A recent census report is out, and it doesn’t look too good for the state. It appears that Nebraska may indeed not be for everyone after all. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the trend of more people leaving the state than coming into Nebraska is not only continuing but growing. Since 2010, the number of people with a bachelor’s degree or more leaving verses those with the same education levels entering the state has increased every year fostering the term “brain drain”.

And while “brain drain” is a catchy phrase, those with less than a bachelor’s degree are also leaving the state, although not in as large of numbers. If we want to continue living the so-called good life, we need to look at ways to reverse these trends.

I love living in Omaha. This city has been very good to me. I tell people who aren’t from here that Omaha has everything you would find in a major city like Chicago, New York, Dallas, or Denver, but you’re not stuck in traffic for four hours a day.

But I’m an old guy. The allure of the big city has long since passed me by. In fact, in my younger days, I lived in places like Atlanta, Cleveland and Kansas City, but I kept coming back to the big O.

I think it’s important that we ask ourselves why more people are deciding to leave and why it’s harder to recruit more of those same people to move here.

One way would be to stop with the culture wars. Yes, for a politician the culture wars work to raise campaign contributions, get your name in the news and get elected. But do they really work to benefit the state?

 I’m a fairly educated man, but there is so much I don’t know. Whether it’s how to fix my car or ways to use artificial intelligence to find new ways to cure cancer, I don’t care if the person that can fix my transmission, or cure my disease is black, white, brown, naturally born, or an immigrant. I don’t care if that person is gay, straight, transgender, a different religion, atheist, conservative, liberal or any of the other artificial way we use to divide others and make someone feel unwelcome. I just care that they are qualified to help me out in my time of need. I just care that they are a decent person.

Which, to my way of thinking, is all we should be caring about.

Let’s take one of the current divisive issues facing the country: Illegal immigration. I think most people will agree that we are all for legal immigration. In fact, that’s what someone will say when they complain about the recent surge on our southern border. So then why can’t our lawmakers fix the laws to see that more people can enter the country legally? Change the laws to make it easier for immigrants to legally come to America and by extension come to Nebraska.

Let’s start with the low hanging fruit first. An overwhelming majority of Americans agree that the so-called dreamers, those who were brought to America as children, should be able to live and work here without the fear of being deported. Yet our so-called lawmakers won’t codify DACA into law to make that happen. A handful of folks on Capitol Hill prevent that from happening even though the country needs those people in the work force.

And let’s be honest, Nebraska needs immigrant labor to work our farms, packing plants and other agricultural jobs. Why should it be so difficult to get these immigrants a work visa?

Nebraska doesn’t just need laborers in the fields, we need trained professionals like doctors, nurses, computer techs and more that want to come to America but can’t due to our outdated and inefficient immigration laws.

 I know the slogan that Nebraska isn’t for everyone has quietly died. But does the attitude behind it still live on? I hope not.

 As the Unicameral gets ready for this year’s session I hope we see more progress on fixing the real problems facing the state like the “brain drain” and less time worrying about what bathroom a person uses.

Nebraska has a lot to offer almost everyone. Let’s make sure they know that. Whether they already live here or are considering a move to the Cornhusker state. We need to reverse this trend and we need to start revering it now.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.