Nevada Globe

In a tweet, Governor Sisolak flexed his progressive credentials by proclaiming that “housing is a human right”.

During his “State of the State” address, Sisolak outlined a spending spree of the once-in-a-lifetime $6.7 billion federal tax dollars the state received from the American Rescue Plan. At a time of historic inflation, spending billions of taxpayer dollars on growing government and dependency would be the last action any reasonable economist would advise.

His “Home Means Nevada” program allocates $500 million to “lower housing costs and keep people in their homes”.  $300 million of that amount would be allocated for affordable housing through a partnership with the AFL-CIO (small business owners need not apply).

Raising revenue to sustain this spending spree and new government-dependency programs was not addressed.

Since the pandemic, Sisolak’s lockdowns, mandates, and extended state and federal rent moratoriums have created a perfect storm for inflation, unemployment and homelessness. According to a report published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, “Nevada’s (chronically sheltered) homeless rate increased by 260.7 percent over the 14-year period — second only to Colorado, which had a rate increase of 265.8 percent in the same time frame.

It would be nice if Sisolak explained how whoever is supposed to provide that human right can do so. The other “human rights” the US Constitution guarantees — speech, assembly, bearing arms — do not come with the tools to achieve them. The government doesn’t provide its citizens with a soapbox or a .45. You are guaranteed the freedom to pursue these rights but the government ought not be expected to supply its citizens with cradle to grave succor. The other rights are all things you are free to provide for yourself. For the able-bodied, government dependency should be a lifeline, not a lifetime.