By Rep. Jeb Hensarling
As Published in the Dallas Morning News
Published: 02-06-09
Last week I had the honor to meet with President Obama to discuss our nation’s economic turmoil. Although I disagree with him on many principles and policies I was impressed by the President’s sincerity and willingness to listen.
I made two points: one I don’t see much economic stimulus in the stimulus bill and two I don’t want to pass legislation that places a crushing burden of debt on our children. The President disagreed with me on the first point but I believe he genuinely embraced my second.
The House passed a stimulus bill last Wednesday that will cost $1.16 trillion or $14795 per American family. Unfortunately it does a lot more to stimulate big government than it does to stimulate the economy. Even if you adhere to Keynesian economics—which I don’t—only 4 of that legislation is aimed at what most economists view as true stimulative infrastructure spending.
Less than 2 of the legislation is dedicated to pro-growth tax relief that will stimulate small business job creation. The President’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told Congressional Democrats “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” They haven’t.
They loaded every big government idea of the last 40 years in there. Congressional Democrats grew 150 government programs and created 32 new ones—including $1 billion for a follow up to the census $600 million to buy new cars for government employees $50 million for National Endowment to the Arts $335 million for sexually transmitted disease education and the list goes on. Perhaps some of these are useful programs but none of them are stimulative programs. Over 80 of the bill one of the most expensive in our nation’s history funds new and old government and the interest to pay for it.
In the 1990s Japan tried a stimulus approach. During its “Lost Decade” Japan ran up the largest debt of any industrialized nation it had zero economic growth and it created no net jobs. Not surprisingly its per capita income went from the second highest in the world to the tenth. The Japanese showed us that you cannot borrow and spend your way to prosperity.
House Republicans offer a different stimulus plan and a different vision. Our vision is one that puts capital into the hands of small businesses and the self-employed so they can preserve jobs today and grow them tomorrow. Our vision enlarges the paychecks of every working American so they can keep their homes put food on the table and send their children to college in a way that does not crush future generations with the cost.
We help families by reducing the lowest tax rates from 15 to 10 and from 10 to 5. We help small businesses by allowing them a tax deduction equal to 20 of their income to retain and hire new employees. Compared to the Congressional Democrats we create twice as many jobs at less than half the cost.
Even before this $1.16 trillion bill becomes law our nation’s current unfunded liabilities stand at an unconscionable level of almost $60 trillion or $184174 for each American.
We are on course to be the first generation in America’s history to leave the next generation with a lower standard of living. That is why I voted against this bill have authored legislation to limit the growth of government and co-sponsored the bipartisan Wolf Commission to hopefully force Congress to make the tough spending decisions on entitlement programs.
I hope and pray the President will help change this legislation before he signs it. And although we will continue to disagree on much I know we agree on this: his children Sasha and Malia and my children Claire and Travis must be freed from a crushing and immoral national debt.
