Letter to the Editor

SOS Initiative: So what's the alternative?

Tuesday, August 8, 2006

The McCook Gazette's simplistic opposition to the Stop Over-Spending (SOS) Initiative offers no alternative to the dismal tax and spend path Nebraska is on.

Nebraska's affluent baby boomers are seeking retirement elsewhere, our well educated youth seek employment out of state, new businesses refuse to come here, old businesses demand tax breaks to expand and the Gazette recommends staying the course.  

SOS allows for spending increases set by inflation and population growth rates. Approximately 3.8 percent last year. This year's actual state spending increase was 7.8 percent, next year 7 percent, state fiscal office projections of 5.7 percent in 2008 and 7.2 percent in 2009 -- all unsustainable numbers.

If the Legislature wishes to spend more, they must jump over the top of the lobbyist and special interest -- come back to the citizens -- interrupt our busy lives -- inform us why they believe added spending is needed -- we the people will then decide if any more spending is merited.  Simple and makes for common sense, doesn't it?

Since Coloradoans passed their "Tax Payers Bill of Rights" (TABOR) in 1992 their economy and population growth has been the envy of the surrounding states.  Colorado's economy has been consistently ranked No. 1 by the American Enterprise institute. Their overall family tax burden is 40 percent less on average than Nebraskans.

Government services have functioned well and efficiently. Since 1992, Colorado's average household income has risen from 43rd to 7th in the nation. The Facts are Colorado is booming and Nebraska is not.

In 2005 Coloradoans narrowly approved a proposal to forgo their TABOR dictated tax refunds and instead allowed the state to spend (for 5 years) the abundant excess of tax revenues generated by the booming TABOR economy. They did not vote to raise tax rates nor did they suspend TABOR as the Gazette claims. TABOR is still in effect in Colorado.   

In 1998, Nebraskans defeated Initiative 413, a proposal to limit state and local tax revenues to inflation and population growth.

The same opponents to SOS, "Nebraskans for the Good Life" a consortium of tax-dollar profiteers, successfully scared tax payers about false scenarios of property tax increases if 413 passed.

Guess what happened to property taxes since 1998? The state office of "Property Taxation and Assessment," reports that property tax revenues have gone up 55 percent from $1.47 billion to $2.28 billion. This seven-year $810 million increase does not include the millions in tax breaks demanded by tax burdened businesses through LB775 and Local Tax Increment Financing Projects ($26.4 million in 2005). Nebraska ranks 16th in Property tax burden, 6th in overall tax burden.

How does the Gazette propose to control property taxes? Do they propose a tax shift to income and sales taxes?

That would be hard to do when we are already burdened with the nation's sixth highest overall tax rate. The reality is that unless the people start to take charge of their state spending by enacting SOS -- all taxes will continue to go up, up and up!

When SOS is constitutional law, I personally look forward to the day that Nebraska, like Colorado, has a booming economy, low tax rates, an efficiently-run government and a pile of excess tax revenues to spend on infrastructure.

**-- Mike Groene is Chairman of the Stop Over-Spending Ballot Committee.

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