When the speech ended, I pinched myself. Other than the words on paper, none of it was real. We have a very serious problem in our country, our state, and the Fourth Congressional District: too much government, too few jobs, and little relief in sight.
By nature, I am an optimist. But as I travel around the district, I continue to hear about the unemployment in Mineral County; the housing collapse in Clark County; small businesses forced to close in Nye County; government’s failure to address Yucca Mountain from those in Esmeralda; the water issue in White Pine; and, regulatory barriers in Lincoln and Lyon Counties.
The statistics have improved since 2008, but they continue to bear out the unhappiness and frustration I have seen. To listen to the President, all we need to do is press a button and the problems will disappear. The December unemployment rate slipped to 9.4% nationally, but in Nevada, it was 13% (seasonally adjusted). In Mineral, Lincoln, and Nye Counties, it hovers north of 15%. Moreover, these rates understate the true misery of those who are underemployed or who have stopped looking for work. Foreclosures remain the highest in the nation, and the figures exclude houses that the banks are holding off the market.
I have not heard satisfaction with the present or confidence in the future anywhere.
When he took office three years ago, we heard the same message from President Obama and his Congressional partisans: everything for everybody. They wanted health care and financial regulatory bills. They got it, but at what price? And, they ignored the number one problem—the economy—until it was too late.
Nevadans and Americans are among the world’s most innovative, hard working, and caring people. But, we cannot succeed unless we are told the truth. Our core values, political liberty and economic opportunity, have made us strong, but they are undermined by a national government that cannot focus, cannot make decisions, and insists upon intruding into every corner of our lives.
It is time to understand where we are and where we must go. But, it is the ninth inning with two outs and nobody on."