Removing Barriers for Nebraskans

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...

By Laura Ebke

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...

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...

By Laura Ebke

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...

By Laura Ebke

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...

By Laura Ebke

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