On the recordMay 15, 1996
What he wanted to say was that we also did a study which showed that, when the Federal Government consumes more than about 17.4 percent of GDP, every dollar that we spend after that actually has a negative impact in pulling down the productivity and the production that takes place in the American economy. Today, as the gentleman knows, the Federal Government consumes a full 22 percent of GDP. And so the optimum level, at about 17.5 percent, has been far surpassed. We are 4.5 percent above where we should be. This budget takes a small step toward getting us back to where we should be so that the guy who gets up in the morning and packs his own lunch and maybe the lunch for his kids, as the gentleman so eloquently pointed out, does not have to look forward to a future where we see diminishing returns on work, which is what is happening in the American economy.
Said by
Jim Saxton
Source
govinfo.gov