Nancy L. Johnson: “before I make the comments I rose to make, I do want to comment for those watching this debate, that when you hear the…”

“before I make the comments I rose to make, I do want to comment for those watching this debate, that when you hear the words ``tax cut,'' the great majority of that money, outside of the new tax provisions to encourage rebuilding in New Orleans and the Mississippi coast and those areas so hard hit by Katrina and other storms, pretty much the rest of all of those, quote, ``tax cuts'' are simply tax extensions. In other words, we avoid increasing taxes. If we did nothing, we would increase taxes. We do not want to increase taxes, because the current tax policy has created a remarkable rate of growth in our economy. And when your economy is growing, not only do your revenues come in well if you are the government, but jobs are created if you are the people, and current jobs are maintained. So what are now loosely referred to as tax cuts, they appear in our vocabulary and our work as cuts, are not cuts; they are just maintaining current tax policy and avoiding tax increases that would harm our economy, cost jobs, cost taxpayers money they desperately need, as we go into a season of high heating oil costs and so on. But I want to mention something else about this motion, which I appreciate is presented as part of the process here. It doesn't have the force of law. It gives people something they might like to vote about to tell the negotiators how to negotiate, but you know, there are always big rocks when the sea looks calm.…”