6-18-02 The average Nebraskan would execute their children before they would allow the legislature to raise taxes.
Well, maybe not. Still, the conservative mindset in this state is much more concerned with its own current comfort than the potential of its future generations. The latest news headlines only reinforce this theory.
The state is facing a revenue shortfall. Towards the end of the spring Unicameral session, the governor and the lawmakers reached a compromise. They decided to expand the state sales tax to include among other things, janitorial and cleaning services. The also inched up state property taxes. Both of these were slated to only be temporary.
In enacting these taxes, the state saved public education, both K-12 and post-secondary institutions, from the chopping block.
However, a group of residents saw one thing and one thing only in what the government did. They raised taxes.
They thought in their tiny little skulls, "I thought I elected a fiscally conservative governor, but now he's helping public education and Welfare. What a deceptive bastard."
So they got together to petition to repeal the law. They want to look out for those maid services that are struggling to make ends meet.
They did not really care about what the state secured funding for with the tax hike. Most of the people are not concerned with school funding. They live in well-funded districts like 66 or Millard. They can afford private or out-of-state colleges.
But, if the petition goes on the ballot and passes in November, then the state will have to devise some other way to make the budget work.
Options include cutting state aid to public health programs, cutting university funding, cutting K-12 funding, cutting police and fire funding or cutting the budget for child protective services. The one constant is that they will need to cut.
Even if the petition drive does fail, the law cannot go into effect because of it.In fact, in July the legislature will reconvene to cut even more from the state budget.
Either way it is very obvious that paying taxes, no matter what those taxes support, does not fly with most Nebraskans.
Which means the students residing in the UNL honors dorms will be hiding in the basement because their parents are in the hallway, sharpening their knives, ready to carve up the funding for anything that keeps their taxes low.
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