Jay Rockefeller: “in the State this Senator represents, we are of moderate means. We can't afford a lot of charts. So when Senator Byrd…”

“in the State this Senator represents, we are of moderate means. We can't afford a lot of charts. So when Senator Byrd and this Senator come to the floor, we don't usually use charts. We use whatever words we have. I don't mean to make any big point of that. But sometimes I think charts are helpful; sometimes I think they are not. I will say this. I agree with the Senator from North Dakota that the bill is not fair. I voted for all the amendments which were defeated, but I do think the chairman of the Finance Committee, Senator Grassley from the State of Iowa, was very fair in the way he conducted the hearing. I didn't agree with the result, but I thought his personal demeanor and the way he handled himself in the general disposition of the tax bill--that the Senator himself was personally very fair, and I respect that. I wanted to so say. I am baffled, also, by what the fairness concept is. One of the things that amazes me--and I am here to talk for the marriage penalty, and I will--but when they talk about the rich, this is sort of a mantra: If the rich make a lot of money, then they should get a tax credit because they did make a lot of money, which goes somehow on the idea that they really struggled their way through life and stock options and other things didn't help them. The point, of course, is that during these last years, the pretax income of the very wealthy has been so enormous that, obviously, they have paid more taxes.…”