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Gingrich Campaign Press Release - Newt: Economy, Not Deficit, Should Be Focus

July 17, 2011

Newt spoke to The Conservative Breakfast Club in Des Moines, IA Friday, discussing the debt limit debate, Medicare and Medicaid fraud and principles for economic growth.

O.Kay Henderson from Radio News Iowa was there and offers a recap. Excerpt:

Gingrich brought up President Obama's assertion that he didn't know if Social Security checks would go out in August if the debt ceiling isn't raised. Gingrich called that "fundamentally dishonest" and "fairly pathetic politics." Gingrich later said Obama was either guilty of "radicalism run amok or pure incompetence."

Gingrich suggested House Republicans pass a one-month extension, to get through the month of August. Gingrich also suggested forcing agency chiefs to lay off 10 percent of their staff; some up with some system to lay off "the least important" staff in government; or close some federal agencies altogether. He next spent a good deal of time discussing his book, Stop Paying the Crooks, and its focus on federal health care system. Gingrich then said Obama was practicing "class warfare" by calling for higher taxes on wealthy Americans. At this point Gingrich offered a stark pivot, telling the group: "Washington's number one job should be the economy, not the deficit." He outlined what he described as a "practical, workmanlike approach" to economic growth, including a variety of tax cuts (100 percent "expensing" for businesses, for example, that would allow a business to deduct all its capital investments in a single year rather than adhering to a multi-year depreciation schedule). "House Republicans ought to be aggressively passing legislation," like that, according to Gingrich.

Newt Gingrich, Gingrich Campaign Press Release - Newt: Economy, Not Deficit, Should Be Focus Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/297970

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