have truer memes ever been created?

EPIC??

Dear Friends,

Some light reading for your Saturday, from one of our great founding fathers:

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EPIC
And a short word about EPIC and the debate” held yesterday at the Capitol:

Like everyone else, I love the idea of actual ownership (which the proponents of EPIC purport to restore). Having to pay tax every year on personal property you allegedly own, is NOT OWNERSHIP. (And having to pay “tax” on unrealized gains, determined by some bureaucrat’s agenda-driven estimate of what your property is currently worth, is NOT TAX. It’s highway robbery.)

But proponents of EPIC have not ironed out the trade-offs (to tax-free personal property after the initial sale). They may as well be saying, like the traitor Nancy Pelosi, “We have to pass it in order to see what’s in it.” Or, “We have to pass it in order to see how it will work.”

Glory be to the negative unintended consequences.

Not if I can help it.

Proponents (yesterday) seem clueless to supply and demand. Tax-free property will draw in so much competition for our land (they admitted that), that regular Nebraskans won't have a chance. Prices will skyrocket. Poor and middle class people will be priced out of the real estate market. Land monopolization is already a huge issue.

Proponents claim landlords won’t have to keep upping rent with each increase in real estate tax. What?? Property owners WILL charge renters what the market allows, property tax or not!

Rental property is business property. It should be taxed.

Then there’s the border issue. Having a higher sales tax (to compensate for the loss of personal property tax revenue) than our neighboring states will create problems for businesses close to the border.

In my opinion, some really bad arguments were made by EPIC proponents. And those arguments don’t give me lots of confidence in the critical thinking skill of those proponents, at least on this issue.

Someone asked the question, “What other states are using something like EPIC?” The response was, “What other states have a Unicameral??” As if our Unicameral was a good thing. Our Unicameral is NOT a good thing. It was a really BAD idea. (Nebraskans were conned.) Which is why no other states have jumped on board. Our rural counties (most of our state), lost their representation. What a terrible argument to make. Being different doesn’t necessarily make us better. It may show how dumb we are.

Halloran admitted that lobbyists write out laws (and in doing so, admitted our legislators are for sale). He accredited lobbyists with the current monstrosity we call our Nebraska state tax code.. What a terrible admission. Granted, it was a true admission, but it was a terrible one. I would consider it a slip of the tongue. If our legislators sold out in the past, what makes us think they won’t sell out in the future (where all the details of EPIC have yet to be worked out).

During the debate, there was no talk of taming and reigning in government spending.

No one talked about our bloated school system.

I didn't hear anything about checks and balances.

The biggest problem with EPIC is that it takes away local control. That’s pretty serious. Problems should be resolved at the local level, as much as possible. Local control means local responsibility and efficiency, because accountability comes easier. That is what government of, by and for the People looks like.

EPIC is centralization of power. Centralization of power constitutes defiance of the wisdom of our founders.

I don't trust a tax plan that isn't ironed out, and that was written by people with a poor track record. Just look at our Election Act.

There has to be a better way.

That better way is more God and less government (back to the memes above).

Thanks to NFFV for putting the debate together. It was “enlightening.”

God bless,

Robert J. Borer