"A cut in taxes and a decrease in government regulation will result in a quick recovery in the nation financial system and the economy of Nevada," Sen. John Ensign said.
"Cutting taxes, decreasing regulation, and decreasing litigation will see the economy recover on its own," he told a forum at Korea Town in Las Vegas last August 25.
The senator spoke to members of the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce (ACC) and their guests to share his thoughts on the economic recovery of the US in general and the state of Nevada in particular.
"I believe that is what we should have done instead of the stimulus bill," he said referring to the Obama government economic recovery plan.
Nevada used to lead the country in prosperity, now we lead in a lot of bad categories, he said. Now, we are leading in foreclosures and unemployment, he added.
In 2007, Las Vegas became ground zero of the foreclosure crisis that gripped the country, which resulted in the contraction of the economy that led to the recession which the US is still reeling from.
Rampant losing of homes in Nevada was a result of subprime loans given by banks. To this day, the state leads the nation with the highest foreclosures. It is also number one among states with the highest unemployment rate at 14% last July.
At the forum, Sen Ensign said unemployment in Nevada is officially listed at 14%. But is really near 22-23 %, when you figure in the people who have quit looking for jobs anymore, he said.
Sen Ensign said instead of the Obama administration‚ stimulus bill that sought to pump prime the nation‚ economy into recovery, it should have used a different strategy.
He used as an example the strategy done by Congress during the depression in the US in the early 1920s.
"When you go back to the great recession of 1920, we had a severe economic downturn; unemployment 12%, home values cut in half, their problems similar and a lot worse than what we have now," Sen. Ensign said.
He added Instead of government spending, what they did back then was they cut tax rates from 75 % to 25 %.
"Within a year, unemployment went from 12% to 1.5%. The economy rebounded, and it came to be known as the roaring 20s," he also said.
"This is what should be done in the US. When the nation‚ economy recovers, Nevada will soon follow," the senator added.
The senator, meanwhile, said deregulation of certain industries may also help prop up the state economy. He used as an example the gold mining industry.
Nevadans are the largest gold-producers in the country. We can be the largest gold-producer in the world, he said.
"We want to truly create jobs, decrease regulation, decrease litigation," he added.
( Published September 2, 2010 in Asian Journal Las Vegas p. A1 )
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
