I’m sure if your family is getting together for the holidays there will be wine, mixed drinks or beer served. But did you know that by indulging in holiday spirits you are also paying a ‘sin’ tax? A ‘sin’ tax is an excise tax placed on something that the government ties closely to moral or...
In the spirit of #ThrowbackThursday, I thought I would highlight a 1978 article from the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), “The Consumer’s Role,” as it reminds me of an issue the Platte Institute has been working on for the past 3 years. It’s no secret that team members at the Platte Institute are huge supporters...
Ever wonder why Nebraska’s economy doesn’t seem to follow the national trend? For example, the nation experienced one of the worst recessions in modern history in 2008-2009, yet Nebraska was somewhat insulated from the effects. The reason – our state has a diversified economy. According to The Stacker website, Nebraska ranks 3rd best in the...
Yesterday, President Trump held a roundtable on regulatory innovations inviting governors from around the country to share what has been accomplished in their states. Governor Ricketts participated. He reported on the Nebraska Legislature’s work on occupational licensing reform and h ighlighted LB898 from 2016, the “hair braiding bill” that exempted natural hair braiding from cosmetology...
According to a new report published by the Pioneer Institute, the state of Nebraska took $36 million from citizens in occupational licensing fees in 2017. And because of the restrictions that licensing puts on the economy, the state lost $141 million that otherwise would have been a part of Nebraska’s economy. How does this happen? ...
This Christmas, discover your favorite Nebraska cottage foods.
One of the great free-market economists of my lifetime, the late Milton Friedman, once said: “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” That, of course, is true in lots of areas of policy, but if what’s happening in Seattle is any indication, increases in...
This story is almost 8 months old, but it’s new to me, and since the blog isn’t that old, I thought I’d share it. In abbreviated form, the Aldi grocery chain has committed to having 100% of its packaging be recyclable or reusable by 2025. One story suggested that this is pretty easy for Aldi,...
Last month we talked about how the state’s revenues were exceeding forecasts. In the last 30 days there have been many discussions in Lincoln about what to do with this excess cash. Some want to put it into the Property Tax Credit Relief Fund, some want to use it for comprehensive property tax reform, some...
As a former legislator, I understand (although never enjoyed) political pandering. I’ll admit that sometimes I would say nothing or be very non-committal when a group (especially a group of constituents) wanted me to take a particular position, and I’ll also admit that I likely pandered on occasion to groups that I could do it to in...
Unfortunately, it’s not Nebraska that’s called a special session on taxes – it’s Utah! Utah has the nation’s 9th most favorable tax climate and one of the fastest growing economies in the nation – so what more is there to change? Well, research has shown that the state relies too much on the income tax...
Nebraska state senators are already making their positions known, as a property tax ballot campaign emerges as a 2020 campaign issue.
This story from The Hill popped up in my news aggregator a little while ago. Sometimes I don’t get stories until a day after they were published… Anyway, the essence of the story is this: Congress and the President have a tentative agreement to give all federal employees 12 weeks of PAID parental leave. Current...
I was at a conference workshop this morning–about “regulatory overreach”–and one of the panelists was legislator form Idaho. This legislator made sure that we all knew what they had done this year–essentially repealing ALL of the regulatory code through a universal sunset process, and then adding a few critical ones back in. Given that most...