[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 152 (Friday, December 12, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1839-E1840]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE FALSE ECONOMICS OF THE CROMNIBUS BILL

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. STEVE STOCKMAN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 12, 2014

  Mr. STOCKMAN. Mr. Speaker, in the 11th Century, King Canute proved 
his humility by ordering the tides from not coming in, yet the tides 
came in without respect to his royal majesty. Last night I thought we 
were experiencing another King Canute moment. The

[[Page E1840]]

House passed a bill that was to rational economics what King Canute's 
order was to the rising tides.
  Perpetuating the overspending and compounding the debt burden on 
future generations is not only immoral, it is plain dumb policy.
  One would have thought that a lesson was learned when in August of 
2011, the United States' credit rating was downgraded. But massive 
deficits have continued and the bill adopted last night will continue 
those deficits. Today's projections say that in the future the annual 
deficit will continue to rise--topping the trillion dollar mark in 
under ten years.
  Now we know that these deficits are ultimately unsustainable and a 
crunch will come. One scenario is that much of the federal debt will be 
wiped away by inflating the dollar. Meaning that a dollar of debt today 
could be paid off with a penny of real money. This would have some 
rather serious side effects such as the destruction of much of the 
wealth of the U.S. and every other nation. It would mean economic 
collapse and the destruction of world trade.
  Other side effects that the Congress risks by passing legislation 
like the bill we considered last night are the collapse of the social 
safety net on which our elderly and disabled population depends. I have 
a one-hundred trillion dollar bill--and it can't buy a loaf of bread. 
It is a Zimbabwe bill and that nation's economic policies are what we 
seem to be trying to emulate.
  But my listing of the effects of fiscal (and monetary) incontinence 
is not the first in this Chamber. And that is the great tragedy. It is 
like the captain of the Titanic knew about the iceberg the previous day 
and continued his course which he knew would end in catastrophe.
  I hope and pray that the members of the next Congress will change 
course. I have done my work to change that course, and I will continue 
to work to change U.S. economic policy from outside these walls. God 
bless America, and God help us.

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