Richard K. Armey: “I want to talk about this 1 percent. I am getting tired of hearing it. When we tried to do the $500 per child tax…”

“I want to talk about this 1 percent. I am getting tired of hearing it. When we tried to do the $500 per child tax credit, they said that is for the top 1 percent richest people of America. Give me a break on that. I raised five children. I never felt rich at any time when one of those babies came along. I perhaps had blessings beyond my wildest dreams in all five of them, but I do not remember feeling rich. We said, well, we will eliminate the marriage penalty. They came back and said, that is a tax break for your rich friends. Again, come on, how many young people getting married feel rich? They may feel blessed, but, bless their hearts, they do not feel rich. If they do get married, why stick them with a $1,400 tax penalty? I laugh at our Tax Code. It just tickles me. We have got a generous, although constantly eroding, home mortgage deduction to encourage us to buy a house, and then we have got a marriage penalty to encourage us to live in it out of wedlock. The government cannot make up their mind as to what they want to do in their social engineering. But that top 1 percent, this has become a mantra. No matter what tax reduction you talk about, it gets the same indictment. Here is the real story. The real story of the debate is whose money is it? If I reduce taxes, I thereby will take less of your money. It is your money. But how is it characterized? As me having a big tax giveaway. I cannot give away what is not mine to give. It is your money.”