Bob Schaffer: “People in Washington like to take the credit for the strong economy and take credit for balancing the budget, and we…”

“People in Washington like to take the credit for the strong economy and take credit for balancing the budget, and we deserve some credit, I think. As I mentioned, we did slow the rate of growth in Federal budgeting over the last 6 years. That has allowed the economy to catch up. But the American people are the ones that really deserve the credit. We can help in a number of ways. There are many people here in Washington who believe that we were wrong to cut taxes over the last couple of years. We reduced the capital gains tax, we reduced inheritance taxes, we managed to provide a $500 per child tax credit. There are an assortment of other taxes that we managed to knock down just a little bit. We have not repealed them or pulled back the overall tax rate nearly as much as we can and perhaps should. But those people who criticized us for trying to reduce the tax burden and provide tax relief are also wrong, because what we found was that by leaving more cash back home in the hands and pockets of those people who earn it, we have inspired those individuals to become more productive with their own capital, with their own wealth. They have created more jobs. They have made wiser investments. It is, in fact, that heightened level of economic activity that is saving the country today. That is the reason we balanced the budget.”