OMAHA, NE – Hadley Richters, CEO of Holland Children’s Movement issued the following statement in response to Governor Ricketts’ State of the State address today:
“Governor Ricketts talks about the Good Life in Nebraska, but the truth is he’s not paying attention to the real-life issues impacting our families and hard-working Nebraskans each day,” said Richters.
“The Governor makes no mention of state investments for core services or policy priorities like early childhood care and education, employment benefits, and funding higher education — all of which Nebraskans support overwhelmingly to grow our economy and middle class,” said Richters. “Instead, the Governor clings to his backward agenda that fails to prioritize the services families need while placing the burden on our local communities.”
“He continues to ignore majorities of Nebraskans who point to a path for balancing the budget by increasing some taxes to raise revenue, rather than making cuts to spending and services,” said Richters.
Recent survey data shows on balancing the state budget, nearly six-in-ten voters said they would prefer the state raise additional revenue through some tax increases (58 percent) rather than avoid any tax increases and make cuts to spending for programs instead (25 percent). Broad majorities of voters believe big corporations (58 percent) and wealthy Nebraskans (54 percent) pay less than their fair share in taxes. The Governor touts his dedication to job training while 72 percent of Nebraska voters indicate this as an area the state spends too little. Additionally, almost 7-in-10 Nebraskans (69 percent) believe the best way to support families and Nebraska’s middle class is to focus more on investments that will help small businesses, working families, and children; and just 27 percent choose an alternative to cutting taxes and regulations for large businesses and corporations so they can create more jobs.*
“Hopefully the Governor will start focusing on the majority of Nebraskans who want affordable access to early childhood education, more opportunities to job training, and a University that is fully funded and affordable, to make sure all Nebraska families have the tools they need to live the good life,” said Richters.
* Nebraska Voter’s Outlook Survey, August 2018
Nebraska Voters’ Outlook: Taxes, Spending, and the State Budget