Ronald Reagan quipped, “Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases:  If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.  And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”

The 2010 budget, already passed by Congress, allows for several tax cuts to expire, keeps corporate and capital gains taxes at growth stifling levels and fails to prioritize how your tax dollars are spent. These policies will do little to improve our nation's economy. The federal government does not need more taxpayer dollars. Instead, the federal government needs to eliminate the $300 billion that it loses annually to waste, fraud, and abuse while cutting spending to responsible levels.

Additionally, our current tax code is far too complicated and needs to be replaced with a code that is fair and favorable toward saving and investing.  I am a cosponsor of the Fair Tax Act (S. 296) because I believe it to be far better than our present system.

Each year, Americans waste 7.6 billion hours on tax compliance, which now costs us nearly $200 billion annually, in order to comply with the 60,000-page tax code.  This complex tax code also translates into billions of dollars of annual expenses for individuals and business.  The system is broken and the Fair Tax is one alternative that will simplify and improve it.

As you may know, the Fair Tax would repeal the burdensome income tax and replace it with a national sales tax.  The Fair Tax also would jumpstart our economy by removing the 22 percent cost embedded in American made goods and services because of federal taxes.  These embedded costs put American goods at a disadvantage to the goods of almost every other country in the world, making American products less competitive overseas.

The Fair Tax will dramatically reduce prices for consumers, protect Social Security and Medicare and benefit low- and middle-income Americans. Families and individuals will be able to save more for homeownership, retirement, college education and any other expenses.

With these reforms, our country would see great economic growth and this generation would leave future generations with the greatest opportunity to succeed.