In one of Rob Port’s May writings, he indicated that former State Senator Roscoe Streyle was running for a seat in the legislature on the strength of a proposal to cut North Dakota property taxes by 50%.

Having served on the Appropriations Committee, he was automatically seated on the interim Budget Committee. Besides that, his interest in money issues probably emanates from his banking experience.

In recent years, the legislature has decided that the low tax burden in North Dakota wasn’t low enough. A 50% cut in property tax would put North Dakota on the street corner, hat in hand, asking for volunteer contributions to keep the government alive.

$2 billion available?

According to Port, Streyle predicted that the state’s surplus by the end of the biennium will be close to $2,000,000,000, a tempting sum awaiting legislative decision.

The legislature has already been throwing money at tax relief. First, it cut the income tax; then it gave everybody $350 income tax rebate which helped everyone who owed more than $350; then it cut oil taxes significantly, now we’re supposed to look at the property tax.

In the first place, a 50% reduction would require remuneration to the local governments – school districts, townships, counties and cities. Anybody who thinks that these governments can exist without the property tax has a bat in the attic.

Farmers had tax cut

Farmers already had their taxes cut in half when the “productivity” principle replaced “ad valorem” in 1980.

The productivity principle required North Dakota State University economists to calculate the value of land by its productivity. It wasn’t any simpler than the regular ad valorem (by value) system with value measured by current sales in the market place but it helped farmers.

Now about the two billion dollars that Streyle is considering for replacement money. There should be more to life in North Dakota than fat bank accounts, mediocre services and low taxes. In other words, there are needs in the state that are more important than fooling around with the property tax.

Little to brag about

In many categories of social and economic life, North Dakota has little to brag about.

U.S. News ranks North Dakota 25th in a listing of best states for education. Teacher salaries rank at 36th.

(That may improve if teachers are required to carry guns.)

North Dakota ranks 21st in poverty; 21sti in dental care providers; 46th in quality care, 37th in mental health providers.

Now that mass killings in schools have become common place, most North Dakotans seem to reject the idea that AR-15s and other rapid fire weapons are to blame but that it is a mental health problem. If that is a good assessment, then North Dakota gun owners, to stave off regulations, should support big appropriations for mental health programs – more mental health professionals and universal screening for detecting anxiety in the school children.

In the mediocre pack

While North Dakota ranks high in some categories — fresh air – constant wind – barbed wire — the state falls short in critical areas. In those areas, we are in the middle of a mediocre pack.

When we have the money, why shouldn’t we upgrade our educational system so that we rank in the top 10 states? Before proposing more tax cuts and giveaways, it’s time for the state to invest in excellence in the categories of life that would make North Dakota a better place in which to live. A good life is more than money.

Lloyd Omdahl is a former lieutenant governor of North Dakota and former political science professor at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.