Yesterday's Scottsbluff Star-Herald reported on Governor Pete Rickett's (R) inaugural speech to the Nebraska Unicameral. (Link has video of his speech)
Governor Ricketts is the first governor elected to the office without any political experience in over thirty years. His father founded Ameritrade, and his family owns the Chicago Cubs.
More below the orange tumbleweed blowing across the Plains . . .
Governor Ricketts outlined the issues of his successful campaign in one of the shortest inaugural speeches in recent Nebraska memory.
» Strengthen the economy via “pro-growth” policies that help create more and better paying jobs to retain and attract young people.
When he ran on this, I was not sure what he meant by this, and I still don't know what he means. Long on promise, short on substance. Maybe he will support President Obama's community college initiative? An educated populace always returns multiples of the investment to the economy.
I am not hopeful though: a number of nationally-known conservative politicians and pundits have been bellyaching about the President's initiative (especially those that went to publicly-funded schools or used government grants and such and now want to pull up the ladder after themselves).
» Cut property taxes. He called high taxes “a major barrier to creating jobs” but made clear that cutting local property taxes was “my number one priority.”
The issue with property taxes in rural Nebraska is a thorny one. Ranchers and farmers (and even people like me who live in little villages) argue over the apparently high tax rates. More below on property taxes in Nebraska.
» Reduce and oppose unnecessary state and federal regulations. “Whether it’s a livestock producer in Bridgeport or a manufacturer in Deshler, business owners bear the burden of oppressive over-regulation.”
Part of this is argument to get the EPA out of ranching and farming issues. A number of ranchers and farmers here think the EPA's regulations of their operations are too strict. At least he knows our county seat exists (Bridgeport). Most of the time the Nebraska Panhandle gets ignored by its state politicians. (Governor Heineman only came here one time, last year to pitch his income tax proposal in Scottsbluff.)
» Strengthen the state’s education system, particularly in career and vocational training. “Every manufacturer I’ve spoken to has told me they can’t find enough skilled labor,” Ricketts said.
There are many complaints about how school funding is divvied up, especially amongst the cities. Omaha in particular has been lobbying for more money for its schools, arguing that the current distribution system (which supports rural schools too) unfairly denies it the money it needs. Lincoln and South Sioux City also make the same arguments.
On the rural side of the coin, our own school districts that serve Broadwater (Bridgeport and Dalton) argue they do not have enough money to attract talent to such a remote part of the country, add facilities or equipment, &c.
It will be interesting to see how Governor Ricketts addresses this issue.
He also said he will continue to meet with state lawmakers to build relationships and urged Nebraskans to remain engaged in state government. “I promise I will listen closely and with an open mind.”
I will listen too. I certainly hope that Governor Ricketts's tax plans do not include the failed policies of Kansas and Arizona. Those two states are real-world experiments (that is, failed experiments) in trickle-down economic theory.
I hope he will listen to evidence-based reasoning (particularly considering all the social engineering projects the Republicans have teed up, like opposing abortion rights, marriage equality, &c).
I hope he will direct the state attorney general to drop the ridiculous lawsuit against Colorado and its weed law (and quit wasting taxpayer money on it). Maybe drop the opposition to marriage equality (and quit wasting money on that too). I am not hopeful however: it seems that pursuing what is going on in other people's bedrooms or wombs is a large part of the GOP agenda.
(I believe they call that smaller government, or government so small it can sit on your pillow with you and your partner, or keep an eye on the insides of a woman.)
Nebraska's economy is doing pretty well at the moment, despite the drought that devastated the crops across the state in 2012-2013. Since I live here, I would hate to see our economy fouled up with Voodoo Economics.
On the issue of property taxes:
Tax-rates.org has a description of how they work here.
The median property tax in Nebraska is $2,164.00 per year for a home worth the median value of $123,300.00. (Mine is worth about $20,000.) Counties in Nebraska collect an average of 1.76% of a property's assesed fair market value as property tax per year.
Nebraska is ranked number seventeen out of the fifty states, in order of the average amount of property taxes collected.
Nebraska property taxes are only levied by local governments, after a successful initiative passed in 1966.
Assessments on ranches and farms are the real thorny issue though: a ranch or farm takes up a huge amount of territory, and all that territory is taxed at the same rate as a little house on the prairie (like mine). (On the flip side, ranchers and farmers make a whole lot more money than people like me too.)
Nebraska's median income is $59,730 per year (I wish mine was even close to that). . . . Nebraska is ranked 14th of the 50 states for property taxes as a percentage of median income.
Tax rates are set by the individual counties, and are used to fund local government, schools, and other projects (like roads).
In Morrill County, where I live:
The median property tax in Morrill County, Nebraska is $1,124 per year for a home worth the median value of $79,800. Morrill County collects, on average, 1.41% of a property's assessed fair market value as property tax.
Nebraska is ranked 1287th of the 3143 counties in the United States, in order of the median amount of property taxes collected.
The average yearly property tax paid by Morrill County residents amounts to about 2.59% of their yearly income. Morrill County is ranked 879th of the 3143 counties [in the USA] for property taxes as a percentage of median income.
So with a GOP governor that seems to the right of the last one (Governor Heineman tried to ditch the state income tax in favour of a nice-and-regressive sales tax), we'll have to see what happens.