Political Quotes

“President, I rise today to speak out for Americans on tax day--April 15. On this day more than any other, every American is reminded how much government costs--not just in actual dollars but in time and energy spent filling out forms. Today, many of my colleagues have described the tax burden in many insightful and illustrative analogies. For example, we know that the average American will work until May 9--tax freedom day--just to pay his or her taxes. We know that the typical American family pays 38 percent of their income in Federal, State, and local taxes--a one-third increase over the past four decades. I commend my colleagues for bringing clarity and focus to an extremely complex debate. Today, I want to add to their comments. Putting statistics and anecdotes aside, every lawmaker should be asking three questions about tax revenue--not just on Tax Day but every day: Whose money is it? How much of it are we spending? and How are we spending it? Whenever we debate tax policy in this body, we must begin with a simple principle that should govern all our decisionmaking: There is no such thing as government money, there is only the people's money. Every dollar that comes into Washington belongs to some individual, family, or business--not the other way around. For far too long, the Federal Government has treated the income of the American people as it own--as an entitlement it deserves--and this practice must stop.”