Deregulator: Alive since '85!

HIS 15 MINUTES STILL AREN'T UP: Bill Clinton bashes Bush on health care and tax cuts. Won't this man ever go away? Of course, if Mickey Kaus' "Inside the Beltway Source X" is right (see item dated 1/20) and HRC is planning a run for the roses in '04 or even '08, we may have both Clintons to kick around for years to come. Imagine a Hillary presidency: She could again promise voters "two for the price of one"; she could appoint Bill to another secret, illegal health care task force; and then, the body of Bill's confidante and alleged lover could mysteriously turn up at Fort Marcy Park ... Nah. Too fantastic.

GOING MOBILE: Along with Delaware and Wyoming, Nevada is a haven for business incorporations. For a setup fee of $175 and an annual renewal fee of $85, it's possible to establish corporate "headquarters" in Nevada, and pay no other fees. (The Silver State is also the only jurisdiction which refuses to share revenue info from its corporations with the IRS.) The state collects some $100 milion each year in filing fees. But Cort Christie, VP of the Nevada Resident Agents Assocation -- the trade group representing those Nevada residents who serve as officers or merely document collectors for out-of-state corporations with headquarters in Nevada -- says he'll urge companies to set up their HQs elsewhere if Kenny Guinn's gross-receipts tax and increases in business fees passes the Legislature. These companies comprise 80 percent of the corporations registered in Nevada. (Full disclosure: I briefly served as a resident agent as a favor for an out-of-state friend who...

TODAY'S GUINN MOMENT: "If that's a basis for someone to call you a Democrat, then on those issues I guess that's what I am." Nevada's "Republican" Gov. Kenny Guinn, commenting on suggestions that his call for major tax hikes makes him sound like a Democrat. AT LAST, A PULSE: The Clark County Republican Central Committee issues a challenge to Guinn's Great Society: A resolution calling for GOP lawmakers to cut spending and resist tax hikes ... and for the Legislature to put any proposed tax hikes before the voters in the form of a referendum before they take effect. The resolution may not stop the lion's share of the tax hikes. Most of the components of the package will come before the Legislature in March and take effect immediately, since they're designed to close the deficit in the current fiscal year and in the next budget cycle and then "sunset" (yeah, right) at the end of the 2005 legislative session. But if GOP activists ...

ARTISTIC AD MEN: Reasoner (and fellow former Tar Heel) Jesse Walker 's WSJ piece (registration required) on the artistry of big-budget TV ads is online. Of course, one megadollar ad that won't be seen during the Super Bowl is the one produced here in Vegas featuring the racy limo passenger. Tune into any cable news program, though, and you'll see it. Guaranteed.

THE NAME GAME: Fascinating piece on Jim Glassman's Tech Central Station about the oddly strong performance of mutual funds which have their managers' names in their titles. (On average, they perform better than index funds.) What's going on here? First, it's clear that managers count and, as Barry (Glassman) puts it, these particular managers "have a vested interest in applying prudence and principles" because their names are on the door. Not just the family reputation, but the family money, is at stake. The Davis family, for example, is the largest shareholder in each of its nine funds, with a total of $2.5 billion invested. Also, since they know they aren't likely to be fired for poor short-term performance, the namesake managers can take the long view, rather than frantically trading the way most managers do. Namesakes hold the average stock for about 21/2 years - for a turnover ratio of just 41 percent, one-third lower than the average fund among the...

"HOW HIGH I WILL GO, I CANNOT SAY:" That was Kenny Guinn last month, when queried about the magnitude of tax increases he would propose in his state budget. Well, Guinn gave his State of the State Address last night, and the total is in: $1.1 billion over the next biennium, or a 28 percent hike in revenues. Guinn wants to triple tobacco taxes; raise alcohol taxes by 89 percent; increase property taxes by 15 cents per $100 of assessed value; triple the $100-per-employee business license tax (the principal source of revenue from private employers) to $300; impose a new 7.3 percent "entertainment" tax on movie tickets, miniature golf, etc.; and -- the big one -- enact a 0.25 percent tax on the gross receipts of all businesses in the state (with casinos paying an additional 0.25 percent tax on their gaming revenues). While the new taxes attracted the most attention initially, here's what Guinn offered state residents as a show of good faith that the government wou...

THROUGH THE ROOF: The Review-Journal's five-part investigation of the state budget mess wrapped up today, with a preview of tonight's State of the State address by Kenny Guinn. One highlight of the series was yesterday's installment , which spelled out the lucrative salaries and benefits Nevada's public employees receive. Another startling bit of info was revealed in this graphic which spells out how much more money public employees in several classifications make than the statewide average. The conventional wisdom states that on average, public employee salaries are pushed upward because the overall compensation package provided to entry-level workers -- secretaries, custodians, etc. -- is much higher than that the same employees in the private sector receive. But once you reach the top of the food chain, the private sector offers much better pay and benefits; that's why it's so difficult to find top-flight managers to run government departments. (Hence the ...