Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to talk about the urgent need for our government to begin living within our Nation's means. We face a very grave fiscal crisis, one that threatens America today and the American dream for future generations. It demands that we get our Nation's fiscal house in order. So I am pleased the Senate is now debating a balanced budget amendment to our Constitution. In February 1997, a month after I came to the Senate, I went to the Senate floor to urge my colleagues to pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution to prevent our growing debt from swallowing our future prosperity. Unfortunately, that effort came up one vote short. Since that time, our national debt has ballooned to an astonishing $15.1 trillion. Sometimes when we deal with large numbers, it is easy to lose sense of what they mean and difficult to put them into context. What $15.1 trillion in debt means is that a child born today will automatically inherit a debt burden of more than $48,000. That debt has been largely accrued not for that child's benefit but for our own. It is difficult to imagine a more egregious example of taxation without representation than forcing our children and grandchildren to bear the future tax burden for today's excesses. Unfortunately, as we have seen over the last decade, the addiction to budget deficits is not simply a Democratic or Republican problem. Both parties have had a difficult time showing restraint when it comes to spending.…”