MELECKI: Taxes are not state budget, Nebraskans enemy

No one wants to say it. It's not the popular thing to do. Politicians are too worried about being re-elected to do it, even when it's best for their constituents.

But I'm not afraid to tell the truth. We need to raise taxes. Gasp!

If no one else is going to propose the best solution to our problems, I'll do it. And I'll take the flack for it, too.

We have a multi-trillion dollar budget deficit on the federal level, and now the state is having problems, too. Governor Heineman has called a special session of the Legislature to handle Nebraska's declining state tax receipts and revise the state budget, according to an Oct. 7 Lincoln Journal Star article.

Heineman has a plan for the session – he wants senators to cut the state budget, and to further reduce taxes. The idea is that if Heineman and the Legislature can cut funding to enough state-run programs, he can not only solve the problem of the budget shortage that will be created with declining state taxes but also reduce taxes even more.I'm not even sure he's a Republican anymore. This is just borderline psycho.

Let's check out the state's financial situation. By our constitution, we have to maintain a balanced budget. This is smart. It's something our federal government should think about implementing, once they figure out a way to dig us out of this trillion-dollar trench we're in.

So the Legislature comes up with a plan to keep the budget balanced once every two years, and the governor signs off on it. We've just begun one of these two-year budget cycles, and already the governor wants to amend the plan!

I understand that something needs to be done to adjust for the tax revenue our state was expecting to receive. But there are two problems with Heineman's proposal.

First of all, we're dealing with a loss in income, not a gain. Any idiot knows that you don't reduce your salary when you're having trouble paying the bills. You can either increase your salary (or, in the case of the state, tax revenue) or you can decrease your bills (in the case of the state, state-funded programs).

Depending on where tax revenue is coming from and what state-funded programs you are looking at cutting, either one could be a viable option. We already dramatically reduced funding to state programs when the budget was originally passed this spring. Why are we doing this again?

Second, as Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad, a member of the Legislature's Appropriations Committee, told the Journal Star, the governor has the ability, through executive order, to implement cost-saving strategies within agencies that answer to him. There is no need to call a special session, which is going to cost us $10,000 per day, by the way, when we could simply get through November and December based on executive order and then deal with the tax shortage during the regular session!

For a man who's all about saving money, Heineman sure loves to spend money.

But there's a method to his madness, and I've figured it out. Governor Heineman is running for re-election, and voting day is only a year away. He knows that if he cuts taxes now so that Nebraskans are paying less money out-of-pocket, it will take a little while for the effects to set in. Effects such as skyrocketing tuition (you thought this year was expensive? Just wait), poorly maintained highways, and fewer dollars allocated to programs helping seniors, children, and veterans.

Like any good politician, the governor wants to get the most exposure possible out of his little tax-cutting charade. The regular session isn't good enough for him. Too much going on. It takes too long. Plus, the governor's budget cut could get caught up in other legislative news about other things, like programs that can't be funded because our chief executive is cheap.

Is Heineman trying to become Schwarzenegger and make us the next California? I'm sorry but there's a reason I don't live in a state where the Terminator is trying to terminate, err, balance, the budget.

Someone in that Penis of the Plains needs to stand up and take one for the team. Someone needs to propose an increase in taxes because, goddamn it, I want a quality public education where no one's "application" can be rejected. And I want my grandma and my little brother to be able to get flu shots for free this winter because they can't afford them otherwise. And I want to be forced to deal with summer road construction, because it's so much better than the alternative of neglected highways.

I want my taxes raised, and you should, too!

This is the practical viewpoint, the perspective that understands that quality government services require funding. This is the type of viewpoint that should only be maintained by the tough, those who can handle ignorant opposition from people who want to pay less and get more. This is the viewpoint nobody wants to have because we've been taught from day one that taxes are the enemy.

I'm not saying we should have our taxes raised by a huge amount. I'm just saying we need to stop and consider everything we give up when we decide to cut spending.

You may think Heineman is looking out for your pocketbook, but in reality he's only looking out for the polling booths. Don't let him play politics like he owns this place. It's our Nebraska, too.