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.
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.
You are, quite literally, the only voice of reason that I feel I can trust in government right now. So thankful you are there.
Not just the loser Democrats, get the phony Republicans out of the office as well.
I is refreshing see that we have at least one congressman in Washington that understands something about economics and remembers the real history of government trying to play banker. Continue to try to hold back the rush to bailout everything and let capitalism work. Thanks for your hard work.
You just may be the only person in Washington with the intelligence to understand what's happening! The errors of the infant Obama administration have already saddled our ancestors with a debt of gigantic proportions. Our republic is in dire straits with the likes of Obama, Pelosi, Biden and the rest in power for another four years!
Mr. McClintock:
I’m glad you are in office.
Just wish you the best.
We all need it.
I agree with your take on this issue. My remarks concern the tax on Compensation received by workers. This tax on compensaton for services of an employee, is unlawfl and unjust. There is a pile of Supreme Court rulings on the issue stating that "income" in the tax law means "profits and gains" after deductions; and that a worker receiving compensation for his services makes no gain or profit. Under the 10th Amendment, States are not allowed to place an income tax according to the Darby Lumber decision of the Supreme Court, yet California has an income tax. But what stirs my pot to boiling on this issue is the utter lack of concern, the rebuffing attitude, the turning away and refusal to deal with this issue by our elected representatives, legislatures and congress. SO here we workers are faced with an ilegal "income" tax, which is not apportionied, that is called "voluntary compliance." We are faced wtih this when there is no law requiring us to file because we are not liable or required under the law - which, unfortunately is so lengthy and ambiguous that it seems as if anyone cannot understand it; yet there is a big movement in America by citizens and patriots to open the eyes and ears of congress and state legislatures. We have been paying this illegal tax long enough! I am wondering, are you just going to be another congressman, or are you going to do something about this plundering of worker compensation. Go to www.truthattack.org and read the "memorandum" of attorney T. Cryer in his win against the IRS and State tax. Click on some of the links and you will have your hands on valid research that proves there is no tax on worker compensation. Please, or must we assume real Americans are no longer existent.
In my opinion, the are 4 groups at fault for this economic mess: (1) Democrates who pushed the policy that the American dream should be extended to all whether they could pay for it or not, (2) Republicans that stubbornly insisted that the free market would righ the ship while the free market was being robbed, (3) financial institutions who saw an opportunity to make fortunes by smoke sreening a ponzi scheme, and (4) the greedy among us who overreached or economic capacities.
The essence of Wall Street is CONFIDENCE. Confidence is destroyed because our investments are being robbed, and most of the robbers are going free.
we also have to make sure we get loser Republicans in office. it's not about party it's about principle. tax, spend and borrow republicans are just as bad as tax, spend and borrow democrats - maybe even worse since they destroy the credibility of the republican party.
Excellent analysis, delivered well...hope it does some good...
Thanks for looking out for us Tom! This is why we vote for you. We need someone in DC who thinks straight.
I posted one of Tom's speeches on Politico and it drew a lot of attention.
I say McClintock for President 2012 !!! I think it will fly. He is better than Reagan.
Mr. McClintock,
Thank you for your wisdom. We need more people like you running our government - don't care what party at this point, just people that know what they are doing! I am so glad you are in Washington! First heard you on John and Ken and said to myself this man knows what he is talking about and makes sense. I have followed you ever since. I was so dissappointed when you didn't make Governor...Boy we really need you now, California is sinking fast! Thank you for standing by what you think is right and not what people want to hear. Thank you and may God Bless you.
Thank you Ed. You're exactly right. Every time somebody want to take a very important issue like this and create a ridiculous partisan 5th grader insult out of it, I want to kick them in the fucking teeth. Because these stupid go-nowhere insults are trite and completely useless. It isn't just the liberals that are doing this, it's republicans as well. It's people on both sides. You might as well blame this on the blacks and the Chinese.
We need fixing, not blaming!
It's frustrating that this spiral keeps continuing without pause and thinking.
I have followed your career since you first took office in CA. I am so glad you are now being heard in DC. I just wish you represented my district in CA.
I just finished Mike Huckabee's book, "Do the Right Thing", in which he recommended the "Fair Tax Amendment" authored by Congressman John Linder in 1998. What do you think of it, and wouldn't this be the best time to implement it?
Thank you Congressman McClintock.
I appreciate all you are doing for us.
It took more than one to get us here and will take many more to get us out of this mess.
I suggest that instead of shelling out billion of dollars to these large corporations that the government shell out to each legal American over the age of 18 $750,000. Then it will be the American public who determines which companies they think should stay or fail.
The IRS will get their portion of tax; banks and auto industries will get their share from purchases; stocks, bonds & securities will be the will of Americans.
Give us Americans a voice and let the chips fall where they may.
Mr. McClintok,
You are my hero. Keep up the messages of reason. Hopefully they will listen before we slip down that big black hole of insolvency.
I am astounded by the fact that so much misrepresentation in government, the banks and wall street has been perpetrated without any laws being broken. The amoral (after tax) profits are still sitting in personal accounts all over the world and no one has the guts to open Pandora's box.
The trillions of dollars being spent to shore up failed businesses is pure socialistic folly. With no fear of bankruptcy the Senate and the Congress are hell bent to spend us into oblivion.
I pray for the return of free enterprise based on unfettered supply and demand. Government dipping their beak is fine. Government running the economy and taking the lions share works against everything that has made the country great.
Hans Slade
Hans Slade
Mr. McLintock: Thank you for being our voice. Although, I live in San Jose, I have supported your career since your run for governor. Every day I am sad that you are not our governor, but now thrilled that you are in D.C. representing true conservatives. Keep up the great work and don't give up on us! Thank you for your service.
There are many people that absolutely do not agree with the new Administrations rush with spending. Plus, feel that the promises of being transparent and not having the pork to extremes has NOT been lived up to. That promise would certainly mean the new supposedly. Stimulus Bill , would have been read and understood by all Congressman and especially the President. Thank you for trying to do the right thing by Americans as this Administration seems to be bent on the opposite....anything that would be detrimental to the U.S. is their preference. Thank you for all you can do. Michele Avignone
Thank you for anything you can do concerning this idiotic spending that is totally detrimental to the good of the U.S. The promises of Obama in his campaign have taken no time at all to be broken. Promises of no pork and being transparent certainly has not been honored. An expense as large as the so called Stimulus Bill should have been read and understood by all Congressman and especially the President. This Administration seems to desire all that is detrimental to the U.S. and is proceding to have it all passed...wasting no time. Please HELP! MIchele Avignone