Off-campus groups
debate lid’s elements
LID from page 1
you there’s going to be a taxpayer’s
revolt,” Wolf said.
Ed Jaksha, a longtime tax
watchdog and leading proponent,
was just as adamant about die need
for tax relief.
“I think it’s troublesome that
anyone should refuse to respond to
the hue and cry of people generally
for lower taxes,” he said
Taxation seesaw
But Jim Griess, executive direc
tor of the Nebraska State Education
Association, said the amendment
would hurt schools both by ending
property tax relief efforts and forc
ing cuts in staff and programs.
One cause for increased govern
ment spending in recent years has
been greater state aid for local gov
ernments and school districts. But
Griess contended that the amend
ment’s spending restrictions would
freeze state aid to schools.
For instance, he said the
Legislature’s 1997 allocation of
$110 million in state aid to schools,
designed to compensate for state
mandated property tax mill levy
reductions, would have been impos
sible under the lid.
With less state aid, he said, two
things could happen: Property taxes
could be increased to replenish
school funding, or school’s staff and
programs could be cut - or both.
Christiansen agreed.
“The irony is, this proposal rais
es property taxes,” he said.
But Wolf said the contention
that the amendment would hurt
property tax relief efforts was
“unmitigated nonsense.” ,
He said, the amendment stipu
lates that cuts in state aid would
have to be across the board - no sin
gle agency, institution or program
would carry the burden.
A share of the pie
Opponents of Initiative 413 also
have noted that since the 1960s,
total state and local government
spending as a percentage of the total
income of Nebraska taxpayers has
stayed relatively constant, at about
10-11 percent.
Bill Lock, a research analyst for
the Legislature’s Revenue
Committee, confirmed those fig
ures and noted that the percentage,
now at 10.2 percent, was actually
lower than in past years because of
tax cuts passed by the 1998
Legislature.
“It’s coming down anyway, and
quite frankly it’s never really gone
up,” he said.
But Wolf said the comparison of
state spending growth to the growth
in citizens’ incomes was an inappro
priate comparison. The fact that cit
izens’ incomes have grown doesn’t
give the government the right to
claim its share of that growth, he
said. .:
“To set a revenue plan not based
on what you need but on what you
think you should be taking out of
someone’s pocket... that’s such a
backward way to determine the rev
enue you need,” Wolf said.
Just as businesses must keep
their spending in line with inflation,
Wolf said, so should state govern
ment
But Christiansen said schools
and governments often face costs
that rise faster than the Consumer
Price Index, a federal government
measurement of inflation.
For instance, he said, libraries
have faced rapidly increasing costs
for books. Schools have confronted
paper prices rising at 10 percent
annually - much higher than the
CPI, now at about 2 percent.
Calling for accountability
Wolf also criticized University
of Nebraska administrators for their
protests that NU would face a $20
million cut under the amendment.
That assessment was based on a
study by the Legislature’s Revenue
Committee. The study determined
the amendment could force the state
to cut $77.5 million of existing pro
grams, some of which NU would
have to bear.
But Wolf and Jaksha both said
NU administrators should examine
their administrative effectiveness
under current budgets, especially
given the University of Nebraska
Lineoln’s slip to the third tier of uni
versities in this year’s U.S. News Sc
World Report ratings.
“If I were a parent or a student, I
would take a look at the administra
tion of the university,” Jaksha said.
“Before the university cries foul, it
ought to prove it is doing a good job
of managing its resources.”
The next step in the amendment
fight is a Nebraskans for the Good
Life legal challenge now being con
sidered by the Lancaster County
District Court. The group contends
the amendment violates state law
limiting petitions to one subject.
Christiansen said he expects
the court to rule soon on whether
the case will go to trial in October.
In any case, he said, the legal action
probably would not keep the
amendment off the November bal
lot.
Opponents of the initiative plan
a rally Saturday at the Orpheum
Theater in Omaha, starting at 10
a.m. U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey will be
the featured speaker.
Students Against the Lid meets
By Ieva Augstums
Staff writer
Students Against the Lid met for
the first time Thursday to discuss
strategies and techniques on educat
ing UNL students about a proposed
constitutional amendment they said
would increase tuition.
“We need to show people that
they do have a vested interest in this
issue,” ASUN President Sara Russell
said. “This is a big university - it
affects all of us.”
The newly formed organization
is concentrating its efforts on lobby
ing against Initiative 413, a proposed
state amendment that, if passed,
would cut $20 million from the NU
system’s budget, according to univer
sity budget estimates.
Russell, who helped organize the
group, said Students Against the Lid
would help inform die UNL commu
|
nity about the lid’s adverse effects.
“I’m at a loss on trying to get stu
dents off their butt,” Russell told the
15 students at the meeting. “This is
where you come in.”
ASUN Government Liaison
Committee Chairwoman Angie
Klein said students don’t necessarily
have to be against die lid to be in the
group.
“We want to be an informational
organization,” Klein said. “Our goal
is to get the word out”
Russell said the group is inde
pendent of UNL student govern
ment. But, she said, ASUN is sup
portive of Students Against the Lid’s
efforts.
“We are carrying this issue on
our backs now” Russell said. “We
must organize. We must educate. We
must get out and vote against it”
Students Against the Lid will
meet again Thursday at 5 p.m. in the
Nebraska Union.
Steven Ambrose details
lives of Lewis and Clark
ByAdamKunker
Staffwriter
Lively storytelling made for a
memorable history lesson Thursday
evening as world-renowned historian
and author Stephen Ambrose talked to
attendants of the Governor’s Lecture in
the Humanities at Kimball Recital
Hall.
Ambrose, author of “Undaunted
Courage” about the Lewis and Clark
expedition of the early 19th century,
spoke in conjunction with the
Nebraska Humanities Council, which
was celebrating its 25th anniversary.
introduced oy uov. uen Nelson,
Ambrose lectured on the legendary
journey of Meriwether Lewis and
William Clark over the previously
uncharted terrain of the Missouri
River Valley and Louisiana Purchase.
Ambrose thanked the Nebraska
Humanities Council for its support of
research and arts.
“Your support for the humanities is
God’s work,” he said. “Bless you for it”
Ambrose then led the audience on
a verbally guided history of the expe
dition from its beginning in 1804 to its
end in 1806 and the events in the years
following.
“I envy Meriwether Lewis for so
many things,” Ambrose said. “I envy
him for his great adventure and every
thing that went into it But what I envy
(him) for the most is his friendship
with William Clark.”
Ambrose spoke about not only the
trials and exploits of Lewis and Clark,
but also the friendship shared between
the two captains of the voyage.
“They had developed a trust in
each other that was complete,”
Ambrose said. “Modem people just
didn’t do what they did.”
Ambrose regaled the audience
with many interesting sidelights of the
voyage.
He included a few stories about
mishaps, running out of food and mak
ing it back to St Louis, the beginning
and terminal point of the voyage, with
only gunpowder, ammunition, paper
and ink.
rur mucn ui uie msi leg 01 uie voy
age, the two captains and their remain
ing 29 (only one man died in the unit)
enlisted men sustained themselves
with dog meat, among other tilings.
“I was very impressed,” said
sophomore speech pathology major
Laura Beukenhorst “He really knows
how to tell a story and make it applica
ble to our time.”
After speaking for just over an
hour, Ambrose entertained many
questions about not only his research
with the Lewis and Clark expedition,
but his well known work in military
history.
In concluding the lecture,
Ambrose again spoke of the
indomitable ties of friendship between
Lewis and Clark and the importance of
friendships in our lives.
“For Lewis and Clark, (friendship)
was an ecstasy and a critical factor in
their success.”
Traffic stop ends in arrest
A routine traffic stop led police
to a wanted man and a sawed-off
shotgun Wednesday morning.
When Lincoln police stopped
the man around 9:45 a.m. for speed
ing, they found he had an outstand
ing warrant, Sgt. Ann Heermann
said.
After arresting the 30-year-old,
police searched the car and found a
sawed-off shotgun in the back.
The gun’s barrel and the stock
had been sawed off, and there was a
shell loaded into the chamber.
He was charged with speeding,
carrying a concealed weapon and
his previous warrant
Webslingers,
beware.
We’re on
the mutha.
www.unl.edu/
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