On the recordJuly 21, 2011
I'm conflicted as I come to the floor today, Mr. Speaker. I'd actually planned to talk about tax reforms this morning. The Ways and Means Committee for the first time in 10 years is holding a hearing on the Fair Tax next Tuesday, July 26. The Fair Tax is a proposal that abolishes the income tax system in this country that punishes people based on what they earn and creates a consumption tax that rewards people based on how much they save. And as we talk about poverty here this morning, as we talk about how to get folks back on their feet, the problem in this country, Mr. Speaker, is not that we don't bring in enough revenue. It's that we spend too much money. There is a bias in our culture now towards consumption as opposed to thrift. Now, when did that happen? I wish I were a better student of history. I know that Ben Franklin shared with us that ``a penny saved is a penny earned.'' I know that our colleagues in the past said if we talk about a million here and a million there, pretty soon we're talking about real money. {time} 1100 My grandfather was a United Methodist minister in the South Georgia Conference. He was a Navy chaplain during World War II, and went down and worked the South Georgia circuit after the war. They'd get together and get all the little nubs of the candles that they would have during the year and melt them all together to put together those Christmas candles.…
