The beginning of term limits for state senators in our Unicameral Legislature offered many conservatives a sense of euphoria. Many believed that term limits would uproot the entrenched liberal Democrats and Republicans who dominated the various committees and substitute for them an inflow of fiscal conservatives. The election of 2006 disappointed us, because so many new liberals replaced the old ones. It was tough to find good, fiscal conservatives to run for open seats. As usual, the state Republican Party concentrated on running their “machine” candidates and shunned more conservative ones. The fiscal climate in the Unicameral did not improve in 2007 and 2008. Once again, in November of 2008, we campaigned for some good conservative legislative candidates, fighting off not only Socialist Democrat rival candidates but the usual RINOS (Republicans in Name Only) hawked by the GOP Party apparatus. Sad to say, the harvest of incoming state senators provided few Low Taxers/Spenders. Recently, we asked all newly-elected state senators to sign a “Taxpayer Protection Pledge,” promising their respective constituents that they would not raise state taxes barring a declared statewide emergency caused by a natural disaster or other declared calamitous state or national emergency. Not one of these new senators signed it! Garbage out, garbage in! Many state senators from other states have signed an identical pledge. To further insult taxpayers, not one new state senator would agree to introduce a bill to reform structurally the entire property valuation system, to relieve overburdened urban and rural property owners.
Businesses are locating their operations in states with more competitive corporate tax and property tax structures. Their middle management people do not want to live here. Young professionals are leaving the state for states with lower taxes and better salaries. Moving in to take their places are illegal aliens who work for low wages and suck off our generous welfare system, not paying their own way. Nebraska has the highest taxes in every category except one corporate tax category, compared to all adjacent states. Our population ages. Our rural areas become increasingly depopulated. Soon we will become a pariah state for the productive….another People’s Republic of Minnesota. Unless, of course, taxpaying citizens rise off their rears and find solid, conservative candidates to run for state and local offices, then volunteer for and bankroll them.
