Nebraska is heading toward another difficult budget conversation this session.

When the cost of government rises faster than state revenues, there are only a few choices: spend less, raise taxes, or grow the economy enough that existing tax rates can support the services Nebraskans expect.

Responsible budgeting requires spending discipline.

But in the long term, we can neither cut our way nor tax our way to prosperity. Economic growth has to be part of the answer, based on the same principles of economic freedom that this country was built on.

The question for both state and local leaders is: How do we grow Nebraska without sacrificing the resources, industries and communities that already make Nebraska valuable?

Nebraska must continue competing for new investment. New businesses can bring capital, jobs, technology and opportunities that help diversify our economy and create opportunities for young people to stay.

But economic development cannot be measured only by new projects and ribbon cuttings.

Nebraska already has a strong economic foundation built on agriculture, livestock, manufacturing, small businesses and the communities that support them.

Helping an existing Nebraska business expand can be every bit as valuable as recruiting a new one. The challenge is finding the right balance.

We should be open-minded and forward-thinking enough to recognize that our economy will change and the practices within industries will change. New industries, new technologies and new demands for infrastructure are inevitable. Just ask your parents or your grandparents how things have changed in their lifetime. One example that still amazes me is that when my parents were young, cattle were often driven by horseback over 25 miles to a local stockyard, loaded on train cars and shipped hundreds of miles away to be sold. Today, they are often videoed on the ranch and sold virtually, hundreds of miles away, weeks or months before being delivered door-yard to door-yard by semi-trucks. This has changed the need for better roads, high-speed internet, better loading facilities on the ranch, backgrounding lots and more.

Seventy-five years ago, four-wheel drive didn’t exist, let alone 18-wheeler pot belly trucks. And can you even imagine explaining FaceTime, Google or online shopping to your grandparents? It would have sounded like something from a sci-fi movie, yet these are now commonly used tools by every generation today.

Time does not stand still.

Nebraska cannot close the door to change simply because an opportunity looks different from what we have known before, whether in type or delivery. At the same time, leadership requires responsible stewardship and careful thought of how we conserve our natural resources, respect our local culture, our constitutional rights, our judicial system, as well as manage financial resources—otherwise known as taxes. Keep in mind that “conservation” means the responsible USE of natural resources to prevent depletion. Farmers and ranchers are, by their very nature, conservationists. I often see the word “preservation” used interchangeably with “conservation” and the two words have VERY different meanings. Preserve means “maintaining something in its original state over time,” which is actually an impossibility. “Preservation” is a term that came on the scene over 30 years ago with a globalist agenda aimed at undermining America's sovereignty. The only things truly “preserved” are dead, which is how our foreign adversaries would love to describe our American freedoms.

Back to the core issue at hand: growing the economy and balancing the budget, the question should not simply be whether a business is new or traditional, but whether it creates lasting value for Nebraska. Does it create or retain good jobs? Does it strengthen or grow the tax base? Does it make responsible use of infrastructure and natural resources? Does it complement industries already supporting our communities?

And does the public investment, if needed, produce a reasonable return for taxpayers?

Those same questions should apply whether we are discussing a new company, an agricultural operation, a manufacturing expansion or a Main Street business.

There will not always be an easy answer, but one thing is certain: a state or a community that repeatedly rejects opportunities for growth becomes stagnant, and stagnation results in squeezing more taxes out of a flat economy. At the same time, a community that pursues growth without any consideration of its longterm impact can sacrifice the very advantages that made it attractive in the first place.

Good leadership lives somewhere between those two extremes.

As Nebraska faces tighter budgets, economic development should become less about choosing between the old economy and the new economy and more about building upon both. We should protect and strengthen the industries that have carried Nebraska for generations while remaining willing to adapt, innovate and welcome new opportunities that make sense for our future.

That requires state and local leaders who are willing to ask difficult questions and withstand criticism, weigh long-term consequences and recognize that economic growth and responsible stewardship are not opposing ideas. Done well, they should reinforce one another.

Nebraska’s best path through future budget challenges is not simply collecting more from the existing economic base; it is growing that base—carefully, competitively and responsibly—while respecting and strengthening the advantages that made Nebraska attractive to investors in the first place.

Staying connected with the people of District 43 is an important part of representing you. I value the conversations we have throughout the district and encourage you to continue sharing your questions, concerns, and ideas with me and my office. Your input helps shape my work on behalf of our communities in the Nebraska Legislature. Please note that my email address has changed to: tanya.storer@leg.ne.gov