Nevada - Government Is The Problem Not The Solution

This Blogger recently sat through a presentation done by the Nevada Director of Economic Development.   After 20 minutes of Gobble Gook, as the Director described the state plan and regional economic development bureaucracy, it became very clear that the state of Nevada run by a Brian Sandoval, our Republican Governor, Socialist Senator Dirty Harry Reid and newly appointed Republican Senator Dean Heller are simply clueless.   Nevada has the highest official unemployment rate in the country at 14%.   It is probably really over 20% if the unemployed, under employed working part time that want full time work and those that have just given up looking for work are all counted.   Nevada has the highest foreclosure rate in the country.   The majority of Nevada homeowners are now upside down on their mortgages as property values have fallen by 40 - 50%.   Yet, our elected representatives of both political parties, with no sense of urgency, are like Nero who fiddled while Rome burned. 

It turns out that Nevada could be the lithium capital of the United States, if not the world, if mining of this valuable mineral is ever approved.   Lithium is used in electric batteries, you know the kind used in electric cars and consumer electronics.   Potential Lithium mines sit on land owned by the federal government, which should be no surprise since the federal government owns 86% of Nevada.   Thanks to Socialist President Obama's failed economic plan, Nevada is in a Depression not a Recession.  Opening these lithium mines would create thousands of jobs.   

Lithium currently sells for $5,000 to $6,000 a ton, which is the reason it is referred to as "White Gold".  Yet the federal application process will take two years, or more, even though these potential mines in Nevada are in the middle of no where impacting no one.  If lithium mining in Nevada is ever approved, it will probably be five years or more before the first tons of lithium are removed from Nevada mines.  In the mean time, the largest lithium mine in the world is in Bolivia and this industry is now controlled by South American companies even though until the 90's, the US was the dominant producer of Lithium in the world.  No doubt environmental wackos in the US, that often oppose mining, were probably behind the down fall of Lithium production in the US.   And, we see the end result as those jobs are now in other countries; surprise, surprise!!   

This is insane, kind of like Socialist President Obama delaying or stopping the development of the Keystone Pipeline connecting Canadian oil fields with refineries in Texas.   Since Obama stopped this pipeline development, the Canadian government is now in discussions with China to buy this oil if this pipeline does not proceed.   They can build the pipeline through the US, resulting in the creation of 20,000 jobs in our country, or to their West coast where Chinese ships will gladly transport this oil to China.   Everyone knows that Obama is a job killer.   The real question is why aren't Nevada's Sandoval, Reid and Heller working together to fast track getting federal approval for these lithium mines in Nevada NOW when we are in desperate need of good paying jobs.    

And, then there is Yucca Mountain, 100 miles outside Las Vegas that was supposed to be the nation's nuclear repository.  American taxpayers and utility rate payers spent $13 billion building Yucca and it just sits there empty.   Even though Nevada is in a Depression, Republicans Sandoval and Heller and Socialist Reid do not support utilization of Yucca even though it would create thousands of good paying jobs.  The original intent of Yucca, which was to be for storage of nuclear waste is not relevant any more anyway.   There is a great plan being advanced by Nevada activists to turn Yucca into a reprocessing energy park, much as occurs in France where 96% of their spent nuclear fuels are reprocessed and resold.   This could be an incredible industry for Nevada; creating thousands of good paying jobs and revenues for the state,  yet our elected representatives sit on their hands.   As Forest Gump always said, "Stupid is as stupid does". 

What is happening in Nevada is symthomatic of what is happening in the United States.  Socialists in particular; but even some Republicans in government do not understand Economics 101, global competition, business migration factors and the impact of high taxation and regulations on job creation.   Manufacturing in the United States is gone because of high taxes, environmental wacko regulations, employment practice and other frivolous liability litigation and unions.   Knowledge work is going to India and other countries because of some of these same factors and because it cost a third as much to implement this work off shore than it cost in the US.

In listening to the Nevada Director of Economic Development, it became very clear to this Blogger that until these characters gain an understanding of what is really happening in business around the world, they are wasting their time and our tax payer monies to support them.   Energy development of all sources available in the United States is the key to economic development and job creation once again in our country.   The goal should be to make energy cheaper not more expensive.   Energy related jobs within the United States cannot be off shored and they are high paying jobs.  Energy development must be the foundation of our economy.   Remember,  Apple may be headquartered in the Silicon Valley; but all their major products are made in China not the US.  We need a vibrant energy industry in the US to create jobs in our country because it MUST BE DONE within our country.   Well dah!! 

However, even if we can get passed the environmental wackos and convince the Socialists and some Republicans to allow more energy development in the United States, that alone won't do the job as long as the US has the second highest corporate tax rate in the world, stifling regulations, unions demanding compensation and benefits that do not reflect global competition and trial lawyers feeding at the trough adding to the cost of doing business.   There will not be significant economic growth and job creation once again in Nevada, or the United States until all of these issues are addressed.  It really is that simple.  

Listening to the Nevada Director of Economic Development was a lot of Yada Yada Yada that will do nothing to grow jobs in Nevada.  Nevada could be the energy capital of the United States if our elected representatives would just get with the program.  Based on what we heard during this Presentation, sadly that is not going to happen any time soon.   Nevada, like the United States is doomed to slow growth, if any, and continued high unemployment and a lower standard of living for all Americans because our elected representatives just don't get it.   Government really is the problem, not the solution.