Gee Yogi

I believe it is a case of sticker shock. A lot of people are befuddled by the alarmingly high valuation they received in the mail by the county.When I lived here in the late 1990s, I believe the same thing happened then, along with local utility rates going up, coupled with inflation and spikes in gas prices. Like the great American philosopher and soothsayer Yogi Bera said, ‘It is déjà vu all over again.’People braced for the changes, adapted and overcame. This time, however, it is different and everyone’s hands are tied. People on a fixed income, especially our elderly, can’t tighten their belts a bit and make some cuts to their personal budget to survive. Medication costs can be very high, along with rising food prices, very well could eat an entire month’s budget up for some. Tie in higher county taxes and we’re looking at people needing to make a hard decision: meds to survive, food to survive, or a place to live? There is no easy solution.We have all heard and read the horror stories about the valuations doubling or even tripling in some cases on a property. I have spoken to folks that have very real decisions to make: move, or make drastic lifestyle cuts. This isn’t like cutting back on going out to eat or cancelling the premium cable package.This isn’t just Fairbury, either, it is all over the state. I have spoken to people all over Nebraska and the story is the same, everything, not just valuations, but gas, rent, groceries, medical bills, virtually everything, has risen in price. The county is also handcuffed in this situation. The system is set up by the state and county officials have to abide by that, however, noting that the county had not done a formal lot study since the 1990s was bad timing for those folks on a budget.For those in a higher income bracket, playing the shell game of finances is about timing and strategy. For others, it is simply about survival. There is obviously going to be a trickle down effect for people with those decisions. An example, when budgeting, people may cut out going out to eat, which will have an impact on the local restaurant, because there isn’t as much income coming in, therefore, they lay off some people. Now, those people don’t have as much income coming in, so they don’t buy as many groceries. The grocery store has to raise prices to make up for the shortfall. This, in turn, drives others to make cuts in other aspects of spending to afford food. This ultimately, brings the overall economy down.There is an ebb and flow to all of this as most economies rise and lower, are robust and then scarce. However, as I get older and have more years behind me than ahead of me, making those decisions and what you will leave behind, if anything, to the next generation, makes what hair I have left get more of a shade of white and the vein in my forehead throbs a bit more often.

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