that didn’t need them at all, places where $9.5 million from Washoe County School prosperity already was. Bezos, you’re worth District revenues. 130 billion. Take one for the team. Stop playIn addition, the failure of the benefiting ing cities off against one another and help a corporations to pay their taxes—while donating dying one come back to life.” occasional grants—has forced local governDuring the Sandoval administration, ments to seek replacement income for basic Nevada gained a worldwide reputation as a services like roads and schools. The Washoe soft touch for mammoth corporations—and County School District turned to voters for also for corporate welfare that does not a $781 million sales tax hike in 2016—not come through. exactly the “without sacrificing education” The London Guardian has reported, Sisolak spoke of. “Cities around the so-called Gigafactory in Everyday citizens get angry over tax hikes, northern Nevada lined up to reap the but the giveaways that necessitate those [Tesla] bonanza. No longer dusty, increases don’t seem to bother them, provincial versions of Las Vegas, if they have jobs. these municipalities would The Mackinac Center for become innovative makers Public Policy has reported, “Independent is of lithium-ion batteries for “There is broad consensus the critical word.” electric cars and partners among academic economists in Elon Musk’s vision of a that these programs are Stuart Skalka clean-energy revolution. That wasteful at best and actively Financial analyst was the pitch. These days, damaging to a state’s economy many residents in Sparks—a at worst. In addition, they sunbaked, low-rise city of 100,000 encourage cronyism and corruption people located 20 miles from the by creating high stakes for the winners factory—express humbler dreams: food, and losers of such policies.” The Center is shelter, health care.” promoting an interstate mutual disarmament Sandoval, and now Sisolak, did not have pact with which states would forswear competo deal with the effects of corporate welfare. titions against each other. Ω They lure the corporations. Local governments are then saddled with the costs—housing shortages, drains on school district budgets. According to state figures, in fiscal For more on corporate welfare, see www.goodjobsfirst.org/ year 2017, various tax breaks drained off $4 tags/corporate-subsidies and www.nevadalabor.com/cop/ million from Washoe County revenues and welfare.html
Going up
The first floor of Deco, a 10-floor apartment building being plopped on top of the downtown Sparks municipal parking garage on C Street, is nearly in place. The $40 million project began in May 2018 and is expected to take two years to complete. PHOTO/DENNIS MYERS
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