[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 27, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   A DEAF GOVERNMENT ASLEEP IN DENIAL

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, government's view of the economy could 
be summed up this way: ``If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, 
regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.''
  The American people are uneasy about their financial future. Taxing 
and borrowing and spending are out of control. Government is the 
problem. The people are frustrated.
  We in Washington should listen to the people of America. They talked 
to us at town hall meetings. They got louder with their marches on 
Washington. The American people say stop the spending, cut up the 
credit cards. We should listen to America.
  America is a representative Republic. That means the people talk, we 
listen. We implement their ideas. That is the way it works. Lately, the 
government dictates, the people comply. That is backwards, and it is 
arrogant.
  In America, the people are the sovereign, not the government. We in 
Congress should make the government work for the people, work with 
them, not over them; stand by their side, not ride their backs. The 
people are talking, and their voices cannot continue to fall on a deaf 
government asleep in denial.
  And that's just the way it is.

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