Economy and Taxes

When people envision the American Dream, it includes owning a home, having a good paying job and feeling economically stable.  America is blessed to have one of the strongest, most vibrant economies in the world.  While our economy has experienced slower times of late, we are still a country with great opportunity for anyone with a strong work ethic and good ideas.  However, we must work to maintain and improve this strength. 

I believe that the first step in stimulating our economy is to implement legislation to provide tax relief for small businesses and middle-class families.  I believe that we need to drastically decrease federal spending, instead of increasing it and burdening Texas families with the higher price tag.  Specifically we must make permanent the tax cuts the Republican majority approved less than a decade ago.  Congress should be working to permanently put an end to the Death Tax and the Marriage Penalty, two tax policies that punish people solely for making natural progressions in life.  The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), a tax that originally ensured that around 150 of the wealthiest Americans paid their fair share of taxes, is estimated to affect almost 20 million Americans today.  This extra burden was never intended to touch so many Americans and, I believe, should be done away with once and for all. 

We must also put policies forth that strengthen our economic competitiveness across the globe.  We should lower our corporate tax rate, which is one of the highest in the world.  This one decision would keep existing American jobs from going overseas while also making it more appealing for foreign companies to open subsidiaries in the United States.  We must also help our children reach greater heights in the classroom.  The higher our nation’s level of education is, the larger our workforce is and the stronger our economy becomes.  Finally, I firmly believe Congress needs to put an end to wasteful government spending and be a better steward of your tax dollars.

I have consistently voted in favor of letting you keep more of your hard earned money and, likewise, voted against tax increases that will only serve to inhibit the further growth of our economy.  Hardworking taxpayers in this country are overburdened by taxes and I want to ease this burden.  Some in Congress believe we should put an end to the tax relief policies implemented a few years ago.  Doing so would mean increased tax rates on Texas families.  Families in Texas are already feeling the strain of sky-rocketing gas prices, decreasing home values, and increasing health care costs piled high on the back of a slowing economy.  The last thing they need is to pay more taxes.  This is bad policy not only for individuals and families, but for our economy as well.  I will continue to work for lower taxes and will support other policies that create more economic opportunities for hard-working Americans.

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