ECONOMIC FIX: NO 2008 INCOME TAX, SAYS US CONGRESSMAN

Press Release : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 26, 2008

Laura Mszar and Jonna Fitzgerald

ECONOMIC FIX: NO 2008 INCOME TAX, says US Congressman

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On seeing that the Administration is in the process of obligating up to $7.7 trillion between Sec. Paulson and Chairman Bernanke's bailout promises, a U.S. Congressman was shocked. Compare that with the $1.2 trillion that the U.S. Treasury is estimated to receive for the 2008 tax year. That is what one Congressman did and the cheaper, better road to recovery was clear.

"Secretary Paulson continues his unfettered spending spree and is driving our country further from the core capitalist principles on which it was founded. His and the Fed’s bailouts in the past few months have set a dangerous and unmistakable precedent to nationalize or socialize banking, insurance, and investment firms; and now car companies and other industries, states and cities are also lined up with hands out. I am proposing that we end the giveaway power of Sec. Paulson and the Fed immediately and declare that taxpayers will pay no 2008 income taxes. We should then return all amounts individuals have already paid this year," said the concerned Texas Congressman.

"Can you get your head around the idea of each taxpayer receiving back in the next few months every dime they have paid in income taxes for 2008? Can you imagine the incredible surge in the economy - the cars that will be bought, the houses bought and built, the mortgages paid up, the credit cards paid off, and Christmas presents bought? There are great values on some stocks that could then be grabbed by middle class people who otherwise can not take advantage of the deals in the market. The stimulative effects of having to pay NO federal income tax this year would also provide a tax boon to states and cities that desperately need money to repair and build infrastructure and are already seeking bailouts of their own. The federal government has no business picking winners and losers. Let’s let hardworking American taxpayers make that decision."

Rep. Louie Gohmert continued, "Not only would this be a fantastically powerful economic stimulus, it would save trillions of dollars that we simply don't have. You do the math. There are many in and out of Washington who are comfortable with the subliminal message that we are ignorant, helpless minions who need an all-knowing, omniscient Treasury Secretary and Fed Chair to spend all our money for which our grandchildren will one day pay. It doesn't have to be that way! The Treasury Secretary continues to reverse course on what our economy needs to rebound, and the market continues to suffer." 

Congressman Gohmert was also upset to hear disconcerting reports that some of the banks receiving bailout money will not use it to make more loans or shore up "troubled assets." Instead the bailout money will be used to buy their smaller competition, basically using tax dollars to monopolize banking which will also provide fewer sources of credit and loans. This is why direct government intervention on such a massive scale cannot and will not work. Gohmert proposes allowing the people earning the money, the taxpayers, to decide who gets bailed out by buying the products and utilizing the companies that are best meeting their needs. The market will then be able to correct itself and actually work again.

"My idea may sound unconventional, but it is trillions of dollars cheaper than our current course. My proposal actually relies on our nation's founding democratic principles that made us the greatest nation in the world before anyone ever heard of Mr. Henry Paulson!"

Congressman Louie Gohmert represents the First District of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives. For more information, please contact Laura Mszar at 202.374.3359.