[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 145 (Friday, October 7, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 7, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                          COMMONSENSE REMARKS

                                 ______


                         HON. J. DENNIS HASTERT

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 7, 1994

  Mr. HASTERT. Mr. Speaker, the following remarks were delivered by 
Carleton H. Sheets at a meeting of the Family Taxpayer's Network in my 
district in Illinois on September 15, 1994. They reflect a great deal 
of common sense and I commend them to all my colleagues to read:

                     Address By Carleton H. Sheets

       Every American can be classified as a tax producer or a tax 
     consumer. One of my personal goals is to assist dedicated 
     individuals in establishing themselves as tax producers 
     rather than recipients of government social welfare; in other 
     words, tax consumers! But, obviously, this effort alone is 
     not the entire answer.
       The fight to restore fiscal responsibility to our 
     government is, above all, a fight for the freedom, dignity, 
     and prosperity of all Americans--a fight that compels the 
     utmost support of anyone who cherishes those values.
       Almost as if it cannot be helped, our government continues 
     the destruction of an economic system that has brought us the 
     greatest prosperity, the highest standard of living and, most 
     important, the greatest individual freedom in the history of 
     mankind. Personal and political freedoms are inseparable from 
     economic freedom. If our economic freedom disappears, history 
     warns us, our personal and political freedoms will also 
     disappear!
       Excessive taxation for the alleged purpose of social 
     welfare confiscates resources from the most productive sector 
     of the economy and transfers them to the least productive. 
     The average American must now work until May of each year to 
     pay Federal, State and local taxes. In effect, our government 
     has forced the privately-employed middle class to finance the 
     growth of a publicly-employed middle class, who's occupation 
     it is to absorb themselves in the bureaucratic redistribution 
     of wealth. Americans are a practical and compassionate 
     people. And while we are willing to pay higher taxes, 
     Americans have become disillusioned with the results. The 
     record of accomplishment for the poor, the elderly, the sick, 
     the disadvantaged, the undereducated is dismal or non-
     existent in all too many cases.
       Government's borrowing to finance spending beyond its tax 
     revenues, usurps the majority of funds in the private 
     financial markets, leaving private enterprise significantly 
     less with which to modernize, increase productivity, create 
     lasting jobs, and discover new technology.
       And the Federal Government's excessive printing of money to 
     pay its debts, dilutes the value of the dollar and generates 
     inflation, which in turn encourages individuals to spend and 
     borrow for present consumption at the expense of saving and 
     investing for the future.
       Big government is trampling the free enterprise system in 
     other ways too. Such as over-regulation of industries and an 
     educational system which is woefully ``out-of-touch'' for 
     preparing our young people to enter the work force and to 
     become responsible citizens.
       Public wisdom and political courage are our only hope for 
     preserving the values which have enabled America to be the 
     envy of the world. We must make all Americans aware that the 
     fundamental guiding principles of American life have been 
     reversed and that we continue to move with frightening speed 
     toward socialism and away from individual sovereignty and 
     free choice.
       We are, as human beings, creatures of volition. Simply 
     put--we have the ability to make choices. And the choices we 
     make will govern the lives we lead and profoundly affect the 
     lives of our children and our grandchildren.
       What can we do? We can support efforts to reduce the growth 
     of government spending and taxes, while eliminating 
     unnecessary government regulation and wasteful, ineffective 
     government programs which do not meet their intended 
     objectives.
       Tell anyone who will listen that the twin ideas of human 
     liberty and the free market go hand-in-hand. Tell them to 
     stand firm in allowing millions upon millions of individuals 
     to pursue their material interests, with minimal interference 
     from the government, and that this process will unleash an 
     incredible outpouring of inventiveness and wealth. Tell them 
     that tax consumers can become tax producers. Tell them--this 
     is what has made America great!

                          ____________________