NEBRASKA TAXPAYERS 4TH OF JULY TEA PARTY

Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom and Tea Party Patriots-NE will sponsor our annual 4th of July Tea Party on Thu. July 3, from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Walnut Grove Park, 150th & Q Streets, Omaha.  The theme of this tea party is "Restore our Constitution."  Keynote speaker is Pete Ricketts, candidate for Governor.  Also, conservative candidates for other state and local offices.  Free copies of the Constitution, patriotic music, prize drawings, contests, Liberty Tree, and hot dogs and chips.  Tents and tables loaded with conservative and Tea Party materials.  Rally and picnic with fellow taxpaying patriots and help elect conservatives in 2014!

NEBRASKA TAXPAYERS TOWN HALL MEETING, O'NEILL, NE.

NTF and several other conservative group leaders in the NE Conservative Coalition Network will hold a town hall meeting in O'Neill, NE. at 10 AM on Sat. June 21 at the Blarney Stone, 432 East Douglas Str. Please join us and learn how to lobby & monitor the state legislature, fight Common Core in our schools, stop ObamaCaid in the Unicameral, and use Twitter to advance the conservative cause. 

PROPERTY VALUATION SEMINAR.

Attention homeowners and business owners!  We invite you to attend our annual free Property Valuation Seminar.  Wed. June 18, 6:30 PM, Millard Library, 132nd & Westwood Ln., Omaha.  Learn how to challenge the increase in your property valuation.  Expert appraisers will explain every detail and help you through the process.  Plus, packets that will explain the history of our skyrocketing property valuations and solutions to this annual feast on Nebraska taxpayers. 

STOP UNFUNDED STATE MANDATES

Wed. May 21, 6:30 PM.  Panel discussion on how state unfunded mandates  adversely affect our local property taxes.  Featured speakers: Douglas County Comm. Mary Ann Borgeson, County CFO Joe Lorenz, City Council Member Aimee Melton, and Omaha Finance Director Steve Curtiss.  Millard Library, 132^nd & Westwood Lane, Omaha.  We also will discuss our summer town hall meetings in O'Neill, Columbus, Norfolk, Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney, Lexington, & Lincoln.  Please bring friends & neighbors to ask questions and volunteer.

COME TO OUR TAXPAYER TEA PARTY

People are angry over high taxes, trillions of dollars in debt and deficits, and excessive government spending.  Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom and Tea Party Patriots-Nebraska will sponsor a Tax Day Tea Party in Omaha on Saturday, April 12.  This event will run from 1 PM to 4 PM at Walnut Grove Park, 150th & Q Streets.   Keynote speaker is Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert.  Other speakers include candidates for federal, state, and local offices.  There will be over 20 candidates and officeholders to talk to.  Our tea party also will feature patriotic music, drawings for prizes, and tables loaded with conservative and Tea Party instructional materials, booklets, and DVDs.  The purpose of this event is to raise awareness and to encourage citizens to become active as taxpayer watchdogs over government taxation and spending.     

ATTEND NEBRASKA TAXPAYERS CONSERVATIVE CAMPAIGN WORKSHOP

Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom/ Build Nebraska PAC will host a free campaign workshop for conservative activists and volunteers on Sat. Mar. 22, from 10 AM to 3:00 PM.  Location: Papillion Sump Library, 222 North Jefferson Str., Papillion.  This workshop will tell you everything you want to know about precinct campaign organization and use of social media, like Facebook and blogs, to win elections. Those attending will receive hard copy packets to accompany the Power Point presentations.  Please attend and bring friends and neighbors!  Email netaxpayers@gmail.com for details.

NEBRASKA TAXPAYERS CAMPAIGN WORKSHOP

A great opportunity is coming to Omaha on Sat. March 8th for activists involved in candidate campaigns for elective offices. Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom and Build Nebraska PAC are sponsoring a free political workshop for all persons working in conservative campaigns at Mutual Federal Credit Union at 145th and F Streets, Omaha.

     The morning session will acquaint attendees with precinct building blocks, endorsement parties, coffees, phoning, going house to house, yard sign management, and  working polling places.

      At Noon, those attending will receive a special treat with an art of victory presentation by those who have gained many political successes. Panelists are Governor Dave Heineman, former 2nd District Congressman and present University Regent Hal Daub, Mayor Jean Stothert, and Council Member Aimee Melton.  A free lunch will be provided.

     The afternoon session, dubbed "mouse to mouse", will present the value of becoming familiar with cutting edge activities available today that empower campaigns to achieve victory through the most effective and modern tools.  Nebraska campaigns need to become acquainted with using the blogosphere, tweets, Facebook, email, and Linked-In.

     Registration begins at 8:30 AM. on March 8th.  The workshop sessions will begin at 9 AM and end at approximately 4 PM. 

 

      NTF president, Doug Kagan, said, "If you don't like the way liberals are controlling our governments, this workshop can put you in the driver's seat for being a game changer."     

FIGHT OBAMACARE MEDICAID EXPANSION IN NEBRASKA

BACKGROUND.  Liberal state senators, led by Sen. Kathy Campbell, have introduced LB 887, the Wellness in NE (WIN) Act bill.  This bill seeks to improve the health of and coverage for uninsured Nebraskans, reduce the per capita costs of health care, and improve access to affordable health care for the poor through government subsidization.  

BILL FLAWS.  This legislation does not expressly prohibit Medicaid or subsidized health insurance for illegal aliens.  A typical eligible participating family of 4 could have incomes up to $31,152, at 133% of the federal poverty line.  It relies on federal government total subsidization at 100%, dropping to 90% within years.  However, this pledge is non-binding, and the federal deficit may cause its reversal.  Then, state taxpayers must pay for the entire program.  Recall that the feds reneged on their promises to fully fund No Child Left Behind.  A new bureaucracy would oversee its implementation.  Medicaid would expand to provide health care coverage to additional adults through health insurance premiums paid by the welfare dept. to purchase health plans on a health benefit exchange or employer-sponsored insurance.  The dept. would pay the full cost of the premium for buying a qualified health plan on the exchange and pay for co-payments, co-insurance, deductibles, and other costs for some.  Other benefits also available for some non-emergency transportation.  These options would convince employers to dump their current employee insurance plans and join the WIN plan, so that they would not have to pay the full premiums.  Then, other of their employees would lose their insurance choices and become subject to a 2-tier plan at their disadvantage, forced to pay their own costs while fellow employees do not pay.  Declining to take a health risk assessment and annual physical to test for drug and alcohol abuse would not prevent enrolling or subject enrollees to a monthly contribution toward their premium.  This huge expenditure would siphon needed funds now pegged for the state highway system and state aid to education.  Medical professionals would be unable to handle an influx of so many patients, though the bill requires enrollees to see a provider within 60 days.  Note that current Medicaid reimbursements for physicians are 40c on the dollar, 70c on the dollar for hospitals, hardly an incentive for medical professionals to accept additional Medicaid patients.   

CONSERVATIVE ALTERNATIVES.  NTF suggests a number of alternatives for state senators that would accomplish most of the objectives that this bill intends to accomplish.  Allow untaxed state health savings accounts.  Permit groups of citizens to pool together to buy insurance policies.  Permit small businesses to pool together to obtain lower insurance rates for their employees.   Offer tax credits to the poor to purchase health insurance.   Allow wellness tax credits of $500 or more to individuals and employees who follow a specific wellness regimen.   Reform our state legal system to reduce medical malpractice liability, offering as one defense a professional following "best practices."  Permit medical licenses to apply across state lines, so that a physician could work remotely from another state.  Allow the chronically-uninsurable to gain access to coverage in a high-risk state or multi-state pool. Safeguard individuals with pre-existing medical conditions from discrimination against purchasing health insurance by bolstering a state high-risk pool.   Lobby Congress to allow purchase of policies across state lines.  These proposals would offer individuals, not government, control over their insurance and increase competition among insurance companies to drive down costs.  For example, Medicare Part D.  One NTF member, after shopping around, selected a private supplemental insurance plan to cover his prescription drugs and saved $10 per month, or $120 per year.  The state could establish an information center where citizens could find information on health insurance alternatives.  These options would encourage personal responsibility, benefit employers who want to offer employee insurance, and focus on prevention and wellness, health promotion, healthy behaviors, competition, consumer choice, and cost reduction in the private marketplace.  Moreover, these solutions would not make more Nebraskans dependent upon government.   

EXPERT TESTIMONY.  Several NTF members testified at the public hearing on this bill on Jan. 29.  The CEO of the state welfare dept. then testified that LB 887 would cause Medicaid expansion at a higher cost, because the plan would pay higher insurance premiums than in the private sector, including co-pays and deductibles, additional mandated benefits like subsidized transportation, and place undue pressure on the finite number of NE health care providers.  The Medicaid budget is rising by $17 million this year, and the bill would add 113,410 new eligibles through 2020.  The Medicaid budget then will reach $3.3 billion, with 20% of Nebraskans on this welfare program.  Administration costs would reach $6+ million over the first 2 years, over $30 million eventually.  The feds would pay only 50% of these costs.  Waivers from onerous federal rules would appear only temporary.  The initial and ongoing pilot programs would cost enormously and may not receive needed federal approval. The feds initially would pay for much of the regular cost, but fed impact aid overall will drop by 10% in 5 yrs.   The head of the state insurance dept. stated that many private insurers will refuse to participate under the rules of this socialist program, thus narrowing options for enrollees.  These companies must provide dental insurance and offer rates without time and ability to gauge costs and network adjustments to themselves.  Only 4 insurance companies in NE participate in the ObamaCare exchange here currently.  The dept. will not promote this state ObamaCare plan yet would have to hire additional employees, particularly legal staff.   

TAKE ACTION NOW.  Contact your state senator immediately to oppose and vote NO on LB 887.  Email netaxpayers@gmail.com to locate your state senator and for state senator contact information.  Then mail, email, or call your state senator to kill this socialist health care bill. 

 

CAMPAIGN WORKSHOPS FOR CONSERVATIVES

Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom/ Build Nebraska PAC
 will host two free campaign workshops in Omaha.

Sat. Feb. 22   Mutual Credit Union, 145th & F Streets 
American Majority presents

 8:30 am -- Noon - First Class Precinct Programs
Lunch Break
 1 pm --4:30 pm - How to promote your candidate on the Internet and social media

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Hard copies and Power Point presentations

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Sat. March 8    Mutual Credit Union, 145th & F Streets

Guest speakers: Gov. Dave Heineman, Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert, Regent Hal Daub
 8:30 am--Noon - Precinct Organization from A to Z

 Lunch provided at no charge

1 pm - 4:30 pm - Working with social media: Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, Blogs, etc.

MEET A CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATE FOR SENATE

Conservative attorney Bart McLeay will speak to our NE Taxpayers for Freedom meeting on Wed. Jan. 15, 6:30 PM at Millard Library, 132nd & Westwood Ln., Omaha.  We also will discuss our Legislative Watch Project monitoring tax, spending, and regulation bills in the 2014 session of the Nebraska Legislature.