LATEST NEWS

An Interview with Meredith Levine, Director of Economic and Fiscal Policy

This report summarizes key demographic indicators for youth in Nevada. The report also presents data for various outcomes among youth in the areas of employment, health, substance abuse, and educational attainment.

Las Vegas is now the fastest-growing city in the United States. Recently, we interviewed more than 50 community members and leaders in Southern Nevada to understand better their experience with extreme heat and how COVID-19 exacerbated their existing vulnerabilities to heat. Most reported that COVID-19 had exacerbated existing heat-related challenges and presented new ones in one of four decision spaces (e.g., public, private, transit, and workplace).

Policymakers in Nevada and elsewhere are laser-focused on ways to support and invest in our workforce to spur the pandemic-ravaged economy to return to its full potential. This exercise involves identifying people who are missing and thinking about ways to support them and reimagine a much more inclusive workplace. Women have been the subject of many of these discussions. But as we undertake this exercise, who else is missing? What else can we do?

In mid-August, the U.S. Census Bureau released the first tranche of data collected from the 2020 Census. There are a few interesting trends, one of which could have possible implications for decision-makers and policy leaders in Nevada. Census data revealed that Nevada’s population grew by 15 percent in the past decade.

Headlines continue to call attention to a shortage of workers in the leisure and hospitality sector here and around the country. Workers are supposedly staying at home and avoiding work given federal unemployment insurance benefits — or so the story goes. But the commentaries fail to fully acknowledge that the “weird” labor dynamics we are observing may be the result of a paradigm shift fueled by workers who are reimagining work in a post-COVID economy.

The Economic Forum is a state-mandated panel that convenes periodically to submit revenue projections for the General Fund—Nevada’s major operating fund—to the Governor and the Legislature. It is a five-member committee drawn from the private sector, with three members selected by the Governor and one nominated by each of the Assembly and Senate.

As we remember the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his quest for racial equality, we observe that African Americans in Nevada have made tremendous political gains. However, they continue to struggle economically, revealing the damaging and stubborn effects of historical discriminatory policies, which limited access to capital and segregated neighborhoods and schools.

As the director of a policy center, I spend much of my time identifying gaps, analyzing problems, and drawing attention to Nevada’s policy challenges — with the singular focus of improving our state. Not surprisingly, this work can often lead to frustration and disappointment. The coronavirus pandemic has added to the heaviness of our efforts (and our organizational workload) as we witness the brutal devastation and subsequent needs across the state.

Nevada is facing an unprecedented economic challenge brought about by the global pandemic. Our recovery as a state must be ambitious and include a strategy that encompasses all of Nevada—urban and rural. Recent events have highlighted our need for a comprehensive rural development strategy. Last month, Democratic U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto proposed a bill, the Northern Nevada Rural Land Management, Conservation, and Military Readiness Act, which was immediately met with concern from environmental and indigenous groups.

The October 2020 meeting of the Economic Forum provided a comprehensive assessment of Nevada’s economy from a variety of different perspectives. COVID-19 is a public health crisis that has produced a significant economic shock. Unemployment continues to remain high, and visitation has not returned to pre-COVID levels, which presents a challenge in a tourism-dependent economy.

Gov. Steve Sisolak extended by 45 days the statewide residential eviction moratorium. A day later, President Donald Trump and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an eviction moratorium through the end of the year.

Since the Great Recession, the Silver State has been undergoing a great economic transformation to make Nevada’s economy more resilient. Indeed, Nevada’s business-friendly tax structure and economic growth have attracted many global businesses, such as Tesla, Switch, Google, and Amazon, which are helping diversify our economy.

The Clark County School District, like districts across the nation, is creating a school reopening plan for the fall. However, these plans make two (often unrecognized) assumptions.

Nevada school districts, like districts across the nation, are creating school reopening plans for the fall. However, these plans make two (often unrecognized) assumptions.

The Economic Forum is a state-mandated panel that convenes periodically to submit revenue projections for the General Fund—Nevada’s major operating fund—to the Governor and the Legislature.

The coronavirus pandemic has necessitated an entirely different way of life for individuals in the United States and throughout the world. In a state whose economy is largely dependent upon tourism, travel, gaming, sporting events, and 24-hour businesses, the abrupt closure of non-essential businesses followed by long-term social distancing due to the pandemic, is certainly daunting.

The U.S. Census Bureau started inviting households to participate in the 2020 census in mid-March and releasing daily 2020 census self-response rates in late March. Since then, we have been keeping a close eye on the self-response rates in Nevada.

There is no doubt we are living and leading through unprecedented times – a time when the travel and hospitality industries are forging unchartered territories; where in just a few short months, the entire industry was brought to its knees with the global pandemic of COVID-19.

The 2020 Census is here! The road to the 2020 census has been long and marked by controversy, particularly concerning the potential inclusion of a citizenship question on the 2020 census questionnaire (there is no citizenship question on the census questionnaire).

Many of us at the Guinn Center, like many families across Nevada, have children who have been affected by the recent school closures. On March 19th, Governor Steve Sisolak ordered K-12 schools closed until April 16th. In the same directive, the governor stated all school districts must provide distance learning opportunities by March 23rd.