BARBWIRE
by
ANDREW BARBANO
This is an edition of the University Scandals 96-97 series, selected installments of which were submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration. Click here to access the archive.
The emperor stood naked but no one would say so. Impeccably attired in
the same expensive suit worn by every power player at the legislature, Gov.
Miller delivered his last state of the state address Thursday night. The
new cherrywood walls of the assembly chamber glowed with reflected
genuflection at the altar of children and education. No one noticed that
altars are for sacrifice.The lip service proved profound, real programs might result. Such is the
case when taxpayers put a rare surplus up for grabs. Flush with good
intentions, our leaders sallied forth into the reality of a freezing cold
Nevada night which whispered warnings of impending natural disaster once
again.Like his pal President Clinton, the guv glowed about 9,000 fewer welfare
recipients saving some $9,000,000 - a whopping one-tenth of one percent of
the state budget.On the federal level, 93% of budget cuts made by Newt & Bill's first
congress came from programs for the poor, most of whom are children and
thus cannot vote. Only Sen Joe Neal (D-N. Las Vegas), groused that no one
knows what's happened to the people we've thrown onto the streets. Sen.
Neal complained about a device oft-used by those who cut people programs -
make sure you never develop information about who got hurt.Gov. Miller, of course, called for help from the private sector in
announcing a "cradle to college" caring program. Even though he's a
Clintonian, pro-corporate Republicrat, just the fact that the governor
talked about some of the great New Deal people issues might do some good.The realities remain harsh. A Nevada welfare mother must survive on $348
a month, $272 should her family reside in subsidized housing. Cash
benefits, as the guv stated, are limited to two years regardless of
circumstance.So popular is bashing the poor that even Assemblywoman Jan Evans
(D-Sparks-Reno), told this newspaper "welfare reform needs to continue.
We've had wonderful results with the changes we made several years ago,
dramatically reducing the number of people on welfare." Ms. Evans has
apparently been spending too much time listening to her backlashing Rail
City colleague, Sen. Maurice Washingon (R-Sparks), who accepts welfare for
a dependent child while trashing others who receive it.Ms. Evans also told Tribune reporter Andrew Putz "if welfare reform is
going to succeed, there must be public-private partnerships." The
Washington Post addressed that issue a few weeks ago. "It is clear from
the Massachusetts experience that declining caseloads raise new questions
when matched with other statistics...Only 13 percent of the 2,000 job slots
set aside in private industry for former welfare recipients have been
filled."New York City has seen the sorry spectacle of low-paid custodians replaced
by dollar-an-hour welfare recipients. Welcome to third world wages.If Gov. Miller is serious about reaching out to families as Scandinavian
nations do, I'm all for it. We are a fat, rich state in a fat, rich
country. But the private sector shuck is reminiscent of something Newt and
the boys have trumpeted: slough the responsibility off on churches and
charities, another great non-government solution. Until you look at the
numbers.The U.S. has about 258,000 congregations. Each would have to increase
contributions by $220,000 a year to take over the portion of the load the
BillNewts want to spin off.A generous government makes good things happen. Social Security has
almost eliminated poverty among the elderly, shifting it to the young.
Texas has the nation's stingiest welfare program and ranks second-highest
in adolescent births. (Nevada usually rates in the top five, often winning
number one.) North Dakota has the nation's most generous program and ranks
lowest in teen motherhood.Our fearless leaders always rail about making the right investment in
education. University regent Shelley Berkley called last Thursday's guberna
torial address "a great night for higher education in Nevada."Why? Apparently because we'll soon have more homegrown lawyers. UNLV is
going to get its long awaited law school. But the Rebel Yell, the Gomorrah
South student newspaper, labors with antique computers. The rich UNLV
foundation, which is supposed to raise money for students, enjoys state of
the art cybernautic capacity.The U-system maintains secret demonstration rooms to showcase how advanced
it is. Alas, such learning centers are only for VIP tours, not
students. The guv mentioned a new tuition trust fund proposed by state
treasurer Bob Seale. Pioneered by other states, parents can contract to
pay so much a month to guarantee future university tuition.Such programs are only needed because as a society we are not doing a very
good job managing tax money we put into higher education. The guv did not
mention his proposal to substantially jack up tuition.UNR students are in open rebellion about that. Late tuition payment
penalties recently went from a maximum of $25 to $250! Two major audits
show tremendous inflows of money but comparatively little trickling down to
the kids."They raise tuition to get federal matching funds in order to subsidize
some lower income kids," a higher education official told me, "but it
doesn't work. The students never see the dollars because our university
uses the money to keep expanding. They don't outreach to kids who could
use the funds. Nevada has the lowest number of high schoolers going on to
higher education. University chancellor Richard Jarvis said it would cost
too much to find out why." (See Sen. Neal's comment, above.)I will listen closely for legislative echoes of Gov. Miller's swan song.
Will he put enough into people programs, or was he merely posturing? He
talked of cutting mothers off after two years but "with a safety net for
children." Does that mean the kids eat while mommy starves?Nowhere did the guv mention goosing the gambling-industrial complex, which
by next year will fall to number two taxpayer behind you and me. Our
punitive, regressive sales tax will soon top the take. Gamblers will get
off cheap and get a cheap, undereducated workforce they show no interest in
improving.We'll soon know whether the emperor was propagating or sacrificing the
worker bees in the extreme unction of his tenure last Thursday night.UNIVERSITY SCANDAL UPDATE: Will university regent-elect Howard Rosenberg
get sworn in Thursday? Will the U-regime pull a last minute legal move to
keep him from taking office? Don't bet it either way...Las Vegas regent
Nancy Price posed five embarrassing questions to Chancellor Jarvis at a
public hearing last week, among them: Did Jarvis ask the regents to remove
his responsibility for financial affairs the same day he received and
concealed the embarrassing Coopers & Lybrand audit? (Both happened last
October 4.)Why did UNR President Joe Crowley deficit spend $12,783,522
last year? (At that rate, UNR's $55,000,000 unrestricted fund, which took
100 years to accumulate, will be gone by 2000.) Jarvis' answers are due in
writing right after Rosenberg is sworn in. Complete questions and the C&L
audit remain available for the cost of copying at Office Depot on Plumb
Lane. The legislative audit is available free by calling Gary Crews at
(702) 687-6815.DOWNSIZE THIS! The Reno Hilton's illegal firing of its experienced
security guards is showing repercussions. Citilift (which transports
Washoe County's elderly and disabled) has announced a subcontract with
Whittlesea Taxi for late night service. The secretly inked deal breaks the
contract between Teamsters Local 533 and the Regional Transportation
Commission's subcontractor, ATC/Vancom. Workers worry that pulling a
Hilton will come soon. Only superhuman effort avoided a regional bus
strike last summer. Stay tuned.Be well. Raise hell.
©
Andrew Barbano
Andrew
Barbano is a Reno-based syndicated columnist and 28-year Nevadan.
Barbwire by Barbano
has originated in the Sparks Tribune since 1988.
This column originally published 1/26/97.
Reprints from the beginning of the university newsbreaks remain
available for the cost of copying at
Nevada Instant Type in Sparks and both Office Depot Reno
locations.
