Policy director: Ricketts is right on federal stimulus concerns

(The Center Square) – Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts says tying federal stimulus payments to states’ unemployment rates isn’t fair to those like Nebraska that took the economy into account when establishing COVID-19 restrictions.

Nebraska experienced the lowest unemployment rate in the country during the pandemic because it was able to balance COVID-19 safety precautions with efforts to maintain the economy.

The new federal stimulus bill penalizes Nebraska and other states that took a similar approach, Ricketts said.

“They’re going to be rewarding states like New York and California that have very different outcomes, shall we say,” Ricketts said, KNEB reported. “So, they’re basically going to be penalizing people who’ve done the right thing.”

Sarah Curry, policy director for the non-profit group The Platte Institute, shares the governor’s concerns.

“If the money is going to be distributed, it should be distributed based on population,” she told The Center Square. “Just because a state has low unemployment doesn’t mean that everything is back to normal and the people are working. Maybe it’s restaurant workers who stopped taking benefits or they’ve lost their jobs or moved in with their parents. There are any number of situations that could alter that employment number.”

The larger issue is that most states don’t actually need stimulus funds, Curry said.

“In most states, revenues have rebounded and states are experiencing surpluses,” Curry said.

Nebraska happens to be one of those states, she said.

“If you are still going to give states money even though there is proven evidence that they really don’t need additional funds, then it should be done equally, and not based on something arbitrary like unemployment numbers,” Curry said. “I don’t think they need this additional cash.”

One reason for state revenue surpluses is a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2018 that allows states to collect sales taxes for online sales, Curry said.

“That has been a lifesaver,” Curry said. “People are buying a lot of stuff online. If this pandemic had happened five years ago, we might not be seeing such strong sales tax numbers.”

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