Jon L. Christensen: “But, Mr. Speaker, not just any kind of balanced budget amendment, a balanced budget amendment that has taxpayer…”

“But, Mr. Speaker, not just any kind of balanced budget amendment, a balanced budget amendment that has taxpayer protection as its centerpiece. The taxpayer protection I am talking about is the three-fifths super majority. But what does that really mean? It means that it is going to take 290 votes to pass any future tax increase, 290. That is very important, you see, because currently it only takes 218 votes to pass a tax increase, a simple majority. Now, some in this body would say don't handcuff the Federal Government by tying our hands so that they can't raise taxes when they run out of revenue and just make it very easy for them to go ahead and pass another tax increase. But, Mr. Speaker, that is exactly why we need the three-fifths super majority for future tax increases, so it is going to make it tough to raise taxes in the future, so that when they do run out of revenue they can't just turn to raising taxes on the backs of the American working man and woman.”