Analyzing L.B. 1059: An Act Relating to School Financing
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Authors
O'Reilly, Robert C.
Issue Date
1991
Volume
24
Issue
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION|Death, poverty, sin and taxes are among the inevitables of humankind. Other aspects of humanity could extend the list, but legislators spend much of their time trying to curtail both sin and taxes. Self interest and perceived constituent interests are strong motivators for legislators. It is difficult to provide any rational, yet brief, explanation as to why these two concerns loom so large in legislative halls, but they do, and the Nebraska Unicameral is no exception. |Whenever taxing systems are modified, some citizens gain relief while others gain new obligations. Fairness and the distribution of both satisfaction and dissatisfaction are primary considerations of legislators. It is the anger and apprehension developed by citizens faced with increased taxation that has a settling effect on legislators, persuading them to never stir up a hornet's nest, to let sleeping dogs lie, and to accept all of those other capsule philosophies that are precious gems in the marble and mosaic halls. By virtue of facing reelection in our representative democracy, legislators willingly ignore or suppress activity within their group which they see as certain to lead to unpleasantness as they meet their constituency. In one sense, it is a glaring frailty in our government, a group dynamic which often becomes a socially or economically crippling condition. By this short and succinct explanatory road, then, the Nebraska state senators' views of taxation for the public schools of the state can be described until L.B. 1059, that is...
Description
Citation
24 Creighton L. Rev. 495 (1990-1991)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law