[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 173 (Friday, November 3, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S16642-S16643]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TAX BURDEN ON AMERICAN FAMILIES

  Mr. COVERDELL. Mr. President, several months ago, I was reviewing 
some data about the tax burden on the American family. I have mentioned 
it more than once here, but it was absolutely intriguing--one of the 
thousands of pie charts we see around here--showing the growth of taxes 
from 1950 to 1970, 1970 to 1980, and so on.
  I was struck by this because in 1950--it always makes me think of 
Ozzie and Harriet, the sort of television portrayal of the average 
family of that time--and that family, Ozzie and Harriet, would have 
been sending, of every dollar they earned, 2 cents to Washington--2 
cents. And outside of their local taxes and the like, the balance of 
what they earned they used to house that family, clothe that family, 
educate that family and provide for the health of the family.
  What was stunning to me was if Ozzie was here today in 1995, he would 
be sending 24 cents of that dollar to Washington and about that much to 
the State and local government. So that family has lost enormous 
resources. They work over half the year now for one of the governments; 
a quarter of the year just for the Federal Government.
  When I was a youngster, everybody always told me that the largest 
investment that an American family will ever make is for the home. That 
is the single largest investment by far the vast majority of Americans 
will ever make. That is not true anymore. Now the largest investment 
they will ever make is to the tax collector. That is the single largest 
consumer of the earnings of an American family today--the Government.
  It made me curious because that is an enormous force and pressure on 
that 

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family. If somebody comes by the door and takes half of what you have, 
it is bound to have an effect. So I started looking for what that 
effect may have been.
  One of the first things that comes to mind, as we all know, is that 
there are far more families with both parents working today in 1995 
than there were in 1950. So I began to measure the growth line of 
taxes, because I had it in the back of my mind, ``I will bet you that 
line is absolutely identical to the number of families that have 
decided both parents have to work.''
  Sure enough, the lines are absolutely parallel, within 6 percentage 
points. As we took more from the family, more of those families had to 
put both parents in the workplace and, of course, we all know the 
problems that follow that.
  Everybody has a different reason for the altered behavior of the 
American family today. Our leader suggested maybe it was Hollywood. The 
First Lady is suggesting it is capitalism, turbocharged capitalism, 
that is affecting the American family. A lot of writers today think it 
is greed, that the American family has to have another electric can 
opener or an addition on the house or another car, and that is what has 
caused so much change in the behavior of the American family.
  I reject all of those. I am sure they have had their effect, but 
nothing has had the effect--nothing--no institution has had the effect 
comparable to the Government that has taken so much of the resources 
out of the family. The effect is that we have marginalized those 
families.
  How often have you read, Mr. President, that the American family is 
not saving today? What is left to save?
  If you take an average family of $40,000 a year and take half of it, 
and they have $20,000 to $24,000 to provide for all of the needs of the 
family, of course they are not saving. About every way you look at that 
family--two parents working, savings down, divorce up--the impact has 
been staggering.
  Mr. President, the point I am making is that it is absolutely 
appropriate in our deliberations over balanced budgets that a major 
piece of the equation be to lower--to lower--the tax burden on the 
average family, to push it down, to give more resources to the family, 
which is a central component of building American life, give them the 
resources to do it.
  The balanced budget bill that we passed just last Friday, a week ago 
today, does just that. It has the effect on the average family of 
putting around $2,000 in disposable income on that kitchen table, or 
increasing the disposable income of the American family an average of 
10 to 20 percent.
  How do we do that? Well, interest rates are dropping because of the 
balanced budget battle. If they have an average mortgage of $50,000, we 
will save them over $1,000 a year in reduced interest payments. We will 
save them almost $200 a year on the interest payments on their car. We 
will save them $200 a year on the interest payments on the credit 
cards, or the addition on the house, or the student loan.
  The average family has two children. They are going to save $1,000 a 
year right off the top of the tax bill with the children's tax credit 
of $500 per child. That is $2,000 to $3,000 for the average family. 
That is where the work of America is done. That is who we depend on to 
house a family, that is who we depend on to educate, that is who we 
depend upon to provide the health. It is our duty to find our way, Mr. 
President, to get the resources back to that family.
  It is almost unbelievable that we have come to the point that the 
largest single investment an American family makes is to the tax 
collector. It used to be the home, as I said earlier. That was the 
single largest investment a family ever made. Not so anymore. No, it is 
Washington. Twenty-four percent of every dime they earn, we bring to 
this city. I have to tell you, Mr. President, as good sounding as all 
these bills you hear about are here--to educate, to house, health--no 
one, certainly not a Washington program, does as much for taking care 
of America as does her families. That is where we need to get the 
resources, Mr. President. That is why the reduction in taxes that we 
have talked about in this balanced budget resolution is so terribly 
important.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Craig). The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, am I correct that I have been designated 
for 20 minutes during morning business?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct. Under the previous 
order, the Senator from Florida is recognized for up to 20 minutes.
  Mr. GRAHAM. I thank the Chair.

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