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 the opportunity for a better life than yours; but for many in the generation coming of age in the past decade, the American Dream has been a little tarnished, 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 idly as the world restructured to pass us by. As we became less competitive, more and more American companies and American jobs left our shores. What has been the result? We have lost millions of middle class jobs. In 1990, the middle class comprised 50 percent of American families, today only 40 percent. Today the middle class makes just about the same take-home pay as they did in 1990, 27 years later. 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 this 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 the country to survive.…”