Mike Collins: “as Congress and the Clinton administration continue negotiations to balance the Federal budget, I am reminded of the…”

“as Congress and the Clinton administration continue negotiations to balance the Federal budget, I am reminded of the question I heard from residents in Georgia's Third District last week: How much government can working people afford? I want to repeat that question: How much government can working people afford? Today the combined Federal, State, and local taxes consume nearly 40 percent of the disposable income of working Americans. Federal taxes place the harshest burdens on taxpayers. In 1994, the average American family turned over 25 percent of its income to the Federal Government. That compared to just 2 percent in 1954. During the 1950's and the early 1960's, the Federal Government managed to pay for the national defense, build a nationwide Interstate Highway System, deliver our mail, and provide other vital government functions while living within its means. Today the Federal Government spends $500 million per day more than it collects in taxes and revenues. We are $4.9 trillion in debt. Interest on our national debt is the third largest single item in the Federal budget, topped only by Social Security and the national defense outlays. Federal entitlement programs are responsible in large part for our national financial predicament. Today working Americans are paying the bills to provide health care to the elderly, the poor, and the disabled.”