Boots

An old expression my father would use is, ‘boots on the ground.’Sometimes when referring to a business, he’d say, ‘The CEO may have an idea on what direction the company needs, but it is the boots on the ground that make the difference.’I know Governor Pillen has the intent of deep cuts in property taxes for citizens, but at what cost is he going to achieve that goal? Is saving money on property taxes each year worth giving up local control?This is where the boots on the ground come into play. Yes, a hard cap on spending at the county and city level works on paper. However, the concept of communism works on paper as well. Ask folks living in communist countries how that concept is working out for them.Will hard caps work in a practicality sense? The state should be asking local county governments on how this will work in a practical sense. Ask school boards how spending caps work.Is there overspending in Nebraska? Absolutely. I believe the most overspending is at the highest level of government. The state auditor just found $13 million in daycare subsidies in metro daycares. The Department of Health and Human Services had lax oversight, according to the state auditor.Let’s start with hard caps on spending at the state level and rid agencies like DHHS from having words like ‘lax’ associated with said agency. Boots on the ground can keep a local governing body in check. A school board has access to constituents every single day. County commissioners and city council folks talk to the people they serve every single day.Pillen has also said he will push for legalized sports betting in the state. I believe he keeps touting the line, ‘the people have spoken’ and that we are losing money to Iowa every single day.Does this mean he will support legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes like Iowa? It is coming into the state from Colorado and Iowa every single day and there are thousands of signatures gathered every election cycle wanting legalized marijuana on the ballot.I think this sets a bad precedent in the state. If you let one in, you have to let both in and the line. ‘The people have spoken’ is not valid. Gambling is just as destructive as marijuana.The property tax cuts, coupled with hard caps on local communities, along with taxing many different services is a shift, not an answer. Gambling and marijuana are new sources of revenue, but the question remains, what do you want to sacrifice to gain a goal?Ask the boots on the ground for answers, not think tanks.

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