In the News Heineman Has Welcome Stance On Lid Lincoln Journal Star Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2006 It may have taken him awhile to make up his mind, but Gov. Dave Heineman eventually reached the right decision to oppose the proposed state spending lid. His influence will be a help in defeating the flawed concept. His decision also lends encouragement because it suggests that opposing the lid is the politically smart thing to do. Heineman’s credentials as one of the state’s savviest politicians were burnished by his come-from-behind win for the Republican gubernatorial nomination against Nebraska football icon Rep. Tom Osborne. The governor said organizers of the petition drive had the right issue and the right message, but the wrong mechanism. As the Journal Star pointed out in a June editorial staking out editorial board opposition to the proposed spending lid, one of the biggest problems with the proposal is that it would produce more upward pressure on property taxes. The lid would tilt the state’s tax structure in the wrong direction. In comparison with sales and income taxes, Nebraskans hate property taxes the most. Heineman touched on that point when he announced his position, noting that the proposed lid on state spending would not affect property taxes, which are set at the local level. The proposed lid that will appear on the November ballot was modeled after a lid in Colorado that was written into the state’s constitution in 1992. Colorado residents became unhappy with its restrictions and voted earlier this year to suspend the lid for five years. Heineman also brought up a couple of other good points against the lid. One is that the lid would make it more difficult for the state to make one-time investments that might have the effect of saving money in the long term. Recently, for example, the Legislature agreed to spend about $10 million in various community correction programs. The programs are cheaper and potentially more effective in reducing repeat offenses than prison terms. That allocation would have been more difficult under a spending lid, because state government is prohibited from borrowing money like the federal government. Heineman also urged taxpayers who are upset with government spending to use the options already available to them, such as appearing at public hearings and contacting their representatives. “What we do in a democracy is not a non-contact sport,” Heineman said. “Citizens need to show up at budget hearings, at the city council, the county level, the school district and the state level and share their feelings that they don’t want the budget to go higher.” That’s sound advice. The proposed spending lid would cause too many problems to write it into the state constitution. As more Nebraskans study the lid, they’re going to reach the same decision as Heineman to vote against it.