Video: Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) Reveals the Democratic "Stimulus" Plan: Massive New Spending, Higher Deficits, Tax Increases
Massachusetts Liberal Confirms Dems' Plan to "Spread the Wealth Around" Relies on Higher Taxes
Washington, Oct 21 - Noted journalist and media pundit Michael Kinsley once famously said “a gaffe is when a politician tells the truth.” Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) – the powerful chairman of the House Financial Services Committee – told the truth yesterday when he admitted that the Democrats’ so-called “stimulus” plan amounted to little more than massive new spending, higher deficits, and tax increases. Here’s what he told Maria Bartiromo on CNBC’s Closing Bell yesterday (VIDEO here):
“I think at this point, there needs to be a focus on an immediate increase in spending and I think this is a time when deficit fear has to take a second seat… I believe later on there should be tax increases.” – CNBC’s Closing Bell, October 20, 2008
Frank claims Democrats’ plan is to raise taxes on the “very rich,” but the tax hikes the Democratic Congress have set in motion will hit middle-class families and small businesses, the engine of job creation in the United States. House Republicans believe there’s a better approach: instead of raising taxes on families and small businesses and “spreading the wealth around” through massive government spending increases, Congress should encourage economic growth through tax relief, increased American energy production, and other reforms that promote savings, homeownership, and job creation. House Republicans are prepared to fight for these reforms – and against the big government boondoggle currently being crafted by the Democrats in charge on Capitol Hill. After Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before the House Budget Committee yesterday, House GOP Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued a statement calling on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her Democratic colleagues to join Republicans in securing these reforms on behalf of American families, seniors, and small businesses:
“House Republicans agree with Chairman Bernanke that action to strengthen our economy is needed, and it should come in the form of pro-growth policies that create new jobs, lower energy costs, and protect taxpayers – not hundreds of billions in new government spending masquerading as ‘economic stimulus.’ I’m particularly pleased that Chairman Bernanke today repeated his past warnings that tax increases are the wrong approach during times of economic uncertainty. I call on Speaker Pelosi to work with House Republicans to stop the massive tax hike Democrats have set in motion and enact pro-growth reforms that allow Americans to keep more of their own paychecks and will help get our economy back on track.”
During yesterday’s hearing, Chairman Bernanke renewed a warning he has delivered to Congress in the past, saying, “[Y]ou would not want to have a net tax increase in the middle of a slowdown.” Yet Democrats have ignored his advice and passed not one, but two federal budgets containing the largest tax increase in American history. A detailed summary of exactly how American families will be impacted by the Democrats’ massive tax hike can be found here.
Last week, Boehner outlined House GOP pro-growth, pro-jobs proposals in a letter to Speaker Pelosi. Instead of passing the Democrats’ $300 billion spending scheme, Boehner said, Congress should take immediate steps to help America “turn the corner toward real economic growth” through action on a series of GOP-backed reforms, including enactment of a comprehensive, job-creating “all of the above” energy plan; tax relief and reforms to bring American jobs back home and encourage home purchases; suspension of the capital gains tax to encourage investment; and suspending minimum withdrawal rules to spare investors from being forced to sell their stocks at just the time when the market is hurting the most; and other reforms.
Will Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), Speaker Pelosi, and their Democratic colleagues consider these common sense, pro-growth alternatives that will truly help middle class families keep their homes, their jobs, and their retirement savings? Or will they exploit Americans’ economic anxieties to further advance their big government agenda with massive new spending, higher deficits, and huge tax increases on families, seniors, and small businesses?
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