12/31/2025
What is 44%? According to a recent survey conducted for Forward Nebraska, that’s the number of current Nebraska residents who plan to leave the state within the next two years. Who are they? Nebraskans ages 18 to 59 from across the state—people in school, employed, or actively looking for work.
That’s our current and future workforce! They are our consumers, entrepreneurs, and taxpayers. We can’t afford to lose them, yet the state has no real plan to keep them. If we cannot attract high-paying jobs, fix our broken tax system, and expand opportunities, people will start leaving. Soon.
Are 44% of 18 to 59-year-old Nebraskans going to leave? No. But many have already started looking for opportunities elsewhere, and the mere fact that they are even thinking about leaving should be a warning.
Governor Pillen keeps saying we don’t need to attract out-of-state businesses or pursue foreign markets for our commodities, and that we can grow from within. It’s as if he’s put a wall around the state and hung a “closed” sign. That’s lunacy.
Nebraska is losing opportunities, businesses, jobs, taxable income, and people to other states. Those are facts. Unless we change course and adopt a pro-growth approach, things will only get worse.
