The real problem for Republicans is that they are the party of NOW, and to hell with the future. It can all be summed by this interesting comment.…forces ... sent Las Vegas into what officials describe as its deepest economic rut since casinos first began rising in the desert here in the 1940s … the collapse of the construction industry, which was the other economic pillar of the city and the state.
Unemployment in Nevada is now 14.4 percent, the highest in the nation and a stark contrast to the 3.8 percent unemployment rate here just 10 years ago; in Las Vegas, it is 14.7 percent. August was the 44th consecutive month in which Nevada led the nation in housing foreclosures.
“Sept. 11 set off a two-year slowdown,” David G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas said. “But nothing of this magnitude.”
What is worrisome now is the nature of this economic downturn, when many people saw the value of their retirement funds or homes collapse. Economists say people are less likely to gamble as freely as they have in the past, particularly baby boomers, who may now be rattled about their retirement years … while there were more people coming to Las Vegas in recent months, gambling receipts have remained stagnant … standing as a prime symbol of Las Vegas’s taste for extravagant risk — or perhaps of a fateful misreading of a changing landscape — is a huge new “urban community” called CityCenter … Built by MGM Resorts and the government of Dubai, CityCenter is the largest privately financed construction project in United States history. CityCenter did not open until last December, an unfortunate turn of timing that dropped 5,000 new hotel rooms into the city when some of the older properties had been struggling to bring people in.
Another potentially disruptive storm on the horizon: legislation in Congress that would legalize Internet gambling. A trade group for major casinos like Harrah’s Entertainment and MGM Resorts is working on a proposal to ask Congress to legalize some form of online gambling. Nevada is paying a price for an exuberant and often speculative run of commercial and residential construction that has left the market glutted.
According to a Nevada legislative audit … The motor pool determined the agency could save more than $1.5 million by reducing its fleet and improving internal controls … The audit also said tighter control of gas cards is needed … cited one case in which $5,000 in gas was stolen over a year … Because of a lack of monitoring, the motor pool couldn't tell who used the fuel card for the excessive buys.
Auditors acknowledged that agriculture department budget and staff cuts contributed to problems with making sure personnel are paid from the right budget accounts. Since 2009, the number of full-time positions has been slashed 29 percent … "To continue its programs and statutory mandates, the department redistributed many duties of the vacant and eliminated positions to remaining personnel," auditors wrote. "In some instances, the redistribution of duties resulted in misalignment of personnel costs."
There needs to be some real, thoughtful, deliberate effort to rebuild an economy here. It isn’t going to happen by itself” Billy Vassiliadis, the chief executive of the advertising agency that represents the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said.
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