Tom Rice: “The American Dream is what separates us from the rest of the world. It promises that, with hard work and determination…”

“The American Dream is what separates us from the rest of the world. It promises that, with hard work and determination, you can improve your station in life and that your children have an opportunity for a better life than yours. But for many in the generation coming of age in the last decade, the American Dream has been a little tarnished and just out of reach. The last time we did tax reform was 30 years ago. At that time, we were the world's uncontested economic leader. Our economic system and Tax Code were competitive. But for decades, we have sat by as the world passed us by. In 1990, the middle class was about 50 percent of American families; today, only 40 percent. Today, the middle class makes just about the same take-home pay as it did in 1990. When we all worry about income disparity and the gulf between the rich and the poor in this country, this is the source of the problem. The American middle class is smaller and has not had a raise in 30 years. How could this happen? It has everything to do with a bloated, overregulating, and overtaxing Federal Government, a government that sucks the life out of the economy and forces our companies, our innovators, and our job creators out of our country to survive. Some folks say it doesn't matter that we have the highest business tax rate in the world. That is not why our companies left. They say those jobs aren't coming back.…”