[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 186 (Friday, December 11, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H14811]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      THE DEMISE OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMY AND THE ROAD TO SOCIALISM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I get a big kick out of listening 
to the colloquy between the leadership people every week when we come 
to the end of the week and we start talking about the program for the 
following week. If I were an American citizen, sitting at home, 
watching this, I'd be so confused about what's going on. So I felt 
compelled tonight to come down here and just talk a little bit about 
what's going on so my colleagues back in their offices--and if anybody 
else is paying any attention--can really find out what's going on in 
this place.
  This last fiscal year just passed. We went in the hole $1.4 trillion. 
So far, this fiscal year, in 2 months, we're ahead of last year's 
fiscal year. We were $1.4 trillion in the hole this last fiscal year, 
and we're already ahead of that this year. The health care bill that is 
pending in the Senate is going to cost between $1 trillion and $3 
trillion--probably closer to $3 trillion if it passes. We passed an 
omnibus spending bill yesterday that cost $447 billion. Now, these 
aren't millions. We are talking about billions and trillions. The cap-
and-trade bill that they are talking about, which is going to raise 
everybody's electric bills and gasoline bills and gas bills to heat 
their homes, is going to cost $894 billion.
  We are digging ourselves into a hole that is unbelievable. Yet I hear 
my colleagues on the other side of the aisle saying, You know, we're 
going to create jobs; we're going to solve these problems; everything 
is coming up roses. It isn't.
  I talked to some of the pages in the back today, young people who are 
out here who are getting a chance to see how Congress works. I actually 
feel sorry for them because we are creating an environment where, when 
they grow up and get out and get a job, they are going to be faced with 
very high inflation and with very high taxes. There is no way to pay 
for all of the things we are doing the way we are going. There is just 
no way.
  With Medicare and Medicaid, Medicare is close to being bankrupt. On 
the other side, they are talking about lowering the age to 55 of the 
people who can become participants in Medicare. That's another 30-some 
million people they want to add to it, and it's supposed to go bankrupt 
in the next 3, 4, or 5 years. I mean it just does not make sense.
  In addition to that--and these are all facts--they want to increase 
taxes, and they want to let the tax cuts we passed in about 2001 
expire, which means that's a tax increase. If they expire, then taxes 
are going to go up, so they are going to raise taxes that way as well.
  They talk about jobs and the economy. Taking money from the taxpayer 
and throwing it at the economy is not working. They tried that with the 
stimulus bill--over $1 trillion, when you include interest--and the 
jobless rate went up to 10.2 percent. The President said before he took 
office that he wouldn't let it go above 8 percent. Now they're bragging 
because it's back down to 10 percent, and it's probably going to go up 
again.
  You can't create jobs with government money and by throwing money at 
it. You've got to do something to stimulate the small business man and 
the private sector. The way you do that is the way Ronald Reagan did 
it.
  You come in, and you say to the businessman, Okay. We are going to 
cut your taxes so you can keep people on the payroll and can hire 
people and can produce more product.
  You say to the consumer, the guy who is working, We're going to cut 
your taxes. You'll have more money to go out and buy a refrigerator or 
a car or something else.
  Because of that, you create a demand economy. You start creating 
people wanting to buy things. Producers are going to produce things. 
You're going to have more people working because you're going to need 
people working to produce those things. That's what Reagan did, and we 
had 20 years of economic growth. They're doing just the opposite right 
now.
  Right now, this administration and the Democrats in Congress are 
taking over the automobile industry. We all know that. They are trying 
to take over the health industry with socialized medicine, which is 
one-sixth of our economy. They are trying to take over the energy area, 
which is going to raise everybody's cost of electricity, gasoline, and 
gas with a cap-and-trade bill. They are trying to control completely 
the financial industry--the banks and Wall Street and everything else.
  Socialism simply does not work. Blowing taxpayers' money like we are 
doing does not work. We are creating an environment right now where we 
are going to see real economic chaos, and I believe everybody in 
America feels it. When I go to my town meetings and have 500 or 600 
people show up when we used to have 40, they feel it. They know what's 
going on, and they want government to get out of the way. They want 
jobs created, but they know that it has to be created through the 
private sector. Government can't give unless it takes, and it is taking 
and taking and taking and taking.
  So I would just like to say to my colleagues back in their offices 
and to anybody else who pays attention--and if I were talking to the 
American people, I'd say--Call your Congressmen and Senators, and tell 
them to stop this madness.

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