Posted on 02/01/2012 4:14:13 PM PST by mdittmar
Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senator Harry Reid made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the deficit. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:
Republicans in Congress claim they’re the only thing standing against a wave of deficit spending.
But where were those Republicans when President Bush pushed for trillions in unpaid-for tax cuts for the rich? Many of them were right here in Congress, that’s where.
So, instead of pointing the finger at Democrats, Republicans should examine their own track record of extravagant spending: a prescription drug plan, two wars and tax breaks for the rich all paid for with borrowed money.
Bush’s tax cuts were the single largest contributor to ballooning budget deficits during his administration.
And no one benefited more from those tax breaks than millionaires and billionaires.
Tax breaks for the richest Americans piled nearly a trillion on our debt over the last decade.
Yesterday the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released a report showing those tax cuts will continue to push deficits to unsafe levels.
Extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans – people making more than $1 million – would add another trillion dollars to the deficit in the next 10 years.
We can no longer afford to bankrupt our nation to give more tax breaks to people who don’t need them.
Republicans are right about one thing: we do have a deficit problem in this country. And there are two ways to ease the crisis.
We could cut more jobs for teachers, firefighters and police. We could cut Social Security and Medicare benefits for seniors after a lifetime of hard work. We could put off repairing our crumbling roads and bridges. And we could continue to let our schools fall into disrepair and our students fall behind.
Or we could end wasteful, unnecessary tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires.
This is the choice we face. But it shouldn’t be difficult a choice.
This country has limited resources, and we must use those resources wisely.
Investing in the middle class is a wise use of resources.
When you put money back in the pockets of middle class families, they spend it.
They spend it on groceries and gas. They spend it repairing the family car. They spend it fixing the roof.
That spending boosts business, spurs hiring and helps the economy. Rigging the tax system to favor the richest of the rich doesn’t.
Rigging the system doesn’t create jobs. It doesn’t spur growth. And it’s just not a wise use of resources.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.
When the Dem’s had control of the ENTIRE gubmint, where was the “balanced approach” when they shoved SPENDING BILL AFTER SPENDING BILL up our asses?
Our problem is not that we're taxed too little, it's that we spend too much!
All the programs mentioned by Reid including the 2 war’s were passed by the senate of which Reid is a member, many when he was in control. He was not an innocent bystander.
Pass a budget, you bastard!
harry is more than a member,he is Senate Majority Leader.
The gov't needs more tax-slaves.
Hairy has the US Senate under Mormon control.
>>But where were those Republicans when President Bush pushed for trillions in unpaid-for tax cuts for the rich?<<
And there we have the problem in a nutshell. YOU don’t have money of your own. YOU have money the GUMMINT lets you keep. Liberals view YOU keeping YOUR money as an expenditure.
The prescription drug plan for seniors, I keep hearing it was not paid for..if it would not of passed the dems would of had ads showing seniors dying without their meds.. will drugs not be included in obamacare, which is not paid for either. but no one knows what obama care covers any way.
vaudine
Hey Harry, as I understand it, you were a non-millionaire lawyer when you first entered public office, yet now you are a multimillionaire. How about sharing your investing secrets with the rest of us.
I smell the stink of .... [choose your ending - they all fit!]
Did you say Mormon control or MORON control?
Shut up Dingy. You give Americans the creeps.
Aside from the fact that letting people keep more of what they have earned is not a “tax break”, I wonder how Democrats will explain to middle class families making $50-75K why their income taxes exploded next year. Oh, and if you think $75K is not “middle class”, you must not live in the Northeast. In many communities, it’s barely average.
“unnecessary tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires””
Millionaires and billionaires - remember when it was just millionaires? Today you can’t have one without the other - MILLIONAIRES AND BILLIONAIRES! Don’t they even recognize how utterly stupid they sound??? Will no one remind them???
Harry, you're not only an idiot, but, you don't have a clue of what you're talking about or doing. Opps....I take that back. You have done ONE good thing for Nevada since you've been in the Senate: You slipped in that 'earmark' for the American tax payers to foot the bill for the annual COWBOY POETRY FESTIVAL in your hometown. That one earmark alone is helping hundreds, if not thousands of out of work Nevadans. They now have something to do while waiting in the welfare line..... they can stand there and write poems about cowboys and stuff to submit to the next annual Festival. Who knows....they may win a cow or lucky horse shoe.
Self censored... but darn is was a good one.
LLS
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