Op-Ed: Marty O’Donnell: The Big Beautiful Bill delivers for Nevada’s working families
My philosophy on government is simple and can be summed up with a fable we are likely all familiar with from our childhood: The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg.
You remember the story, don’t you? Once upon a time there was a farmer and his wife who had a goose. The goose laid eggs and one day the goose laid a solid gold egg. The farmer and his wife sold it for a lot of money and got filthy rich. They waited and waited for the next golden egg. The goose took too long, and the farmer and his wife got impatient, so they decided to cut the goose open to get the rest of the golden eggs.
What did they get instead? A dead goose.
The moral of the story is that you have to nurture and care for the goose if you want it to lay more golden eggs. In our country, and my state of Nevada, middle class families and small businesses are the goose. Through their hard work, our society enjoys prosperity, innovation, and healthy communities.
Sadly, for far too long, the federal government, big corporations, and big unions have taken advantage of the goose.
But who appreciates the goose? President Donald Trump — and that is why I am excited that his One Big Beautiful Bill is nearing the finish line. The Big Beautiful Bill is a huge win for the goose.
This bill isn’t another bloated piece of legislation that allows special interests to feed at the trough. It is a commonsense overhaul of our government that puts working people ahead of the corporations and their highly paid lobbyists.
For the folks I am running to represent in southern Nevada, this bill provides more take-home pay, more security, and more opportunity for them to prosper.
Let’s start with tip workers. I’ve talked to countless bartenders, servers, and hospitality staff in my district who rely on their tips to pay for their education, provide food for the table, and sign their children up to play hockey. Too often, they have to take on a second or third job just to make ends meet.
One good job should be enough to provide for your family.
The elimination of federal taxes on tips in the Big Beautiful Bill is a game-changer for Nevada’s service economy. If you earn it, you keep it. It’s that simple. And it is the right thing to do.
Big Beautiful doesn’t stop there. This bill ends federal taxes on overtime pay, too. That’s good news for union workers, tradesmen, nurses, and law enforcement officers. These workers help make our community the best place to live. They shouldn’t be penalized for their hard work that has driven our growth; they should be rewarded.
Big Beautiful isn’t just about putting money back in the pockets of the goose, it also takes real action on protecting their neighborhoods by securing our southern border. Because the Biden administration allowed our border to be wide open, lawlessness has strained our communities.
Under Joe Biden, fentanyl ravaged our streets and the overwhelmed immigration system allowed violent criminals to roam our streets while punishing legal applicants and rewarding chaos. The Big Beautiful Bill includes strong funding for border wall construction, additional border patrol agents, and modern surveillance tools to fulfill President Trump’s promise to put an end to illegal border crossings once and for all.
Naturally, politicians like my opponent, Susie Lee, who have made a career of abusing the goose are attacking this bill through lies and fear. No, people who need Medicaid won’t lose coverage. In fact, by not allowing illegal immigrants or childless, able-bodied people to abuse this vital program, Medicaid will be protected for those who need it most.
I will never understand why people like Susie Lee are lying to you and seemingly comfortable with putting Medicaid at risk for millions of people that need it just to protect coverage for people in this country illegally.
As someone who spent years meeting payroll, not writing policy memos, I can tell you this: We don’t need politically ambitious people like Susie Lee in Congress. We need leaders who understand that the life of the goose who lays the golden eggs should be prioritized. I’m running to represent the goose, not myself or the special interests who would cut the goose open to enrich themselves further.
Congress needs to get the Big Beautiful Bill to President Trump’s desk this week. It’s time to reward the goose and show it how much it means to the health and prosperity of this country and southern Nevada.
Marty O’Donnell is a former small business owner and is a Republican candidate for Congress in Nevada’s 3rd District. He is a music composer and audio designer best known for his work on the Halo and Destiny video games as well as jingles for products such as Mr. Clean and Flintstones Chewable Vitamins.