Omaha Poverty Through Data

OpenSky Policy Institute Findings

OpenSky Policy Institute is a left-leaning organization which too often wants more government spending and decries any effort to cut taxes. However, this time their research unveils a secret about Omaha

Often, many proponents of Omaha will say the City is vibrant and growing, but it really is not, or not so much as it could. Property taxes, sewer separation fees, regulations, and other matters bog down Omaha’s economy.

This shows in the graphs put out by OpenSky Policy Institute (https://www.openskypolicy.org/publications/legislative-district-profiles). Of course, they had to do it by legislative districts instead of counties or mere ZIP codes. This distorts where much of the wealth of the state is located but I can use this to my advantage. Also, the graph is based on household income, not businesses.

With such graphs, you would expect a City to generate wealth but Omaha is generating poverty and forcing people out of the City. Part of this is merely the type of housing. The older parts of the City have smaller houses with smaller plots of land, and with one car garage or no garage at all. As people become wealthier, they move towards newer larger houses which are largely located out west. City leaders have responded by approving more apartment houses, but they have also provided more convenient housing for hobos.

You can clearly see Douglas and Sarpy counties. From property taxes, which go up with every evaluation, to a sewer separation fee, to the restaurant tax and other dysfunctional taxes, the City suffers. The Omaha core just does not generate much wealth. The wealth has fled much of Omaha into West Omaha and Sarpy County.

Meanwhile, the lowest-income district is legislative district 11, represented by Senator McKinney, known as near northside Omaha.