How Politicians Scramble the Truth

The Great Egg Swindle

It is a well-worn custom in the noble profession of politics that when a calamity befalls the common folk—be it flood, famine, or the sudden skyrocketing of egg prices—the first order of business is not to fix the problem but to locate a suitable scapegoat and dress him in horns.

Thus, we find ourselves observing a most amusing spectacle: the very architects of Nevada’s current egg predicament, those distinguished gentlepersons, who in 2021 hatched a law with the reckless enthusiasm of a fox redesigning the henhouse, now crying foul and casting blame upon a man who had not yet stepped foot into the Governor’s mansion when their handiwork took effect.

Assemblyman Howard Watts’ bill was supported proudly by Speaker Steve Yeager and officially signed into law by Governor Steve Sisolak, marking a notable example of legislative error. And yet, here the Democrats stand, indignant, wagging their fingers at Governor Joe Lombardo as though he had single-handedly stormed every chicken coop in the state and demanded tribute in yolks.

To witness this performance is to appreciate the boundless creativity of our public servants. Having set fire to the barn, they now declare that the new owner is to blame for the smoke. The remedy is another law, crafted with equal care and forethought, expected to produce consequences just as unexpected as the last.

In the meantime, the ordinary citizen, standing in the grocery aisle and pondering whether he must now take out a second mortgage to afford a breakfast omelet, may take solace in this one certainty that when the next great misadventure befalls Nevada, those responsible will be safely ensconced behind a podium, decrying their handiwork and seeking yet another scapegoat upon whom to pin the tail.