Frank on ABC "This Week" -- "I never saw a tax cut fix a bridge" (2/1/09)
And as far as spending versus tax cuts, I think we need to fix some highways and bridges. I never saw a tax cut fix a bridge. I never saw a tax cut give us more public transportation. The fact is, we need a mix. We need -- and I think we've suffered from an extremism in this country in the past of relying only on private-sector activity and having too little government. It's possible to have too much government, no question. But it's possible to have too little. And some parts of this stimulus -- extending unemployment benefits, helping with food stamps -- you know, we have two purposes here. One is to stimulate the overall economy. The other is to go to the aid of some people who, through no fault of their own, have been damaged. You can't just look at the aggregates. I think we've gotten in trouble by looking only at the aggregates. If the GDP goes up but income inequality greatly increases and a lot of average workers are feeling put upon, it's a problem. But I want to see some improvement in our transportation structure. I'd like to see some improvement in education. We have state governments laying people off, cities being told they're going to have to lay off firefighters. A tax cut isn't going to keep the city of New Bedford from laying off firefighters.


