Q: Should husbands and wives have regular activities apart from each other with their friends of the same sex? I get out with some girlfriends two or three times a year and that’s plenty for me; I’d rather spend most of my time with my husband. But he likes to get together with his guy friends a couple of times each month. What are your thoughts?
“I lit my front porch on fire,” said my papa, Bradley Sander, as he sat at the table laughing. Due to the many stories Sander has related over the years, I already knew that he could be quite a troublemaker in his teenage years.
This last week brought us an event that I doubt any of us wanted to see. Russia invaded Ukraine. There’s been a lot of talk about this being the start of World War III on social media. From what I’ve seen, there have been mixed reactions to this news. There are people on Instagram posting on Vladimir Putin’s photos, basically scolding him for his actions. There are people making jokes and silly videos about the scenario on Tik Tok. There are veterans and soldiers posting videos stating that they are ready to go to war. Some people agree with our President’s announcement about sanctions and some people think he should have already deployed troops.
This week Russia escalated their ongoing attacks on Ukraine with an invasion. I support Ukraine as they defend their sovereignty against Vladimir Putin’s evil and reprehensible invasion, and I stand with Ukrainians in solidarity.
Nebraskans know every drop of water is precious. Agriculture is our top industry. It makes up 20% of our economy, and it generates one in four jobs in our state. Access to water makes this possible. We have the most irrigated acres of cropland in the country. Three of eight acres of farmland in Nebraska are irrigated.
To the community of Gothenburg that we have loved and called home for the past ten years:
What should happen with extra tax revenues? That’s the main question being debated this session by state senators. For me, the answer is obvious. The money should be given back to the hardworking Nebraskans who paid those taxes in the first place.
Greetings from your State Capitol. The Legislature's attention has turned to Nebraska's income tax rates through debate on LB939, a bill introduced by Senator Linehan. I believe it's important that all Nebraskans receive tax relief. Over the past five years, the Legislature has delivered over $1 billion dollars in property tax relief. This past week, the Legislature began debate on LB939 that proposes to reduce the top individual income tax rate from 6.84% to 5.8%, which would be phased in over a four-year period. A Revenue Committee amendment to the bill would further reduce the top corporate income tax rate to 5.8%, which would also be phased in over four years. The bill as amended would bring parity between the top rate for both individual and corporate income taxes by 2026.
According to the National Association of Manufacturers, the average U.S. firm spends the equivalent of 21 percent of its payroll every year just to comply with government regulations. For context, the average manufacturing worker in the United States makes nearly $65,000 per year according to the U.S. Census Bureau and pays an estimated 15.2% of their income back out in federal, state, and local taxes. If Congress attempted to double taxes on working families, it would be front page news. Yet, every year regulations silently reduce employer payrolls by even more, and nothing is said about the cost to workers and small businesses.
Don’t let Nebraska’s location in the middle of America fool you. Our state touches every corner of the globe with the crops we grow, livestock we raise, and products we manufacture. Each year, Nebraska exports around $10 billion of goods and services worldwide. Over 95% of consumers live outside of our borders. To grow Nebraska, we must continue to proactively reach out to international partners and share all the Good Life has to offer.