The Education Initiative Gets Its Day in Carson City.

It's happening. It's finally happening! The Education Initiative, which is now referred to as IP 1 in Carson City, will be receiving a joint committee hearing (Assembly & Senate) in the Legislature tomorrow.

Yet already, Republican legislators are gearing up to destroy it. Even though the Legislature probably won't actually pass IP 1 this session, Republicans are still gearing up for a fight tomorrow. Why? They saw the polling.

Remember, this is what The Education Initiative/IP 1 will do if passed.

How does the Education Initiative raise money for our schools? The Education Initiative would impose a 2% margin tax on business revenue. Businesses that earn $1 million or less will be exempt. [...]

What is a Margin Tax? The Education Initiative would impose a 2% margin tax on business revenue. The margin is either: An entity's total revenue minus salaries or cost of goods, or simply, 70% of its total revenue, whichever is less, and an entity is only taxed on the percentage of the margin that represents its Nevada business. Businesses that earn $1 million or less will be exempt. The funds raised through the Education Initiative will go directly to the Distributive Schools Account-the education budget-in the state's general fund.

Why should Nevada's businesses pay for our schools? Education is everyone's responsibility. Businesses benefit from a qualified, educated workforce, yet they do not pay their fair share. At a critical time in Nevada's economy, it is imperative big businesses invest in K-12 education to ensure our economy turns around and improves.

What will the money be used for? Funds raised through the Education Initiative will go directly to the Distributive Schools Account-the education budget-in the state's general fund. This funding can be used to reduce class sizes, more tools and technology, early childhood education, a safe and supportive learning environment, and the ability to attract and retain quality educators.

All this does is ask the largest corporations doing business here in Nevada to pay something closer to their fair share. This, in turn, will allow better funding for Nevada's public schools. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

This is why IP 1 has been polling so well so far. And this is why "Tea Party, Inc." is running scared. This will bring us one step closer to a more sensible, more progressive, and fairer taxation system. And this will help restore badly needed funding for public education.

So tomorrow will be the big day. We'll finally get a first glimpse at both the screwy politics surrounding IP 1 and the real policy deficiencies that led to it. We'll see just how much legislators really want to "support education".