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Because of agriculture's bright future, Gov. Jim Pillen says he wishes he was 18 again.
Speaking Thursday night in Grand Island, Pillen said he made that comment to FFA members in Lincoln earlier in the day.
His optimism is based on agriculture's role in "the new bio economy."
The many types of fuel made from corn will lessen our dependence on fossil fuels.
"Feed the world, and we save the planet," Pillen said at Grand Island Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting.
Nebraska raises more corn per acre than anywhere in the world, he said. Plentiful water from the Ogallala Aquifer "means we have the lowest carbon footprint of corn anywhere," he said.
Companies will come to Nebraska to produce jet fuel and other products in addition to ethanol. That fuel "is exactly what the planet is looking for," Pillen said.
Pillen said he loves coming to Chamber events, which bring together like-minded people who "care incredibly about our communities."
People don't need to go to conventions or other gatherings for self-improvement. They just need to volunteer "and get engaged in our community. It pulls us out of our daily business war zone, if you will, to where we get to interact with others in our community. It makes us who we are."
Pillen told the audience we are blessed to live in Nebraska. One Nebraskan he praised was Mike Jarosz, a longtime employee of Eakes Office Solutions in Grand Island. Jarosz was Pillen's best friend as they grew up together west of Platte Center.
In sports, Jarosz set a great example. He never got to play much until his senior year. But as an undergraduate, he hung in there, never complained and was an "extraordinary teammate," Pillen said.
"There's nobody that comes to my mind that I admire more than my friend of a lifetime, Mike Jarosz, who absolutely is the ultimate teammate." He did whatever it took, Pillen said.
It's a great privilege being the state's governor, he said.
"I'm just a normal guy that's worked hard, treating people with respect, trying to build our business," he said.
On a Saturday just after he was inaugurated, Pillen came to Grand Island to welcome home 150 members of the Nebraska National Guard who had spent 13 months away from their jobs and their families "on a secret mission they couldn't even tell their family about," he said.
That was the first time Pillen heard himself introduced as the commander in chief of the Nebraska National Guard. Hearing that "pretty well knocked me off my feet." It was hard to believe, he said, because he just thinks of himself as a Nebraska pig farmer.
He was surprised people thanked him for being there that day.
"Are you kidding me? Thanks for being here? My God, what a privilege," he said.
On Wednesday, the State Capitol hosted a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. A total of 65,000 Nebraskans served in that war, 35,000 of whom are still alive.
"We lost 396 Nebraskans in the war," he said.
People sometimes ask if it feels normal yet, being governor. "It'll never be normal," he said. "If it ever is normal, you need a different governor, because it's an extraordinary privilege. It's the the highest calling in public service."
Finding unanimity on everything is impossible.
"Let's hope we don't all agree," he said. But what is "incredibly important is that we work on" building trusting relationships with each other. That way, people can disagree on things "and not yell and scream and call each other names."
All Nebraskans agree kids are our future, he said. "And we can't give up on one single one."
Somebody asked if he was going to poll people on a certain subject. He said, "Are you kidding me? We didn't get elected to poll. We got elected to lead and do what's right for the state of Nebraska."
One of his major priorities is fiscal responsibility. After he and his advisers combed through every single budget item, they found "we have bushel baskets and bushel baskets and bushel baskets of money. We have billions of dollars in state coffers."
But he is adamant those moneys are not spent, proposing only a 1.3% annual average increase in state general fund spending during the two years ending June 30, 2025.
Pillen is old enough to remember "the last time the government printed a lot of money, and we went through extraordinarily hard times, in the late '70s and early '80s."
A bill in the Legislature would reduce the state's top rate for individual and corporate income taxes to 3.99% by 2027. He wants to beat a similar movement underway in Iowa. Nebraskans all agree that "we don't want to lose to Iowa" in anything.
"Our property taxes are so out of whack in this state we don't even need to own property to be adversely affected," he said.
Pillen said he was shocked to learn Nebraska taxes Social Security checks received by "our grandparents and our senior citizens."
He said, "We're going to get that ended next year with the Legislature's help."
It also bothers him some Nebraska retirees move to Florida just because of income tax advantages.
In addition, Pillen talked about his goal to create an Education Future Fund. That bill was introduced by Sen. Rob Clements of Elmwood.
One thing the fund will do is "meet the needs of our kids," he said. Special education is greatly underfunded, he added.
Businesses can play a big role in helping turn young people into certified welders, diesel technicians and mechanics.
"Business is going to solve our problems. Not government," he said.
