Governor Pete Ricketts was confident, composed and ready to strike when he walked into the State Capitol building with his beat-up Sony Walkman and giant Bose noise canceling headphones on Monday, Feb. 12.

Unprompted, as he strode into the meeting to decide the bi-annual budget, the good governor said, “There’s no place like Nebraska, except for, of course, ‘Nebraska,’” to the Nebraska state legislature. He then proceeded to request that the entire state be transformed into Bruce Springsteen’s classic 1982 folk-rock album “Nebraska” to amend recent budget woes.

It was a miracle that diligent DailyER reporters just happened to be present to document this stunning scene.

“You see, if we all just lived inside a cassette tape we wouldn’t have to worry about all this healthcare and education hubbub. All we would be is sound, pure glorious sound!” Ricketts went on to add.

This bold idea was initially met with skepticism.

“The hell?” was heard from several state policymakers immediately after Ricketts’ proposal was voiced.

But the governor was determined, and he knew his audience.

“Hear me out guys, we won’t have to give teachers anything!” Ricketts said. “We will literally be able to cut everything! We can just put the poor people on the songs no one liked! There will be no government at all to bother you!”

This seemed to ring a special chord with the Republican majority in the room. “Well, when you put it that way… it’s tempting,” replied state treasurer Don Stenberg.

President Donald Trump, when asked about the Nebraska budget cuts and the prospect of one the great states in his union turning into about 50 minutes of audio, replied: “What’s Nebraska?”