Political Quotes

“when I first heard about a balanced budget constitutional amendment, I thought it was a foolish idea. But events in recent weeks have convinced me that I misjudged it. In fact, it is worse than that. It is a bad idea that will make things worse rather than better and will undermine our public reputation. In the past few weeks, the voters have repeatedly told me that they wanted straight talk and real options. They are tired of blue smoke and mirrors. That is why they nominated a gubernatorial candidate in my State who is calling for tax increases. And I believe that is why they nominated me. I believe it is important to reduce the deficit and I have worked hard to achieve that goal. I take partial credit for the progress we have made in recent years. And we have made real progress. But I do not see a need to worship at the alter of the balanced budget. Nor do I see a need to tinker with the Constitution. Balancing the budget isn't rocket science. It involves a series of simple, but tough choices. If you want to balance the budget you have to both raise taxes and cut spending. We could do that right now if balancing the budget was our sole priority. There is no need for a constitutional amendment that would buy us years of breathing space as we awaited ratification. And while making the tough decisions I describe could balance the budget, the balanced budget amendment would not.”