Nebraskanomics

Jim Vokal and Laura Ebke discuss how you can help keep Nebraska property taxes in check and learn more about Nebraska's new Truth in Taxation law at PlatteInstitute.org/Truth.

Platte Institute Community Engagement Director Elizabeth Hallgren joins Jim Vokal to talk about her experiences as an educator and small business advocate, and how Nebraskans can stay informed and help remove barriers to success in their state.

City clerks in 17 small Nebraska towns have been caught stealing from taxpayers in recent years. Addie Costello of the Flatwater Free Press and Nebraska Deputy Auditor Craig Kubicek discuss ways Nebraskans can trust but verify what government is doing with your money, and what to do if you see something that might be wrong.

Eli Vedral, a student-athlete at Creighton University, joins Jim to discuss how a change in Nebraska legislation enabled him to start a home-based baking business, Kookaburra Cookies.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Nebraska communities of all sizes were experiencing housing shortages, and from 2008 to 2018, Nebraska saw the 6th fastest increase in home prices among all states.

That’s why the Blueprint Nebraska economic initiative has set the goal of increasing the housing supply and making our state a national leader for housing affordability.

Tune into the latest episode of Nebraskanomics, 3 Building Blocks for More Housing in Nebraska. In this episode, we’re joined by policy experts and leaders to discuss the following agenda.

How can these changes allow our communities to become even more desirable and attainable places for people to live? Tune in to find out.

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If you want more economic freedom in Nebraska, please visit PlatteInstitute.org to make a donation to help fund our research and advocacy.

❌It’s time to stop the status quo.

Let’s remove economic barriers and make Nebraskans proud.

Election policy expert Tyler Fisher, from the nonpartisan reform group Unite America, joins Jim Vokal to discuss why state and federal election systems often incentivize policy outcomes that leave most Americans dissatisfied, and what Nebraska can do to give the majority of voters more say in who represents them in Lincoln and Washington.

On a special episode of Nebraskanomics, Jim Smith asks three experts on telecommunications and regulation about the state's progress on grant programs that expand broadband connectivity. Nebraska Public Service Commissioner Mary Ridder, Nebraska Legislature Transportation and Telecommunications Committee Legal Counsel Mike Hybl, and Hamilton Communications General Counsel Jim Ediger are our guests.

Platte Institute Senior Fellow Laura Ebke says there's more the state can do to welcome workers with career and military experience to join Nebraska's workforce.

Platte Institute Senior Policy Advisor Michael Lucci tells Jim Vokal an increasingly mobile workforce is prompting more states to take bold action on tax reform.

In 46 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, lawmakers provide an online recording archive of their legislative proceedings.

Nebraska is one of just a handful of states that isn’t offering this resource.

I’m tempted to say this is such an obvious error, that almost everybody would agree this situation should be changed. But our state has had the technology to make these recordings available to Nebraskans for quite some time, and it hasn’t proactively happened on its own.

Tune into the latest episode of Nebraskanomics, 3 Reasons to Post Nebraska Legislature Videos Online. In this episode, I’m urging the Unicameral to join the rest of the country in posting its recordings online for everyone to see and share for the following reasons.

Concerned Nebraskans can’t let up on this issue until the job is done.

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If you want more economic freedom in Nebraska, please visit PlatteInstitute.org to make a donation to help fund our research and advocacy.

❌It’s time to stop the status quo.

Let’s remove economic barriers and make Nebraskans proud.