Parades, parties and other festivities ushered in the arrival of 2012 in Utah and across the nation. Unfortunately, the New Year will be no cause for celebration unless we address the old problems left over from 2011 -- our $15 trillion-plus national debt and runaway government spending.
During the past year, three things have become increasingly clear to me and other fiscal conservatives. First, the deficits being run up by this Administration and its spendthrift congressional allies are unsustainable; second, spending is at a historically high level and is stoking these deficits; and third, the tax hikes this President would like to impose would put tax revenues at near-historic peaks.
That is why during this year, as the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, I will continue to lead in the battle to balance the federal budget. Hardworking Utah families must live within their means, and they expect their government to do the same.
To achieve this, we must reduce deficits and debt through spending cuts. We also must act separately to promote tax reform. If we mix the two efforts, we run the risk of paving the way for a back-door tax hike, much as our President has tried to do. He would rather raise taxes and keep on spending, unfettered by any fiscal restraints. That is akin to tossing an anchor to someone who is drowning.
Indeed, a consensus has emerged that tax reform, done properly, is imperative if we are to get America's fiscal house in order. That is why I will continue the fight this year to reform our nation's broken tax system. In doing so, I will use the same three criteria former President Ronald Reagan laid out when he put tax reform on the table in 1984: fairness, growth and simplicity.
"Fair" is not an adjective that anyone could truthfully use to describe our current tax system, not when 51 percent of American households pay no federal income tax. As it now stands, our system encourages too many Americans to push for more government spending without any concomitant obligation to pay for that spending through income taxes. When fewer and fewer people are responsible for paying for more government, where will be the interest in reducing the size of government? Everyone should have some skin in the game, even if it is only a few dollars.
We must also reform the system so that it promotes economic efficiency and growth. Economic growth will be the key criterion for our nation's future prosperity and fiscal health. And tax signals are powerful factors for determining where taxpayers are likely to engage or disengage their labor and capital. Clearly, these tax signals -- marginal tax hikes, for example -- interfere with market forces by redirecting economic activity from where it would otherwise go. A more efficient tax system will promote more economic growth.
Finally, we must simplify our tax system. When Winston Churchill characterized Russia as "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside and enigma," he could just as well have been describing our overly-complex tax system. Former House Ways and Means Committee Chairman William Archer compared it to a weed. I prefer to think of it as a garden choked with weeds. If we don't cut them back, these weeds will eventually take over and become more burdensome than ever on every American. That must not be allowed to happen.
As we move forward to address this and other challenges in 2012, let me assure you that I will continue to fight as hard as I can for you and our great state and nation. Working together, I am optimistic we can ring in 2013 a year from now free of the attendant hangover brought on by unresolved problems and unmet challenges.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your United States senator.
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