Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Question About Nevada

I mean no offense by the question but could Nevada actually survive without the assistance of the Federal Government?

Two words.

Vegas and Reno.

That's like asking if a dog could survive without ticks.

"Survive" is such a subjective term. How the absence of a State would effect the other States is the best litmus.

No, I'm more concerned about whether Nevada could survive without the federal government. It seems one of those very peculiar states where the question might be valid.

I mean their own state constitution swears an unswerving allegiance to the Federal government. I believe only 3 states have such a provision in their own constitutions.

And the whore houses.

I'm sure it could.

How well....it'd depend who you ask, but as mentioned, a whole lotta revenue to be had between Reno and LV.

Reno and Las Vegas are no where near the booms they were in the 80s and 90s. The housing market is the worst in the country.

The state's biggest legislative goals right now are geared towards developing ways to diversify the economic landscape.

Water, roads...virtually all fed, isn't it?

There's a pretty big boom going on in Las Vegas right now. They are building houses like crazy West (Summerlin) and Northwest (Lone Mountain) of the city. The housing market is up 27% from just a year ago.

That's good to know.

What I'm seeing though is Federal monies comprising approximately 30% of their gross revenues while they still borrow on top of it to mitigate budget deficits.

Plus, I'm guessing the Feds must employ a very large part of the population of citizens not working in casinos or farming/ranching.

Anyways, if the Feds up and left, could Nevada really survive that downturn?

Nevada could easily survive. Just not the way they do now.

But I bet that's true for most states. And not in a bad way either. Would just be some growing pains while people learned to do without free crap.

The survival of Nevada depends on massive numbers of federal employees within the state.

That's what you're saying?

The federal government gives the state and the counties federal monies based on the percentage of public lands within the boundaries of said state and county. This is to subsidize the lack of tax base, because the public lands have no tax base at all going to state or county general funds. The incorporated cities within the state are not impacted so much because municipalities are in fact funded by tax based on private properties and sales tax.

Aside from the above....

If the federal government ceased to exist in Nevada, then the fees gathered by the state and counties within it for industries such as logging, mining, ranching, and recreation would probably be more than what they are getting in federal funds now.

So, in short...Yes. The state would be just fine after the transition.

Could Virginia survive without being a hub of the Federal Government and without all the welfare programs thrown at their large minority population?



Actually Nevada is living off mining a lot now.

I'll bet Nevada has fewer brothels than most other States. They're not legal In Clark County (Vegas) or Washoe County (Reno) so there aren't all that many. The two in my county have been out of business for years. They are thriving but limited in numbers in the big gold mining counties.

People mention that our highways are heavily Federally funded, and they are, but remember they are also used by a relatively high ratio of out-of-State travelers, crossing vast distances.

I would also add that the jobs filled now by federal employees would have to be filled by state and local government to administer much the same areas the feds are now.

Not to say that some of them would need to trim the fat...

But, the actual loss of jobs would be negligible. Probably, they would see a boom due to logging and other industries making a comeback, rather than being forced out.

That's part of what I'm saying. I am also saying,without really knowing,that it appears Nevada doesn't have the wherewithal or financial means to effectively manage it's roads,water and public lands. Does Nevada really even have it's own water?

Those are resources that require extraordinary financial expenditures from not only the poorest state in the nation but one operating under significant deficits and extensive borrowing each year.

Could Virginia survive without being a hub of the Federal Government and without all the welfare programs thrown at their large minority population?
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Far better than Nevada, I believe. Virginia and Texas have been number 1 & 2 in all new business ventures for over a decade now. But, that could also be a result of the federal governments geographic location, I don't know.

Point being, it appears to me Nevada's survival is dependent on the Federal government's involvement.

Where did you come up with that? Nevada balances its budget by law. Can many other States say that?

http://budget.nv.gov/Fiscal-Management/

Once the Legislatively Approved budgets are finalized, the Budget Division is responsible for ensuring sound fiscal management of State agencies throughout the biennium. Nevada�s constitution requires that the State have a balanced budget, which means it cannot deficit spend. As soon as it becomes apparent Nevada�s budget is becoming unbalanced, such as when revenues fall short of projections, adjustments must be made to keep the state operating in the black.

The big ticket item is highways. We could do fine otherwise. Our vast area with little between here and there means highways are a high per-capita cost. But, as I said, they are used by many "foreigners" to get from coast to coast and from Canada to Mexico.

Personally, I liked it better as a kid when many NV highways were decent quality graded gravel roads. It kept the eastern rif-raf out of my back country haunts.

How about water,l2s?