?” Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Or perhaps it doesn’t.

But the stupefaction continues. Here is D. Taylor, Secretary-Treasurer of the Las Vegas-based Culinary Union Local 226 in an MSNBC report: “It [the petition] protects the downtown redevelopment. Now they have a debt over $200 million. If that goes south, the taxpayers get stuck. Second, Stations has a site next to the Convention Center. We think that’s great, and we want them to build there. Three, we represent people who are homeowners, etcetera. We don’t want taxpayers to get stuck with the bill.”

Isn’t that special, he cares for Northern Nevada taxpayers? Or perhaps not.

Consider this: Station Casinos is a non-union shop. Apparently, the union has not been entirely successful in convincing Station Casinos’ 14,000 employees that it would be in their best interests to join. (And if this is what passes for intelligence among union leadership, I can see why.)

Busy-body “progressive” activists should stick to what they know best.

Oh, that’s right—they do. Perhaps that’s what’s so frightening.