Omaha World-Herald Editorial: Licensing Reform Expands Opportunity
Omaha World-Herald Editorial: Licensing Reform Expands Opportunity
Read the Omaha World-Herald's latest editorial on the Platte Institute's licensing reform efforts.
Handymen Beware!
Handymen Beware!
An article published by Reason Magazine today points out the insidious nature of many states’ occupational licensing frameworks. The Hillsbourough County Sheriff’s office conducted a 9-month “sting” operation, which resulted in the arrest of 118 men and women. The sting, according to Patch, saw sheriff’s deputies pose as homeowners seeking handymen on social media to do jobs...
Taxpayers must address appetite for spending
Taxpayers must address appetite for spending
When I was running for the Legislature (both times), property taxes where high on peoples’ minds. I tried to listen to their concerns, and some comments I heard while watching the legislative coverage several days ago (and then again today) reminded me of some of the things that I’d heard, and the difficulty that I...
End the Competitor’s Veto
End the Competitor’s Veto
A Nebraska transportation law is explicitly designed to strangle competition.
Jim Vokal and Chris Baker Discuss Consumption Tax Proposal
Jim Vokal and Chris Baker Discuss Consumption Tax Proposal
Jim Vokal joined Chris Baker to talk about LR300CA.
Erdman proposes consumption tax to replace property, income tax
Erdman proposes consumption tax to replace property, income tax
Senator Steve Erdman dropped a surprise in the hopper on the last day of bill introduction. And his surprise is designed to decrease the “shakedown effect” that many Nebraskans feel when it comes time to pay property and income taxes. LB300CA–a proposal for a “Constitutional amendment to prohibit all forms of taxation other than a...
Punishments in job licensing laws don’t fit the crime
Punishments in job licensing laws don’t fit the crime
We have a right to earn an honest living. This right is protected by the U.S. Constitution. Entrepreneurship and good old-fashioned free market competition are playing a lot of defense nowadays. Protectionism has gone unchecked due to the significant increase in career paths subject to occupational licensing. These occupational licenses are often barriers to...
Report on Nebraska Ag Taxes: “Almost any state would be better than here.”
Report on Nebraska Ag Taxes: “Almost any state would be better than here.”
A new report covers a lot of ground on Nebraska's property tax problems.
How About a Second Chance?
How About a Second Chance?
John Stossel describes some of the problems with occupational licensing and the opportunity to "make good" for those who have had problems with the law. Nebraska's Occupational Board Review Act (LB 299, 2018), did not totally eliminate restrictions for licensures, but it now gives potential license-seekers the ability to pre-inquire about whether anything in their...
December state tax receipts above projections
December state tax receipts above projections
Nebraska state tax receipts exceeded projections in December 2019.
Study: Consumers care more about reputation than licensing
Study: Consumers care more about reputation than licensing
While most of us wouldn’t argue that some occupations in the medical field shouldn’t be regulated in some way, one of the arguments that I often make when engaged in discussions about the need for occupational licensing is that in the 21st century, the more important consumer standard for whether you use a particular service...
Sales Tax Bill Offers Different Approach to Reform
Sales Tax Bill Offers Different Approach to Reform
There's more than one path to creating a tax system that is simple and sustainable.
First Three Days of Session–My Eye Catchers
First Three Days of Session–My Eye Catchers
Adam went through a list of bills that caught his eye–either positively or negatively–during the first three days of bill introduction in the Legislature. Before Day 4 kicks off, I thought I'd mention a few bills that had me saying "hmm." First, I should probably note that just about all of us at Platte pay...
First Week of Session: +200 Bills Introduced
First Week of Session: +200 Bills Introduced
Find the full list of bills as well as some that caught our eye.