Chris CiarloChannel 2 News
The official declaration of the end of the recession was June 2009. Almost three years later, plenty of Nevadans are still seeing the effects and questioning if we're truly recovering.
This week on Face the State, I asked Investment Advisor with Universal Value Advisors and local economist Dr. Robert Barone what Nevada needs to do to rebound economically.
He said Nevada needs to reinvent itself and stop relying on gaming.
"We don't have that anymore, so northern Nevada doesn't have anything real that we export. We still try to export our skiing, our climate and events. We do not have the export industry, nobody else does like we use to."
Dr. Barone also said Nevada's legislators are preventing job recovery here in Nevada because they keep pitching a business tax.
"Every two years our legislators meet. Every two years, they threaten to put a big business tax on. If you're coming from California and looking for a place to put your business here, that's a 30-year investment. You have to move your plant equipment, your employees and it's a big expense. Why would you want to go some place where you don't know what the situation is going to be in two years?" Dr. Barone said.
Nevada's foreclosures are drying up thanks to a new law that prevents what is called robosigning. Basically, it stops banks from foreclosing on a home without reviewing the paperwork in each case. But Dr. Barone says he would rather see the government takes a hands-off approach.
"When a house is foreclosed, it's then rehabbed and sold at a higher price. Foreclosures actually improve prices in the neighborhood," said Barone. "By preventing the foreclosures, the people in the homes don't take care of it, so prices drop. It's a big mistake for government to interfere."
You can watch the entire interview this weekend on Channel 2 News. Face the State airs Saturday at 4:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. It also airs this Sunday at 6:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
