Ernest Istook: “As we move to balance the budget, pressure to raise taxes will intensify. Even with taxes as high as they are, we…”

“As we move to balance the budget, pressure to raise taxes will intensify. Even with taxes as high as they are, we currently raise only about $3 in taxes for every $4 we spend. Faced with equalizing taxes and spending, big spending groups will lobby us with more fervor than ever before, trying to scare folks into believing that taxes must go up rather than have spending come down. We need a safeguard to make it tougher to raise taxes than to cut spending. We need a two-thirds supermajority of 60 percent on proposals to raise taxes. In Oklahoma, continuous tax increases prompted the people to pass a restriction. Oklahoma now requires that to raise taxes there must be a 75-percent supermargin in the legislature or a statewide vote approving it. It worked. Taxes in Oklahoma have stopped going up. We need similar protection for the American people. The 60 percent requirement is tame. It is reasonable. We need it. We need the Barton amendment.”