Rep. McClintock gave the following floor speech on March 6, 2009.
Mr. Speaker:
We have all heard a great deal of rhetoric blaming the Bush administration for the nation’s economic woes, and I actually rise to join that chorus.
We all are painfully aware that the Bush administration increased spending twice as fast as it did under Bill Clinton. The Bush administration added $160 billion to the deficit through tax transfers with its first stimulus bill a year ago – despite warnings that it would do nothing to stimulate the economy. It didn’t.
The Bush administration added another $700 billion to the nation’s deficit with the bailout bill last fall, despite many warnings that it would not stabilize the economy. It didn’t.
That administration ended with record spending, record borrowing, record deficits, and an economy in shambles.
But my question to many of my friends in the majority is this: if record spending, record borrowing and record deficits is the path to economic recovery – why aren’t we already enjoying a period of unprecedented economic expansion?
In fact, all of the bailouts, handouts and loan guarantees already enacted add up to $9.7 trillion – more than the modern day cost of the Space Race, the Vietnam War, the Louisiana Purchase, the Marshall Plan and the New Deal --combined.
The fact is that these policies don’t stimulate an economy, they destroy it. And it doesn’t matter whether these policies are enacted under a Democrat or a Republican – they don’t work.
They didn’t work in the recession of 1929 when Republican Herbert Hoover increased the marginal tax rate from 25 percent to 65 percent and piled up taxes on imports. They didn’t work in the resulting depression of the 1930’s when nearly a decade of Democrat Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal spending failed to stimulate the economy. We forget that the unemployment rate in 1939 was actually slightly higher than it had been in 1931.
We know from a year of failed bailouts and handouts and loan guarantees that these policies aren’t working any better today.
Today we learned that General Motors, despite billions of dollars of taxpayer bailouts is still going under.
Monday, we learned that AIG, despite billions of dollars of taxpayer bailouts is still going under.
M. Speaker, don’t they understand that the sooner we stop bailing out failing companies, the sooner we can begin a genuine economic recovery?
Before the failed $700 billion Bush bailout bill, the nation’s budget deficit was less than $550 billion. Because of that mistake – which President Obama and many of my Democratic friends in this house supported and ultimately consumated – and all the other bills that have rushed through this house in the last few weeks with such reckless abandon, our deficit has tripled to $1.5 trillion for this year – on its way to an additional $1.75 trillion next year.
As tempting as it is to censure the folly of the Bush Administration’s fiscal policies, I think we should be far more concerned with the quantum leap in borrowing and spending that we are now pursuing.
There is one institution that doesn’t look back, and that’s the stock market. The past is utterly irrelevant to the stock market. The stock market is strictly a forward-looking measurement of what investors are betting will happen to our economy in the future under current policy. And its precipitous decline since these policies have been unveiled should be a warning to us all. Today the stock market closed at its lowest point in 12 years.
If the policies we are embarked upon were destined to save our economy, you would think that those who make their livings betting on the economy would be buying like crazy.
Mr. Speaker, perhaps we would do well then to stop the partisan bombast and realize that bad policy produces bad results whether the President is a Republican or a Democrat. And perhaps we should recognize that Einstein was right: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.
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Dear Rep. McClintock,
Keep telling the truth. No administration ever spent itself to a balanced budget. Cut the tax rate and for every single, last dollar of tax decrease, and demand and insist on a decrease in spending by the self-same amount. Therein is the solution to economic expansion, balanced budgets and fiscal responsibility.
I pray it is not too late to accomplish this.
Sincerely,
Taylor B. Jones
Santa Clarita, CA
Senator McClintock:
You seem to be a lonely voice in DC, as you were in
Sacramento...but don't let that deter you in any way.
Your message is correct. Let us hope that at some point
more people will listen.
Good luck to you and your efforts!!
Mr. McClintock:
I'm glad your in office. Just wish you had replaced some of the Bay Area liberals.
How do we get these loser democrats out of office across America?
I'm so glad you are in Congress, thank God you fought the fight to get past your democratic rival for the seat .
Don't tone your message down, we need you there, like Ezekiel or a Jeremiah.
You have 18 months to lay out your plan to retake the congress. Hopefully America will have woken up from it's infatuating obession with Mr.O
Tom,
Congratulations on the appointment to the House Republican Policy Committee. Hopefully, you will be able to help your colleagues develop a spine.
A truly excellent speech. It s a pity you weren't around eight years abo.
It is heartening to hear another voice of reason in the Congress. They are too few and far between. Thank you for your good work, Mr. McClintock.
Einstein's quote could not be more relevant than to the actions of the President and Congress as a whole. Much history has clearly shown us that most of the time government policies (interference) stifle the economy. Why is it so that very few understand this? It's not rocket science.
I agree with Fred Watson!
Thank you for the common sense.
Please keep speaking, you will be heard.
TOM, YOU HAVE NAILED IT AS ALWAYS, BUT THOSE WITH THE POWER ARE NOT LISTENING. WE NEED A TAXPAYER REVOLT AND IF THIS CHICANERY CONTINUES, IT WILL HAPPEN!
You are right on the money; no pun intended. A wise man once said,"Those who do not learn the lessons of the past are doomed to repeat them."
Dear Mr. McClintock:
I am very pleased that you are representing our state and country. To hear a voice that speaks wisdom and truth is desperately needed during this extremely difficult time. I hope and pray that your input and hard work will make a positive impact on all of us (U.S. citizens). Thank you for representing us, the true government, with care, intelligence, and diligence.
Thank you Congressman McClintock! We recently received news about your endorsement and co-sponsorship of H.R. 1207 (The Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009). The Alameda County Republican Executive Committee recently approved a Resolution in support of H.R. 1207. It will be up for final approval by the County Committee on March 17th. We're with you all the way!
http://www.alamedagop.org
I thought you would have been the best choice for California when Arnold was elected but perhaps Washington is the best place for you. You wouldn't have fared better than Arnold against the tax and spend liberals and would have had a much harder time.
"There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures."
It seems that we are close to losing our ventures and our fortunes. I encourage Mr. McClintock to stand firm, resist the entrapments of the beltway bandits and remember "Memento mori" and quote it to his compatriots in the Capitol. "Remember, you will die". And after that. . .? Is it worth sacrificing so much later for so little now? To many it must be.
All the best Congressman McClentock!
Mr. McClintock,
Congratulations on your recent win. I've been a supporter of yours for years, voted for you when Davis got the boot. I just wish you were representing my district!
I applaud your speech above and hope you continue to do what you do, that is speak the truth and skip the BS. That task might become more difficult as you immerse yourself in Washington, not only the nation's capitol but the BS capitol as well.
Best of luck and keep up the great work. You're the only politician I trust.
Dear Rep. McClintock,
I completely agree with your assessment of how we arrived at our present economic situation. Yours seems to be one of the few sane voices in Congress. This is not a Republican vs. Democrat issue. I am only one of many Americans alarmed at the precipitous measures being taken by our president and Congress. These moves toward greater government control of individuals and businesses are rather frightening.
Mr. McClintock,
Spending doesn't stop our country from bleeding. I couldn't run my house for a few months & survive this kind of non-respondsible
actions. The frivolous spending of our government, is what has been happening, time & time again. Everyone needs to save. Let the auto industry reorganize, bailouts only reward them for misconduct, & misappropriations. The unions keep asking for more, without producing anything "more" A bandaid isn't going to stop us from bleeding to death. We are bleeding jobs to other countries, we are educating foreigners in our colleges, that our own children can't get a place into. We don't need to aid Palestine, let them take care of themselves, we don't need to fund Israel, or Egypt, it's
time to take care of us. Senior citizens can't afford protein,& many times its food vs medications. Children by the millions go to bed hungry every night in this great country. Warren Buffet is one of the smartest financial wizards, why hasn't Obama asked for his help? Oh he is a republican. We need the best minds, & they aren't in congress or the senate!
this country. Let's take care of the boulders in eyes before we go out & try to take the boulder out of the others eyes.
Show no quarter to the Republicans (Bush) who also got us into this mess. This is not about party, but about immutable economic principles--principles that both parties have tried to ignore to our nation's detriment.
Keep telling the truth, Tom!
Dear Mr. McClintock,
Please keep on telling the truth. You are saying what we are thinking. We are behind you.
Thanks.
Mr. McClintock,
Thank you for shedding a light of sanity on the subject of our economy. I hope that others with your view point will get together and shake some sense into our current administration.
Glad you made it to Washington, too bad you didn't make it to Gov. of CA, we would be in much better shape now than with Arnold...
Congressman McClintock,
I have followed your career ever since hearing you discuss your opinions on California's fiscal policies on radio several years ago. You have a clear, easy on the layperson's ears, way of explaining how things work. I'm glad you are now in a position to make even more headway in our Federal Govt. I only wish one thing...While you are saying what doesn't work, could you provide your opinion on what you feel would work? We on the conservative side really need your help. Thank you.
Mr. McClintock,
Thank you for your service to our country and I am proud that you represent me in Congress. Please keep up the straight ahead, no nonesense approach to government.
These policies of spending ourselves out of dim economic times makes very little sense. I'm glad to have your voice speaking common sense.
I agree 100% with Mr. Fred Watson, "I’m glad your in office. Just wish you had replaced some of the Bay Area liberals.
How do we get these loser democrats out of office across America?"
I wish that the state of California would have had the good sense to vote you in as governor, rather than our fearless leader.
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