Spending and tax cut decisions must be both fiscally responsible and fair to our working families. I believe that fiscal responsibility is the way to create prosperity for America and secure the retirement of America's seniors.
Now, the president would like to do tax reform, which would obviously lower rates for most people in America and make the tax code fair and get rid of loopholes and special treatment. But absent tax reform, the president believes the right way to get our fiscal house in order is ask the wealthy to pay their fair share.
We must have a fair tax in the United States. We have to re-adjust it, we must be fiscally responsible.
Today's tax cuts provide yet another illustration of the Republicans' fiscally irresponsible economic policies that ignore the needs of America's middle class, students, and working families.
In America, we make a promise to seniors: After a lifetime of working and contributing to this country, you'll earn the benefit of a secure retirement, good health care, and peace of mind in your later years. To me, that's a commitment we have to keep.
We also need to encourage Americans to become more fiscally responsible themselves. We can do this by redesigning our tax system into an expenditure tax with a single flat rate. ... We have to substantially reduce the size and scope of the federal government, fundamentally increase the role of the states in choosing their own practices, and bring decision-making closer to the people, not to unelected administrators. These steps are crucial to getting our nation on a path of fiscal, political and constitutional responsibility.
[I]n America, at least, we have a pretty good record for behaving in a fiscally responsible fashion, with one exception - namely, the fiscal irresponsibility that prevails when, and only when, hard-line conservatives are in power.
As the President reviewed the state of the union and unveiled his second-term agenda, he fell short of adequately explaining how he intends to set America back on the course of fiscal responsibility and secure the fiscal health of the nation.
Of course, there's been a real debate about where to invest and where to cut, and I'm committed to working with members of both parties to cut our deficits and debt. But we can't simply cut our way to prosperity.
Congress must take responsibility for a new positive direction - an innovative agenda that will lead to a more secure America. Secure communities, secure economies, and a secure quality of life.
The greatest threat facing America today
is the disastrous fiscal policies of our own government,
marked by shameless deficit spending and
Federal Reserve currency devaluation.
It is this one-two punch -
Congress spending more than it can tax or borrow,
and the Fed printing money to make up the difference -
that threatens to impoverish us by further
destroying the value of our dollars.
I think growing an economy is a good way to help with a deficit, but ultimately, it's about fiscal discipline and responsible spending - and smart decisions.
When we stand up for America, we stand up for what America stands for, which is a safety net for our seniors and really helping our families be able to help themselves
When we stand up for America, we stand up for what America stands for, which is a safety net for our seniors and really helping our families be able to help themselves.
The only way to meet pressing social needs and be fiscally responsible is to cut the runaway Pentagon budget, which now almost equals the military spending of all other countries in the world combined.
Congress has turned its back on America's working families. There are Teamster families in every congressional district in America, and those families vote. Those who would oppose these families have done so at their own political peril.
JFK and Reagan's growth model included tax cuts and a steady dollar. Trump has taken a gigantic step toward restoring prosperity with his tax-cut-centered fiscal policy.