Gilbert Gutknecht: “I appreciate the gentleman. And the whole issue of taxes, I know this sometimes drives some of our more liberal…”

“I appreciate the gentleman. And the whole issue of taxes, I know this sometimes drives some of our more liberal colleagues into orbit when you talk about tax relief, allowing people to keep more of their own money. Sometimes we have to look at that from an historical perspective as well. Back when I was growing up, my parents were able to raise 3 boys on one paycheck. The reason they could do that is the average family sent only about 4 percent of their gross income to the Federal Government in the form of taxes. Today the average family, when you put total taxes, now we are talking State, Federal and local taxes, altogether, the average family spends over 38 percent of their gross income on taxes. I think most Americans are shocked when they learn that the average family spends more on taxes than they do on food, clothing and shelter combined. And that is why so many parents, now both parents have to work and, frankly, that has caused some social problems.”