Tax rebates: Jeff Flake and John Shadegg thumbs down; Harry Mitchell and majority thumbs up
January 29th, 2008, 4:08 pm · 1 Comment · posted by Paul Giblin
Jeff Flake
Arizona Republican Reps. Jeff Flake and John Shadegg voted against the House tax rebate measure Tuesday, despite overwhelming support in the House and President Bush’s push for the policy in his State of the Union Address on Monday.
The remaining six members of Arizona’s delegation in the House supported the economic stimulus package that was approved with a 385-35 vote.
The legislation is designed to provide tax rebates of up to $600 for individual taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less a year, or $1,200 for couples who jointly file and have a combined adjusted gross income of $150,000 or less a year.
The measure also provides tax benefits to businesses, as well as mortgage relief.
“If this package had been a simple rebate to those who have paid taxes, I could support that,” said Flake, who represents Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, which takes in parts of Mesa and
Chandler, plus Gilbert, Queen Creek and Apache Junction.
“I don’t believe that rebates provide much of a long-term economic stimulus, but taxpayers can certainly spend their money better than Congress can. However, a large number of those receiving rebates do not pay income tax and the Senate is likely to add unrelated spending items to the bill,” Flake said.
Democrat Rep. Harry Mitchell voted in favor of the measure because, he said, the economy is a concern.
“Unemployment rates are up in Arizona and we have a record numbers of foreclosures in the Valley,” said Mitchell, who represents the 5th District, which takes in Scottsdale, Tempe, Fountain Hills, Ahwatukee Foothills and west
Mesa.
“I am disappointed that the package did not include my bill to stop members of Congress from taking yet another pay raise,” he said. “At a time when so many families are worried about making ends meet, I think it is just plain wrong. The American people haven’t gotten a pay raise, why should we?”
Incidently, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, the presidential candidate who is Mitchell’s co-sponsor on the bill to block an automatic Congressional pay raise, parted with Mitchell and voted against the tax rebates.
Shadegg said the federal government doesn’t have the money to pay for the rebates.
“It makes absolutely no sense to me to go give away money we don’t have. These rebates will push us even further into debt to China and Saudi Arabia and impose the burden of this debt on our children and grandchildren,” said Shadegg, who represents the 3rd District, which includes central and northern Phoenix, plus
Paradise
Valley, Cave Creek and Carefree.
“Temporary rebates will not stimulate economic growth. The most they’ll do is make politicians feel good,” Shadegg said.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
As Rep. Flake’s Democratic opponent, I’m not at all surprised by his vote against the stimulus package. He pretty much opposes any government help to people in his district or to people in the US or to people in the world. He has voted again and again as a member of a tiny minority even in the Republican party against any issue that requires an outlay of government funds. He was one of very few House members of any party to vote against Hurricane Katrina relief and President Bush’s lifesaving emergency AIDS program. He doesn’t believe in Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance or social security.
Rep. Flake is consistent. The voters in the district will overwhelming re-elect him again this fall — I have no illusions about that. But they should never expect him to vote for anything that would expend funds to help struggling middle class families as this stimulus program probably will. It’s not a perfect program and may not do much against this recession, but Rep. Flake is happy to do nothing and let the miracles of the free market work their magic.
As they did with WorldCom, Enron, Countrywide’s mortgages, Societe General’s rogue trader, and in the Great Depression.