NTF WORKSHEET: BLUEPRINT NEBRASKA SPEECH

NTF worksheet: legwatch181.doc. 5-19.
NEBRASKA TAXPAYERS FOR FREEDOM WORKSHEET:
BLUEPRINT NEBRASKA SPEECH TO NTF: MAY 15, 2019.

Former State Sen. Jim Smith spoke on behalf of Blueprint Nebraska, a coalition of business and industry leaders who offer information and suggestions for the long-range NE economy.
BN offers ideas for economic initiatives for economic growth and planning, like many other states.
Gov. Ricketts liked the idea of devising a long-range plan and helped create BN.
19 business leaders from across the state established BN. 21 on the steering committee.
Funded by private foundations.
No politicians on the steering committee.

BN determines which businesses on which the state should focus.
Deals with taxation and energy issues.
Analyzes state economic strengths and weaknesses.
300 individuals analyze and make recommendations.
Measures NE statistics against those of peer states, which outperform NE in GDP per worker.
Believes NE should encourage businesses that have high employee productivity.
NE suffers from slow projected growth of our population.
We have net outmigration, losing many well-educated people.
NE is 41st lowest of all states in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math graduates, which hurts state.
NE has a good transportation network, with trucking companies and 2 railroads.
4 Goals: Job growth, STEM job growth, real wage growth (not artificial hikes in minimum wage), and research and development investment growth.
So we must train people for desired jobs.
We must close the NE urban-rural divide.
Choose NE is a campaign to solicit businesses to locate here.
Must extend broadband access to all NE localities.
Need more new housing in all NE areas for new jobs created.
Nebraskans must re-imagine state government in order to drive down government costs.
Must accelerate value-added agriculture, processing ag products here instead of in other states.
BN will issue a report in July, so that it will not unduly influence the Legislature while in session.
Report will state BN objectives and show willingness to work with concerned Nebraskans.

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