EDITORIAL: How t0 create full employment for lobbyists

Las Vegas Review-Journal August 17, 2026 - 9:00 pm Many politicians — in Nevada and elsewhere — believe that providing taxpayer subsidies to favored businesses is a fine way to foster economic development. In reality, it instead appears to be the best way to create new jobs for lobbyists. In a study published in June in the journal Small Business Economics, Russell S. Sobel, Gary A. Wagner and Peter T. Calcagno examine data from all 50 states from 1997 through 2019 to conclude that, “When states award large tax breaks to attract companies, they may actually be encouraging more lobbying instead of real economic growth.” The analysis revealed that, when a state awards its first “extraordinary large” business incentive, “employment at lobbying firms increases by 3.6 percent, with gains concen