Where Tony Stands

Taxes / Spending

Spending policy is directly linked with tax policy.  The more government spends, the more revenue it must draw from its citizens in the form of taxes. As a member of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee, I advocated for controlled spending at the state level.  Governmental heads and bureaucrats must understand the money they use is not theirs, it is entrusted to them by the people and comes from the fruits of their labor.  I support keeping taxes at low rate, providing for basic government services and promoting the disciplined, efficient management of government resources.

Economy

Our nation’s founders did not risk life and limb to come to a new land and establish government. They came at the allure of freedom. It was this freedom which expressed itself in the economic miracle which the United States of America has become.

The drive, energy, and initiative of a people are found in our economy, and we are best served when we unleash this enormous human potential. While there is legitimate need for government to regulate business and industry, it should be remembered that government does not grow the economy.  Creativity and entrepreneurship are the drivers of economic growth. Where the extent of government’s necessity has been identified, there too should its authority yield.

Gas Tax

This year the Legislature voted to raise the gas tax in Nebraska. I was one of 15 senators to oppose this tax hike.  At the time, gas cost more than $4 per gallon, and the Legislature’s action added to a heavy burden on Nebraska families.

The gas tax, which funds the Department of Roads, is a prime example of the need for governmental reform. I have proposed creative solutions, including a way to use existing revenue and state dollars to build roads WITH NO NEW TAXES and calling for a performance audit on the Department of Roads to ensure existing tax dollars are spent efficiently.

Family Life and Culture

I am not simply a public servant, I am first a husband and father, and this influences my positions. The money used to pay for government services comes from the work and livelihoods of many Nebraska families. Moms and dads and sons and daughters are those who pay for government.

The level of energy and insight I direct toward fiscal responsibility is a reflection of how important I know an income is to a family. When you work for the good of your loved ones, government had better have good reason for taking some of the fruits of that work.  That work produces income, and it also takes away from time with your loved ones. Not only does a dollar represent an amount of revenue, it also represents part of a life which might otherwise have been shared with another. It is my experience in a hard-working family of limited means that fuels my appreciation for the value of a dollar.

Family life has improved me, and I believe the disciplines and traditions of family life can do much to improve government and society.

I am pro-life, I believe in the inherent dignity of every person, from conception until natural death. Fundamentally, women deserve better than abortion. Our culture has enough resources and compassion to live up to our a responsibility to make sure women know they have better options.

Illegal Immigration

It is a fundamental injustice to bestow the fruits of a just society on those who have entered it illegally.   Legislation I helped introduce required an individual to verify his or her lawful presence in the United States before receiving state and local public benefits.  Our tax dollars should not provide public subsidies for persons here illegally.

I have also sponsored legislation to encourage local law enforcement’s cooperation with the federal government in immigration enforcement.  My bill would enable local law enforcement to identify those criminals who are also illegal immigrants in order to turn them over to the federal government.

Education

I grew up in southeast Nebraska.  The education I received at Auburn Public Schools helped prepare me for further educational opportunities, career development, and public service.  Education afforded the son of an immigrant mother and working class father the opportunity to rise to levels otherwise impossible, and I am deeply cognizant of this fact. While budgeting for Nebraska’s historic tax relief package in the Legislature, I prioritized adequate funding for our K-12 school and the University of Nebraska. Fiscal responsibility necessarily entails funding government’s responsibilities, and providing a good education for our children is a key function of our state government.