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"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource."
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George H. W. Bush - Address to the Nation on the Budget (October 2, 1990)
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| Parent | Parent Candidate |
| Contributor | Thomas Walker |
| Post Date | , 12:am |
| Description | Tonight I want to talk to you about a problem that has lingered and dogged and vexed this country for far too long: the Federal budget deficit. Thomas Paine said many years ago, "These are the times that try men's souls." As we speak, our nation is standing together against Saddam Hussein's aggression. But here at home there's another threat, a cancer gnawing away at our nation's health. That cancer is the budget deficit.
Year after year, it mortgages the future of our children. No family, no nation can continue to do business the way the Federal Government has been operating and survive. When you get a bill, that bill must be paid. And when you write a check, you're supposed to have money in the bank. But if you don't obey these simple rules of common sense, there's a price to pay.
But for too long, the Nation's business in Washington has been conducted as if these basic rules did not apply. Well, these rules do apply. And if we fail to act, next year alone we will face a Federal budget deficit of more than $300 billion, a deficit that could weaken our economy further and cost us thousands of precious jobs. If what goes up must come down, then the way down could be very hard.
But it doesn't have to be that way. We can do something. In fact, we have started to do something. But we must act this week, when Congress will hold the first of two crucial up-or-down votes. These votes will be on a deficit reduction agreement worked out between the administration and the bipartisan leaders of Congress. This budget agreement is the result of 8 months of blood, sweat, and fears—fears of the economic chaos that would follow if we fail to reduce the deficit.
Of course, I cannot claim it's the best deficit reduction plan possible. It's not. Any one of us alone might have written a better plan. But it is the best agreement that can be legislated now. It is the biggest deficit reduction agreement ever—half a trillion dollars. It's the toughest deficit reduction package ever, with new enforcement rules to make sure that what we fix now stays fixed. And it has the largest spending savings ever—more than $300 billion. For the first time, a Republican President and leaders of a Democratic Congress have agreed to real cuts that will be enforced by law, not promises—no smoke, no mirrors, no magic act, but real and lasting spending cuts.
This agreement will also raise revenue. I'm not, and I know you're not, a fan of tax increases. But if there have to be tax measures, they should allow the economy to grow, they should not turn us back to higher income tax rates, and they should be fair. Everyone who can should contribute something, and no one should have to contribute beyond their fair share. Our bipartisan agreement meets these tests. And through specific new incentives, it will help create more jobs.
It's a little-known fact, but America's best job creators and greatest innovators tend to be our smaller companies. So, our budget plan will give small and medium-size companies a needed shot in the arm. Just as important, I am convinced that this agreement will help lower interest rates. And lower interest rates mean savings for consumers, lower mortgage payments for new homeowners, and more investment to produce more jobs. And that's what this agreement will do. |
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