Being such a right-brained engineer has offered me an interesting perspective on most social interactions. Professionally, I might as well be a performing arts major compared to my firmly analytical teammates. And outside work, I end up being the go-to math nerd when folks want to put real numbers to something. I’m a bit of a chameleon. Add on my intense interest in dissecting communication breakdowns and I have ended up with a big question: can I help translate between those that navigate life with their minds and those that lean on their hearts? 

In the spring of 2016, I was hosting a talk radio program in Kansas City. During this time a reality TV show host named Donald Trump was starting to make some big inroads in his campaign to be president.  Thousands were showing up at his rallies and cable news stations were covering him like a rock star.  

It was tough being a moderate on that radio station when all the other programs were syndicated conservative shows like Sean Hannity and Michael Savage.  Most of the station’s audience was right wing and I was outnumbered. 

The wealthiest generation of humans to ever have existed are American boomers. At $85 trillion dollars in assets and savings, never before in history has any nation or empire had anything remotely close to those numbers or even the quality of life. After World War II, an American whose factories and bridges and roads were unspoiled by war and then a truly free, globe-spanning trade network protected by the might of the American Navy allowed Americans to ship products around the world.

Rural Nebraska must stay vigilant to happenings in Lincoln. Without vigilance, there will be efforts to throw some of us under the bus. One such effort in the Nebraska Legislature could be Legislative Bill 1038.

LB 1038 seeks to drive down property taxes in higher levy school districts by increasing state funding of those schools. Unfortunately, as introduced, it would accomplish this by stripping Nebraskans of two key property tax credit programs and impose huge property tax increases on many Nebraskans.