John Sarbanes: “just 4 years ago, in 1993, in order to reduce the deficit, the Congress, by a narrow margin, enacted a budget resolution…”

“just 4 years ago, in 1993, in order to reduce the deficit, the Congress, by a narrow margin, enacted a budget resolution that curtailed programs and increased taxes--taxes that fell primarily on those at the upper end of the income scale. This combination of spending restraint and revenue increases represents a logical way of dealing with the deficit issue. This approach has worked in a most impressive way. The flourishing economy has brought unemployment below 5 percent for the first time in a quarter of a century. While unemployment is at a quarter-century low, inflation is at a 31-year low. I don't know what better proof you can offer of a strong economy than the low unemployment rate and low inflation rate we are now experiencing. As a consequence of this flourishing economy, the deficit has declined on a steady basis since fiscal year 1992. It has come straight down in each succeeding fiscal year from $290 billion to $255 billion, to $203 billion, to $164 billion, to $107 billion in the fiscal year that ended last September 30, and it is now expected to be below $50 billion for the current fiscal year come this September 30. As a percentage of gross domestic product, the deficit has gone from 4.9 percent--a very worrisome figure--in 1992 to well under 1 percent for the current fiscal year, the best performance since 1974.…”