Heineman touts spending cuts

After doing a quick series of jumping jacks aimed at warming up his toes in McCook's single-digit temperatures this morning, Nebraska Gov. Dave Hein-eman said his 2007 agenda is aimed at lowering taxes and controlling spending.

"Nebraska is one of the top 10 high-tax states in the country," Heineman said. "We have the sixth highest tax rate in the nation."

Heineman compared his state's tax status with his neighbors': Kansas, 18th; Iowa, 26th; Wyoming, 33rd; Missouri, 34th; Colorado, 38th; and South Dakota, 45th. "Our neighboring state have done a much better job than we have," Heineman said.

This high tax environment is to blame, he said during a state fly-around after his state-of-the-state address Wednesday, for the state's fragile economy and for young people seeking em-ployment outside the state.

Nebraska needs to create jobs for young people and enhance job opportunities for the middle class, the governor said. "To do that, we need to do two things -- lower taxes and control spending," he said.

Heineman said he would have told anyone that it would be impossible to create 20 manufacturing small businesses in communities of less than 10,000, each of which would create 50 jobs. "But that's what ethanol plants have done," he said. "Everywhere we've put an ethanol plant, there are 50 permanent jobs."

Heineman's plan is to allocate a general-fund payment of $15.5 million in the upcoming fiscal year to help pay incentives owed to new ethanol plants.

The governor's plan also sees the beginning of a water management fund to address issues in the Platte and Republican river basins. The fund would be filled with general fund contributions of about $2.7 million annually, about $300,000 annually from the Nebraska Environmental Trust (funded by the Nebraska Lottery), federal dollars from EQIP and CREP environmental programs, and, beginning in 2013, about $6.3 million annually from corn and sorghum checkoffs.

"$128 million ... that's a significant sum of money that should go a long way to addressing Republican and Platte river issue," Heineman said.

Heineman said he wants to, five to eight years down the road, when Nebraska is in compliance with the Republican River Compact (which divides virgin Republican River water among Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas), revisit the Compact with Kansas. "Our neighbor to the south will work with us as long as we're making good faith efforts," to comply, Heineman said. "They don't want money. They want water."

Heineman agreed with McCook City Manager Kurt Fritsch that Nebraska needs to market itself better. Fritsch said he wasn't talking about promoting tourism, but about promoting and selling the quality of life available in Nebraska.

Heineman said he will compete with any governor in any state when it comes to recruiting new business. "We have no oceans, no mountains and no beaches. But we don't need them," Heineman said. "Our greatest asset is our people -- their work ethic -- and our quality of life. "We need to sell that better," Heineman said. "It's all about an attitude. It's all about marketing."

He continued, "If we keep it a secret, we can't grow."

"It's not our nature to brag," Heineman said, "but we need to sell ourselves better."

Heineman said that when Nebraska creates a more favorable tax environment, the state's business climate will improve.

Heineman said he uses Kaufman Trailers of Beaver City as an example of a company moving into the state and succeeding in its business plan. He was pleased to learn that Kaufman is adding a night shift to meet demand for its trailers and to create an inventory from which to make sales.

While some state measures have targeted big businesses in big towns, Heineman said, the "Nebraska Advantage" act is benefitting smaller communities in the state. Heineman said, "It's important for every community to have the opportunity to grow."