Bill Clinton: “Good morning. Five months ago in my State of the Union Address to Congress, I pledged to the American people that I…”

“Good morning. Five months ago in my State of the Union Address to Congress, I pledged to the American people that I would do my best to fulfill the campaign commitment of 1992 to change the way Washington works. That means reviving our economy by reducing our deficit; cutting spending; reversing trickle-down economics by asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share of taxes; increasing incentives to business to create new jobs; helping the working poor; and renewing the skills and productivity of our workers, our students, and our children. Now the Members of both Houses of Congress are preparing to decide on a final version of my economic growth plan that meets the objectives I discussed when I presented it 5 months ago. This plan will contain the largest reduction in our deficit in the Nation's history. With nearly one quarter of a trillion dollars in real, enforceable spending cuts, every new dollar of taxes will be matched by a dollar of spending cuts. And 80 percent of the new taxes now will be raised from individuals earning over $200,000 a year. No working family earning less than $180,000 will pay more in income taxes. That will be a real change from the trickle-down economics of the past dozen years. The average family will pay only one tax, less than a dime a day in an energy tax devoted entirely to deficit reduction. That's about $33 a year for a family of four with an income of $40,000 or $50,000 a year.…”