Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, when Theodore Roosevelt issued the order to charge, he was referring to the Rough Riders and ordered them towards San Juan Hill. Well, evidently the Congress heard the order of charge at the same time, and they implemented this 3 percent luxury tax on those at that time who had a telephone. Well, that time in Congress and Theodore Roosevelt have passed, the Spanish American War is over, and it is time that we cease charging, charging the American people this ridiculous tax on their telephones. The charge was to pay for the war. The war had a cost of about $250 billion. Today, we are collecting better than 20 times the cost of that war each year. This is just another example of excessive taxation, but Congress too is responsible for the excessive taxation because of our excessive spending habits. But it is an excessive cost to families and to business. At a time that we have a savings rate that is negative in this country, at a time that we are trying to encourage investments, and at a time when we are trying to compete in a global market, it is time for us to repeal and/or change tax provisions that will assist families and business. Mr. Speaker, it is time to end this charge. The war is over. Let us sunset this tax.”