Remarks on the House floor by Congressman Paul Ryan (WI-01)

Senior Member of the House Ways and Means Committee; Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee
December 16, 2010

Let me address just a few of the issues that I have been hearing here on the floor. I'm hearing some of my colleagues from the other side of the aisle saying "We just can't afford these tax cuts." Only in Washington is not raising taxes on people considered a "tax cut". What we're talking about here is not cutting taxes; we're talking about keeping taxes where they are and preventing tax increases.

Second point: "We – meaning the government – can't afford this?" Whose money is this after all? Is all the money that is made in America Washington's money, government's money? Or is it the people's money who earned it? I hear all this talk about the death tax, the estate tax: "This is going to give a windfall to these people. All this money going to these privileged people who have built these businesses, made all this money." It's their money! We have a country built on equal, natural rights, where you can make the most of your life, get up, work hard, take risks, become successful, create jobs, grow businesses, earn success – and yes, pass it on to your kids. What on earth is wrong with that? That's the American dream.

To my friends on my side of the aisle, who simply do not like some of the spending in this bill: I do not like it either. Let's cut the spending next year when were in charge. There is junk in the tax code, everybody agrees with this. This is advancing some of the junk in the tax code and what I say to my friends on the other side of the aisle next year: let's get rid of the junk in the tax code when we are in charge. Right now – let's not hit the American people with a massive tax increase.

If we want to get this debt under control, if we want to get our deficit going down, there are two things we need to be doing: we need to cut spending and we need to grow the economy. We need prosperity in the country. We need job creation. We need people going from collecting unemployment to having a job and paying taxes.

Is this a growth package? No, it's not a growth package. It's only a two year extension [of current tax rates]. We're not talking about a pro-growth economic package. We're talking about preventing a destructive economic package from being inflicted on the American people in about two weeks. The last thing you want to do is put more uncertainty in the economy, hit the economy with a huge tax increase, trigger a stock market sell-off and lose jobs. So do we want to make these permanent? You bet we do and that is exactly what we are going to be advancing.

We need economic growth. We need spending cuts. That's exactly what we intend on doing, and I think that's exactly the message that voters sent us. Let's prevent this tax increase from happening. Let's clean up the stuff we don't like in this bill next year. Let's make sure that when people go home for Christmas, they know that they are not going to have a massive tax increase a few days later.

This is a bill that is necessary to prevent our economy from getting worse. This is not a bill that is going to turn it around. Next year, let's pass the policies that will turn our economy around.

Box office $'s down this summer...

I just read the article posted below on the dismal dollars pulled in from movies this summer. It caught my eye mostly because of John Cusack's rant over the weekend. I scanned the article, which was linked from Breitbart's Big Hollywood site. It has all kinds of reasons, bad movies, social media letting everyone know immediately that a movie was bad, higher ticket costs, etc.

I have a few reasons movies aren't bringing in the audiences that article author Paul Dergarabedian didn't list, probably didn't even think of when writing the article.

1. People like me whose movie attendance has declined as the rhetoric from Hollywood "starts" ratcheted up. We're putting our money where our principles are these days, paying attention and aren't going to support people who are contributing dollars and influence to those trying to destroy America. (see yesterday's blog)

2. People are hanging onto their money. Duh. If you have cable or a DVD player, you'll get to see the movie sooner or later if you care. Why spend $10, $15 or whatever on a ticket, plus the cost of overpriced (understandably) popcorn and sodas? At home you can spend time with your family, pause when you want to go to the bathroom and the popcorn is cheap. Have a few friends over and make it fun!

3. The messages in the movies aren't the kind that many parents want their children learning. I am personally so tired of the social engineering that's going on in movies... and television programs, in particular those cute little kids things they feed straight into the minds of our impressionable children.

4. We have better things to do. Been to a 9-12 meeting? a tea party rally? your local political party group meeting? watching Glenn Beck and thinking there are more important things afoot these days? paying more attention to the 'real world'? The elections this year are attracting much, much more interest than in the past. We're more involved, there's more at stake. Sure we all need a break from non-stop gloom, doom, working out butts off to save the country type activities, but we're more discerning now. Plus, I think many of us are spending more quality time with our families. Going to a movie is not a 'real' family activity -- you can't talk, interact, you can't comment when they push a Hollywood idea of the world at your kids...

I could come up with some more if I put my mind to it, but I am heading out the door in about ten minutes. After yesterday's article on Cusack and Dave Radio I had to comment... Have a fantastic day, register a new conservative voter and make it better than fantastic .

Summer 2010 box office: What went right, what went wrong (HWD)
By Paul Dergarabedian
The opening line of Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" sums up the summer movie season of 2010 most accurately: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." and so it goes as we hit a revenue record of $4.35 billion, yet find ourselves with the lowest attendance since 1997.
http://hollywoodwiretap.com/?module=news&action=story&id=51536

Article re: Sarah Palin, Alaska, Stimulus Money

Stimulus funds pending as Legislature winds down
With just one week left before the Alaska Legislature adjourns for the year, the conflict between Gov. Sarah Palin and lawmakers over taking federal economic stimulus money is the dominant issue left.

Please send this to everyone you know!

I just got off a tele-conference sponsored by Americans for Prosperity regarding the Obama administration's "stimulus package". I was concerned about it prior to the call, now I am fired up. We need to do everything in our power to stop this from happening. We may not be successful, but let's at least go down fighting.

I sent the following email to almost everyone in my email address book. I would like to ask you to doctor it up any way you'd like, but please get some version of this to everyone you know. There's another great letter in the works by another group. I'll share that one with you later. If I get twenty letters from twenty different groups I'm going to pass them along!

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I don't normally send out group emails, but this one is SO critical. Let's make this viral! We only have TWO days left to stop the stimulus. Visit www.readthestimulus.org for details on the bill then be sure to go to www.nostimulus.com and sign the petition. Don't stop there, call Congress, write letters, post blogs, send emails, send faxes! If enough people call and voice their opinion we CAN stop the stimulus.

Join me in taking a stand in the first major policy battle of President Obama's Administration.
You've seen the coverage of the approximately $1 trillion debt scheme pushed by Speaker Pelosi and President Obama that's being called the "Stimulus Package."

Sadly, many politicians in Washington, DC really believe that driving our nation even deeper into debt and using our money for wasteful government spending boondoggles is the way to get us out of the current recession.

These political leaders don't realize that massive deficits, higher taxes, wasteful spending and heavy-handed regulation are primary reasons for the current recession.

You can fight back today by visiting www.NoStimulus.com and joining the growing army of taxpayers saying NO by signing Americans for Prosperity’s petition to stop this disastrous trillion-dollar debt scheme, known as the “Stimulus Package.”

It is critical that we send a loud and clear message to DC politicians that ordinary citizens simply cannot afford the crushing burden and devastating consequences of this initiative.

Please act now to make your voice heard -- and encourage your friends and family to do the same -- by signing AFP’s petition at www.NoStimulus.com.