Bill Clinton: “Well, let's talk about that. I think from the day I made it clear that we were going to bring down the deficit and then…”

“Well, let's talk about that. I think from the day I made it clear that we were going to bring down the deficit and then the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, a Republican, Alan Greenspan, came out and supported it, long-term interest rates began to drop. When the House passed my bill, they dropped some more. When the Senate passed my bill, they dropped some more. So here's why average people should be for bringing the deficit down. Number one, that's the way to keep long-term interest rates down. That means you can refinance your home or your business loan or take out a car loan, a consumer loan, or a college loan at lower interest rates. Millions and millions of Americans have refinanced their homes just in the last 5 or 6 months with these lower interest rates that are a direct result of our serious attempt to bring the deficit down. And if we pass the program, the interest rates will stay down until the economy really, really starts to boom again. That's good news. Here's another reason ordinary people should be for bringing the deficit down. We are spending more and more of taxpayers' money just to pay interest on the debt. In 1980 our debt was $1 trillion. By 1992 our debt was $4 trillion. Today every Nevadan puts 15 cents of every tax dollar to the Federal Government just to pay interest on the debt. That means middle class people are paying interest payments to upper income bond holders who hold that money, instead of using the money to educate their children or to build roads or otherwise develop the economy of Nevada. The third thing I would say is that this deficit has clearly made our economy weaker. It is one reason we cannot grow jobs and increase incomes. Now, Nevada has been the fastest growing State in the country for new jobs for the last 6 or 7 years. But even that cannot go on forever. Finally, let me say, let's talk about what this burden really is. Keep in mind that half of this deficit reduction is coming from spending cuts. Of the taxes which will be paid, basically, for a family of four with an income of $50,000 or $60,000 or what we're talking about today, the costs will be no more--and this is the outside--than $50 a year, or less than a dollar a week. For a family with income of under $30,000, they'll be held harmless. And the income tax increases only trigger on people whose taxes were lowered in the 1980's while middle class taxes went up, families in the upper 6 percent of the income earners. So I think it is a fair and balanced program.”