The punitive taxes included in this budget will do nothing to stimulate the economy. Deficit reduction will come from reducing spending and tightening our belts much like private citizens must do. Government must stop living beyond its means and then raising taxes to justify the additional spending. As I write this, the Senate considers the plan. I can only hope the Members of the other body who support this largest tax increase in American history know in advance that they must explain to their constituents how taking more of their hard-earned money will help stop runaway budget deficits as spending continues to increase.
He is smooth and he is slick and he is a great teleprompter performer, but regardless of how convincing the President may be, this bill is still tax-and-spend, pure and simple. It will not cut the deficit. It will not create jobs. And it will not cut spending. And no matter what you say, you are not going to be able to hide the tax increases in this bill from the American people come next April 15.
This budget calls for new taxes on gasoline and on Social Security, and yet President Clinton as a candidate condemned such taxes. Supporters say this budget reduces spending and will begin to get a handle on the national debt, yet even the President acknowledges that under this budget Federal spending will actually increase more than 20 percent over the next 5 years. And worse, the national debt will actually grow by $1 billion a day. But most importantly, this budget is a job killer-pure and simple.
Do you know what? This is now your package. We will come back here next year and try to help you when this puts the economy in the gutter. And virtually every major economic estimating firm in this country says your bill is going to kill jobs. That is why we are passionate about it.
This is really the Dr. Kevorkian plan for our economy. It will kill jobs, kill businesses, and yes, kill even the higher tax revenues that these suicidal tax increasers hope to gain.
Taxes will go up. The economy will sputter along. Dreams will be put off and all this for the hollow promise of deficit reduction and magical theories of lower interest rates. Like so many of the President's past promises, deficit reduction will be another cruel hoax. Tax revenues will lag because the economy will fall. Government spending will increase at least another $300 billion a year. And the deficit will reach another record high.
I believe this will lead to a recession next year. This is the Democrat machine's recession, and each one of them will be held personally accountable.
However Clinton wants to spin his tax plan, the bottom line is this: It will raise your taxes, increase the deficit, and kill over 1 million jobs.
The simple fact is the Clinton plan will not lower interest rates. It will not lower inflation. It will not create jobs. And it will not lower the deficit. The Clinton tax plan will spur inflation, lose jobs, increase the deficit, and hurt our economic growth. As most economists now agree, the Clinton plan must go.
Come next year... we're going to find out whether we have higher deficits, we're going to find out whether we have a slower economy, we're going to find out what's going to happen to interest rates, and it's our bet that this is a job killer.
