February 13, 2009

“Americans are hurting, and we know we must act – but I have serious misgivings about the size and nature of this bill and the rush to passage,” Hall said.  “The haste to passage, with the votes virtually guaranteed by the Majority, does not sufficiently take into consideration the impact of this measure on our schoolchildren and even on generations yet unborn.” 

    “Tax cuts for individuals and businesses would do more to spur spending, improve the economy, and help save or create jobs than expanding government programs,” Hall added.  “Our focus should be on tax relief first and foremost.” 

“The $789 billion bill that passed today has little relief for taxpayers and even less relief for small businesses – yet it is loaded with new programs and expansions of existing programs that will not create jobs or stimulate the economy,” Hall said.  Hall cited $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts, $2 billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Fund, $1.3 billion for Amtrak – a producer of extreme deficits for many years, and $8 billion for a High Speed Passenger Rail project from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, among others.” 

“For America’s sake, I hope that this bill will have the impact the Administration believes it will,” Hall added.  “Unfortunately, I fear that it will not spur the economy and that it will reward consistent losers, increase repetitive patterns of bad conduct, and significantly add to the Federal deficit.”

Hall noted, “I’m reminded of an old story about a teacher who listened to a long speech by a noted economist and summarized it in one sentence  – if your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep’s gonna be your downfall.”