Those homes for sale when Cabela's left are gone. Have we recovered? Does anyone here see a recovery? Our county is spending insane amounts of money. Last year 1 million more than they had coming in. Our city is millions in debt spending over 2 million each year just servicing that debt. This is not a recovery even though the home inventory we had is gone!

Many people say we need a “Big” business to come here and then everything will get better again. Well, where are you going to put those employees? You don't have the volume of homes to support that. I have attended a couple planning commission meetings and most commissioner's meetings this past year. There is some residential movement planning but not enough in our opinion to lift us out of this economic hole we are in. We need new leadership. We need a better vision for the future. The stable answer is not one “Big” business but a lot of small ones. A lot.

 

Each morning I read economic forecasts. Yes, I am one of those people who love economics and how things function. I love the debate and conversation. This morning I was reading “Nebraska Today” from the University of Nebraska. They are predicting a continued recession through 2023 before it gets better in 2024 and 2025. Yeah, it will get better. But, it is really...

Here is a quote from the article....

 

“Given declining employment in 2023, Nebraska non-farm income will grow by 4.2%, below the expected 4.5% rate of inflation. Non-farm income will grow by 3.7% in 2024 and 4% in 2025, above the expected inflation rate of about 2.5%. “

I know many don't care about economics, but read that statement carefully. Yes, they are predicting things to get better, but what is driving that? Reduction in inflation. Look at what it says;

 

Non-Farm income will grow :

4.2% n 2023,

3.7% in 2024 and

4% in 2025.

 

Inflation will drop from 4.5% to 2.5%. If that doesn't happen, we are sunk......

 

We are not truly growing.

Why is that important? With increased growth, comes increases in the tax base which in turn lowers everyone's taxes. Which in turn makes our area more competitive, which in turn supports our businesses and gives everyone more money in their pockets. It supports and increases discretionary spending. WE NEED THAT!

 

The article predicts farming to remain strong. The largest growth areas in Nebraska though will be through business services. Here is a quote...

Job growth in 2024 and 2025 will be concentrated in the services industry, which includes business services, health care, and leisure and hospitality. There also will be solid growth in manufacturing, transportation, and financial services employment. Job growth will return to the construction industry in 2025. This means Lincoln and Omaha will grow if we don't change.

 

At the last Commissioner's meeting, we spent a good 30 minutes talking about weeds. Now, anyone who lives in this county knows weeds are a problem, we need to talk about weeds, I agree, I hate them. But our county was covered in snow, roads closed, and many problems and we are talking for an extended amount of time about weeds. We should also talk about the lack of business, planning, and growth. None of that was discussed. Not one idea.

 

It is time for the people of this county to get involved again and help make some changes. Why? We are in trouble and the only way to dig us out of this insane economic hole is through change.

 

We The People....

This is the motto our group works under. Together we can do anything when we come together to make a change. The people control what happens here, not a select group of individuals. This select group only has power because the people DON'T act. With your vote or nonvote, you give them that power. We control how and if our area grows, not a select group. Maybe you don't want to grow, but you should want to grow at least a little more to cover what was lost with the departure of Cabela's. We have used up all our home inventory and our local economy didn't rebound. We need a new direction.