Loren Lippincott
My youngest son and I have been involved in two different franchise businesses over the past 15 years. Both of them — Planet Fitness and now Seven Brew — are independently owned and operated but governed by the franchises. Routinely the corporate headquarters of the franchises will check up to make sure the business is conforming to standards to ensure the best possible product for the customers. At the same time, the independent franchisees contribute to the brand by bringing their ideas for “building a better mouse trap” — proven practices that have impacted actual customers. This seems to work well because statistically a franchise owner will still be in business 92 percent of the time after 10 years, whereas a momand- pop shop has an 87 percent chance of failure after 10 years.
I thought of the power of this relationship recently when I joined 32 other legislators from Nebraska and Iowa in Washington, D.C. for an afternoon of listening and giving feedback to various cabinet secretaries and their staffs. Each of them would begin and end their presentation by very clearly telling us that the best ideas come from the grass roots, as represented by the state legislators.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick came in first to talk to us and listen. He got down into the weeds regarding the Trump tariffs. He said in 2024 the U.S. took in $4 trillion in foreign trade but paid out $6 trillion. He said that is quickly being remedied and soon the tariffs will be making a big difference in our import/export equation. He also reminded us that prior to 1913 tariffs alone fed our federal budget before we had a national income tax.
As I’ve stated often before, government should promote productivity, not penalize productivity. Lutnick also touched on the need for small nuclear power generators. With the need for electricity expected to double with increased internet usage and data storage over the next 20 years, our electrical power grid needs immediate attention.
The under secretary of the Small Business Administration also told us that during Trump‘s first term he called for three regulations to be removed for every new one implemented, and by the end of his first term 11 regulations were being removed for every one implemented. Now, in his second term, 31 regulations are being removed for every new one.
With the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, the under secretary of Department of Education said the administration is establishing the first federal tax credit scholarship program. Also, they hope to expand 526 Plans, they’re working toward reigning in college costs and student debt and for the very first time they want to hold colleges accountable for the value of a college degree. (He reminded us that 40 percent of college graduates do not work in their area of study.) And finally, he said they want to hold elite universities accountable for their policies.
He also detailed the abysmal ranking of American students in reading and math, stating that though we spend three times more on education per student than any other country in the world, we rank near the bottom in terms of performance. He went on to say a strong education, results in a strong economy.
The secretary who discussed welfare brought to our attention that Medicaid is intended for those needing financial assistance, specifically the disabled. But it turns out that only 31 percent of those receiving Medicaid are actually disabled. Twenty percent are simply old, 13 percent are children and a full 36 percent of those receiving Medicaid are able-bodied adults. He added the 23 percent of Medicaid recipients spend $23 billion a year on soda and candy using their Medicaid funding.
Other items brought to our attention included administration efforts to: ensure election integrity by making sure only U.S. citizens can vote, making voter ID universal (including for absentee voting) and having more use of paper ballots; increasing school discipline; ending DEI training; banning sanctuary cities and other magnets for illegal immigrants, and pursuing the death penalty for child rapists and drug traffickers.
Overall, I found the trip to be a valuable experience for both sharing our grassroots ideas and listening and learning.
Loren Lippincott represents Legislative District 34 in the Nebraska State Senate. Read his column in the Nance County Journal.