I Am Now Afraid of PK's Puffery

I recently received an overly large mailer from PK O'Neill, a candidate for Assembly District 40. What he says is disturbing. He pontificates without solutions. He seems more concerned with cliches than real issues.

PK is not alone when making political claims. For another example, see Maizie Harris Jesse's letter “Candidates need to research lt.gov.job duties” in 17 October Nevada Appeal.

PK on the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS)
“The 2015 legislature must ensure going forward that the public retirement system is stable and sustainable for Nevada's taxpayers, and that a promise made is a promise kept.” (sic)

PK is a retired member of PERS from relatively high paying state employment. He certainly earned his retirement benefit. However, he should know that PERS is funded by employee and employer contributions. PERS routinely and systematically re-sets the contribution rates using an independent actuarial study. This study can easily account for expected retirement benefits and future benefit increases set by statute. PERS contributions are made as employees are paid and not as separate appropriations as is done in some states.

The Nevada Constitution prohibits the legislature from raiding the accumulated PERS trust funds as some states have done. Art. 9, Sec. 2, 2.

PK repeats the observation that PERS has an unfunded liability. Almost all funds collected for future expenditures have an unfunded liability. Calculating an unfunded liability for the annual reports is reasonable and necessary. I believe the PERS contribution rate now includes a component for the unfunded liability.

If PK believes the unfunded liability should be immediately erased, there are two solutions for him to champion. The Legislature can appropriate from the general fund to the PERS trust fund. The Legislature can require the PERS board to increase the contribution rate. Increasing the contribution rate will require increasing salaries and wages and the employers' contribution.

PERS is working quite well. Almost all state retirees are totally dependent on PERS and do not have Social Security. The best the 2015 Legislature can do for PERS is to do nothing. Detailed information is available via the PERS website at http://www.nvpers.org/index.jsp.

PK wishes the Legislature to debate the Common Core (State) Standards.
' “PK” is also prepared to take a close look at the Common Core standards that are becoming the center of debate. “PK” believes that local choice and management of a curriculum by both parents and educators results in more rigorous standards for students, resulting in students being better prepared for success in college and for the workplace.' (sic)

Nevada has had a standards based education system since 1916. The Nevada State Board of Education adopted the Common Core State Standards as the Nevada Academic Contents Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics in October 2010. There is no state-mandated curriculum or instructional methods, only standards. Standards are necessary before any accountability can begin. See the 6 September 2013 letter from Dale A. R. Erquiaga to Fellow Nevadans.

If PK believes the Legislature needs to act on the Common Core Standards, he can ensure a general fund appropriation specifically for training, curriculum development and materials outside the usual education budget. Otherwise, debating the Common Core State Standards simply shunts scarce resources from the most important issue, the budget.

PK proposes a second veteran's home in Northern Nevada.
“He supports the development of a Northern Nevada veterans' home, and will advocate for efforts to attract veterans to relocate here for educational opportunities.”

PK knows that Nevada has veterans' home in Boulder City. We all appreciate our armed forces' veterans. But until PK puts forward a specific proposal including costs this is puffery.

The Nevada Department of Veterans Services web site (http://www.veterans.nv.gov/about.html) lists what Nevada now does for veterans. If we need more to be done, then PK should provide specific proposals. Hopefully, PK knows that veterans' issues will likely be buried in the budget discussions.

PK claims that “E-verify Protects Jobs”.
PK claims that Nevada has highest per-capita illegal immigrant population, the highest percentage of illegal employees in the work force for “... ,a grand total of 170,000 non-compliant immigrants in 2012. These illegal immigrants cost Nevada nearly $630 million each year: educating, medicating, and incarcerating.”

How anyone can count undocumented aliens (the correct term for the popular “illegal immigrant”) is quite curious. If they can be counted, they must have been found and then they likely are not employable.

Nevada educates all children because it is moral to do so. The Nevada Constitution and the Nevada statutes require all children to be educated. See Article 11, section 2; NRS 392.040. Nevada would reap a return from educating undocumented aliens by pressuring Congress to pass the DREAM act. Moaning about educating a particular class of children while also promoting education is hypocrisy.

Congress requires emergency rooms to take all comers. There is no choice when an undocumented alien or an uninsured Nevada resident or a traveler to Nevada arrives at an emergency room. A healthy populace benefits all, sickness can not propagate in a healthy population. Perhaps PK could sponsor a Nevada-only single-payer system health promotion system available to all residents and then avoid charging Nevadans indirectly through the existing convoluted segmented health repair system .

As to incarceration, bad behavior in Nevada is rewarded with incarceration. It matters not if you are an undocumented alien, live in another state, or are a Nevada resident. If PK is so concerned, he can propose programs to prevent crimes and demand the necessary funds in the budget.

Being an undocumented alien is not a criminal offense. If PK believes decreasing Nevada's population is beneficial, he should calculate the costs required for removing undocumented aliens. Removing undocumented aliens likely will decrease Nevada's GDP and Nevada government revenues.

PK on the state employee workforce
PK states that “Furloughs should be eliminated as revenues improve.” and “(Nevada) Must continue to support state agencies to attract and maintain a quality workforce.”

The best and quickest way to do both is to offer more money with reasonable benefits. Now Nevada only offers a reasonable retirement which some misguided persons would destroy. Furloughs simply reduce an employees renumeration, many likely are now working more for less. No longevity pay and no hope for step increases results in no incentive. The Public Employees Benefit System health insurance offerings are minimal at best. Many state employment requirements are stringent and rare. Nevada competes in a relatively small labor pool.

The budget process has simply used the employees as a bank while attempting to keep a balanced budget. Currently an employee's only incentive is PERS.

Geoff Dornan in the Sunday, 19 October, Nevada Appeal estimates that the agencies' budget requests are $1 billion over the existing budget. The furloughs now exist because the existing budget needed a fix for insufficient expected revenue. What possible fixes are now available?

PK states “No New Taxes For Nevadans”
While this is nice sentiment, this sentiment is the anti-thesis of PK's other pronouncements. PK has no solutions. There are two solutions, likely both will occur: reduce expenses or raise revenues. PK has chosen to reduce expenses. PK must tell us what activities Nevada will NOT do after the 2015 Legislature.

A solution
The previous legislature failed to find a comprehensive budget solution. Unless PK can compel the next legislature to development its own budget on day one, PK has no solution. The most important, most compelling, most demanding issue is the budget. Almost everything else is a distraction.

PK's competing candidate is Dave Cook. Dave Cook proposes two things to remedy PK's concerns: a tax on interstate chain store revenues and collective bargaining for state employees. Collective bargaining is available for all other Nevada government employee. Dave's tax proposal is describe in CarsonNow at http://carsonnow.org/reader-content/09/22/2014/dave-cook-candidate-nevad....

Michael L. Greedy
A retired state employee who is quite grateful for the spectacularly successful PERS. However, Michael is worried that Nevada's attitudes will prevent successful Nevada government. The price for no government is far higher than any taxes that might be collected.