Policy

I support school choice and radical decentralization. Ideally, we should abolish government schools. They are funded with tax money, they violate the wishes of many parents, and they aren't focusing on the principles of school; math, english, philosophy and the history our kids need. Until a complete separation of school and state is politically feasible, we should expand the range of choices our parents have to get their kids away from this monopolistic monstrosity.

Econ 101 teaches us that monopolists, by their nature, provide goods and services of too low quantity and quality and at too high a price, compared to free market producers. This universal economic truth applies to education too. We must free our parents and children from the negative impact of monopolist government schools.

We should expand school choice with vouchers that follow the children. In Nevada, these are called ESAs (Education Savings Accounts) As government schools are wildly inefficient, these vouchers can be for less money than the school district spends per pupil in state schools - on a par with the funding for a charter school. Not to mention the high cost of superintendents and the politics it creates.

The vouchers must not carry “strings” attached that turn whatever school option chosen by parents into the same school they are looking for an alternative for. The vouchers can be used for homeschooling, private tutoring, micro-schools, textbooks, online education, or any other educational expense chosen by the parents. In this context, “education” must be interpreted broadly. It is up to parents to decide what manner of education they wish for their children, not the state.

It is a historical truth that small political institutions are more easily influenced by the citizenry than large ones. The parents have very little say in what happens in their schools. Instead, teachers unions and other unelected bureaucrats get their way. It’s the nature of the system.

Small is beautiful, especially regarding political power structures. Smaller school districts are inherently more responsive to the parents and children they cater to. It’s harder for unions and other special interests or ideologues to push their agendas if they have to petition many small districts rather than bribe and bully a single political nexus.

For the sake of our children and our society, we should ween ourselves off of federally influenced education. Standardized testing mandates from the federal government are an infringement on the citizens of Nevada. We must at the very least expand school choice, so that the free market can provide the best education available.

In 2015, the NV State Legislature passed an Educational Savings Account bill - effectively giving parents school choice. It eventually was struck down at the request of teachers unions and other special interest groups. A 2019 poll showed that 73% of Nevadans and 82% of Nevadan parents supported ESAs. We should immediately resurrect Nevada's ESA program.

Opportunity Scholarships, a program in which businesses can receive tax credits for awarding scholarships to children, are a small step in a good direction, but ESAs are a much bigger step in a better direction.

Arizona just passed legislation to expand their ESA program to all K-12 students. Nevada should do likewise.

Education Reform - Nevada Policy Research Institute (npri.org)

Education Savings Accounts - Nevada Policy Research Institute (npri.org)

Nevada's Opportunity Scholarships: A win for students and taxpayers alike (npri.org)

Arizona’s New School Choice Bill Moves Us Closer to Milton Friedman’s Vision - Foundation for Economic Education (fee.org)

Arizona Extends School Choice to All K-12 Students (dailysignal.com)

General price inflation is a monetary phenomenon and we won’t be rid of it until we reign in (or abolish) the Federal Reserve. A free society has no place for a command and control monetary system.

Until we abolish the Fed, Nevada’s State Legislature could do a few things to help Nevadans in this area. First, quit making things worse. We need to cut out the waste and corruption here in NV that wastes our tax dollars and increases the cost of living of our citizens.

Several states have enacted laws that make gold and silver legal tender in their states. In their best forms, these laws eliminate state income taxes and sales taxes from the purchase and sale of gold and silver, thus eliminating the artificial disadvantage these ancient and sound monies have against the inflationary upstart that is the fiat dollar. Ideal sound money legislation would also exempt Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies from this taxation.

Further, Nevada could establish a state gold depository, protecting our taxpayer reserve funds from fiat inflation by holding them in gold and silver. And finally, Nevada could accept gold and silver and crypto as payment for services. In time, hopefully private businesses would see the anti-inflationary advantages of switching to sound money and follow suit.

Nevada is named the Silver State for a reason. Our state has great mining prospects and is an abundant source of future energy in the form of lithium. This creates good paying jobs for many Nevadans. All these measures would help Nevadans “opt-out” of having their purchasing power destroyed by the wildly corrupt and inflationary counterfeiting operations of the Federal Reserve.

Red Flag Laws -

Red flag laws are akin to pre-crime laws and they are incompatible with a free society. Red flag laws incentivize people to make up stories about others they dislike so that the government will disarm them. Red flag laws violate the 2nd Amendment. They are wildly susceptible to abuse from bad actors, and they are an embarrassment to a supposedly free people. In a free society, the government doesn't have the right to disarm you without having actually proven you to be a credible threat.

If it were actually proven that an individual was an imminent threat, we should be doing more than taking away their guns, they should be prosecuted. An actual imminent threat can use 1,000 tools besides a gun to harm others. No need to violate due process with red flag laws, prosecute the malefactor for committing the assault (the threat).

Nevada’s red flag gun law is AB291, signed into law by Governor Sisolak in 2019. It gives the police the power to take away your guns without so much as a hearing on the matter. All that is required is for someone to make a complaint. No hearing, No testimony from any medical professional, no due process. Even hearsay “evidence” can suffice to disarm you.

Constitutional Carry -

Opponents of concealed-carry are quick to point out that the State of Nevada allows for open-carry, and that such “allowance” is sufficient to fulfilling the clause in the 2nd amendment that explicitly enumerates the right to bear (carry) arms. Unfortunately, the reality of open-carry law does not pass the litmus test of legality in regard to other amendments in the Bill of Rights, specifically, the 4th amendment, which provides that a person can be secure in their person and effects without reasonable suspicion (that a crime has been committed) and until such time that a warrant is served.

Private Manufacturing -

The 2nd amendment right of private individuals includes the right to manufacture their own weapons for personal use. Any "ghost gun" legislation only limits the ability of a free people to defend themselves and their sovereignty. The number of crimes committed with "ghost guns" is minuscule compared to the amount of violent crimes committed from other means.