Source: United States Senator for South Dakota John Thune
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today vowed that Republicans will do everything in their power to defeat the Democrats’ reckless tax-and-spending spree as he spoke on the Senate floor against the Democrats’ budget resolution. Thune warned that the Democrats’ push to raise taxes and permanently expand the federal government will harm the economy and severely increase the rate of inflation.
Excerpt of Thune’s remarks below:
“Today Democrats are taking the first steps toward a massive and permanent expansion of government that will be paid for on the backs of ordinary Americans.
“Oh, my colleagues across the aisle will tell you that they’re just levying tax hikes on wealthy Americans.
“But that’s not exactly the whole story.
“Those corporate tax hikes Democrats are proposing?
“That tax isn’t just going to be paid for by CEOs and the board members of corporations.
“A huge part of that tax is going to fall on American workers – in the form of things like lower salaries and fewer opportunities.
“The Tax Foundation notes that the share of the corporate tax burden that falls on labor is, quote, “routinely found to be between 50 percent and 100 percent, with 70 percent or higher the most likely outcome.”
“By substantially hiking taxes on corporations, Democrats will be substantially increasing the burden borne by workers.
“Not to mention reducing our competitiveness in the global economy by once again giving the United States one of the highest corporate tax rates in the developed world.
“With our economy still emerging from the challenges of the coronavirus, it’s very difficult to understand why Democrats would decide that we should make American businesses less competitive on the global stage.
“And that’s the impact of just one of Democrats’ tax hikes.
“I haven’t talked about the probable effects of their tax hike on small businesses … yes, on small businesses.
“Or the negative economic effects of their huge tax increase on investment.
“Then there’s Democrats’ new death tax – that’s right, a new death tax to add to our already existing death tax – which will reduce inheritances for middle-class Americans around the country.
“Not to mention threatening the very existence of family farms and ranches and family businesses.
“Mr. President, from the way Democrats have been governing, you would think that voters had given them a resounding mandate to permanently expand government and implement the socialist fantasies of the far-left.
“In fact, Democrats hold a narrow majority in the House of Representatives – where they lost seats – and the Senate is equally split between Republicans and Democrats.
“And Democrats’ far-left presidential candidates couldn’t make it out of the Democrat primary.
“That’s right.
“President Biden was able to win the Democrat primary, and the general election, because he presented himself – accurately or inaccurately – as a moderate.
“But despite their lack of a mandate, Democrat leaders are apparently more and more willing to let the far left of the Democrat Party run the show.
“Which is why we’re standing here today contemplating a $4.2 trillion spending spree to permanently expand the size of government.
“Mr. President, we don’t yet know all the details of Democrats’ budget-busting spending legislation.
“But what we do know is not encouraging.
“In addition to taxes that will burden hard-working Americans and hurt our economy, Democrats are contemplating a new welfare benefit – with no associated work requirement.
“Lots and lots of free stuff – like two free years of community college.
“Elements of Democrats’ most extreme socialist fantasy – the Green New Deal.
“Amnesty for individuals here in our country illegally.
“Funding for tens of thousands – yes, tens of thousands – of new IRS agents.
“A tax cut for blue-state millionaires and billionaires.
“And more.
“Democrats want to spend taxpayer dollars to hire “hundreds of thousands of young people” for a “Civilian Climate Corps” to fight climate change.
“No word yet on whether this is actually an effective way to address our nation’s climate challenges.
“But that isn’t going to stop Democrats from spending billions of taxpayer dollars to find out.
“And, Mr. President, I haven’t even mentioned how all this new government spending is likely to increase inflation.
“Americans are already facing significant inflation, thanks in part to Democrats’ earlier flooding of the economy with government spending.
“Now Democrats want to come close to doubling that spending.
“I don’t even want to think about what inflation will look like if they succeed in their spending plans.
“Mr. President, thanks to Democrats’ decision to utilize special Senate budget rules for their tax-and-spending spree, they have the ability to force through this massive spending package on a totally partisan basis.
“But my Republican colleagues and I will do everything we can to protect Americans from the consequences of Democrats’ reckless legislation.
“And I hope some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will intervene before their party’s tax-and-spending spree turns an economic recovery into an economic disaster.
“Mr. President, I yield the floor.”