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Congressman Barrett offers opinion on budget proposal

By: Gresham Barrett (R-SC)
web posted March 28, 2007
WASHINGTON DC – The Democrats have released their budget.  And there they go again.  Unfortunately this budget is full of broken promises, except one – it will raise your taxes.  It didn’t take long for Democrats to go back to their tax and spend ways.  Having already increased current-year spending by $6.1 billion, and adding more than $20 billion to the Iraq supplemental, Democrats are proposing another increase of more than $22.5 billion in non-defense, non-emergency annual appropriations for fiscal year 2008.

This week they proposed the largest tax increase in history – $392.5 billion over five years – mainly to finance immense new spending through 2012. It also puts off any significant entitlement reform for at least five years, despite repeated warnings during committee hearings that delaying reform invites a fiscal and economic crisis for these programs. Here is a sampling of how the implicit tax increases would affect South Carolina middle-income families, low-income earners, families with children, and small businesses:
-    More than 1,300,000 taxpayers statewide who are benefiting from a new lower 10 percent bracket would see their taxes go up.
-    447,000 married couples in the state would face higher taxes because of an increase in the marriage penalty.
-    427,000 families with children would pay more taxes because the Child Tax Credit would expire.
-    212,000 investors, including seniors, would pay more because of an increase on the tax rates on capital gains and dividends.
(* Source:  United States Department of Treasury Tax Relief Kit, March 9, 2007.)

These massive tax increases would likely reverse the economic gains that have developed since adoption of the 2001 and 2003 tax laws, which include: 7.6 million new jobs and increased business investment for the past 15 quarters. 

Democrats also like to talk about uncollected tax revenue, but what they don’t like to talk about is the fact that the federal government collected more than two-and-a-half trillion dollars from taxpayers this year.  My Republican colleagues and I believe that should be enough.

In addition to huge spending increases, this budget has no significant reform or offsets and includes no accountability.  Despite warnings by numerous witnesses about the unsustainable rate of entitlement spending, this budget puts off addressing the massive entitlement problem for at least another five years.  In contrast, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 passed by Republicans saved more than $38 billion over five years, and the President’s budget for fiscal year 2008 proposed $96 billion in mandatory savings.

I introduced amendments that would tighten emergency spending language, create a rainy day account and freeze discretionary spending at last years rates.  All needed to help us get down the road to fiscal sanity.

The Democrat’s plan is clear - chase higher spending with higher taxes, and enact spending increases immediately with savings that do not occur until later. 

The government should limit its taxing and spending, ease its burden on the economy, and let the country grow.  Judging by this budget Democrats just don’t understand this.  They think government should call the shots, and keep widening its control.  This budget trusts government more than it trusts the people who are paying the government’s bills, and that is why this budget is just wrong for the nation.

Editor's note: Congressman J. Gresham Barrett (R-SC), is Vice Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Budget
  

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