Political Quotes

“I do not believe that tax rebate checks and an extension of unemployment benefits will boost the economy. Of course, Americans deserve to keep more of their hard-earned dollars and Washington should spend less of them. But giving people tax rebates and telling them to go shopping will do virtually nothing to grow our economy. Our economy grows--GDP increases--when new goods and services are produced. A one-time shopping spree is not going to encourage a business to hire one additional worker or invest in one additional machine. Only a permanent reduction in tax rates will do that. Gross domestic product increased by just 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007. While most economists do not forecast that the U.S. economy will enter recession this year, they do estimate it will enter a period of below-trend growth in the first half of 2008, with growth recovering in the third and fourth quarters. The current unemployment rate is 4.9 percent; down from 5 percent in December.”