Norquist: Congress Should Learn from Nation’s Govs

President of Americans for Tax Reform Grover Norquist says the good news in the GOP-proposed 2012 budget is taxes are “off the table,” as 235 House and 40 Senate Republicans have signed ATR’s pledge not to have tax increases. Norquist also said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that Congress should learn a lesson from the states’ governors.
 

“The commitment that 235 Republican members of the House and 40 Republicans in the Senate have signed is the Taxpayer Protection Pledge — it says no raising taxes,” Norquist said. “So, taxes are off the table. I know [President Barack] Obama and the Democrats like to focus on increases, but as [House Budget Committee Chairman] Paul Ryan has pointed out, there’s $6 trillion in over-spending to be called back.

 

“You don’t need to raise taxes,” he continued. “You can take that money off the table by spending less, just as governors around the country are doing — [Andrew] Cuomo in New York is saying no to tax increases, do it on spending — [Tom] Corbett in Pennsylvania, [Chris] Christie in New Jersey — Florida and Texas.

 

Norquist noted tax increases “are what politicians do when they don’t want to govern — when they don’t want to reform government — when they don’t want to make choices. When you take taxes off the table, that’s the only time they ever think about reducing government spending.”

 

He was asked whether social issues should be addressed in discussions on fiscal change.

 

“I think the social issues will come up in the appropriations, and in legislation over the next year,” Norquist replied. “When we’re focused on the debt ceiling . . . everything that’s attached to [the legislation] is going to deal with reducing the debt, reducing future debt.”