Newt Gingrich on Budget & Economy Former Republican Representative (GA-6) and Speaker of the House

1995 budget: cut taxes, regulations, & spending

The guts of that Trojan horse were taken nearly verbatim from Reagan's 1985 State of the Union speech. The core of that speech, the heart of Reaganism, venerated the new Republican mantra of cutting taxes on wealth and slashing government spending on entitlement programs. "Entitlement" became identified with a newly-revised, all-purpose political scapegoat: the undeserving poor.

The massive budget cuts in the Gingrich Congress in 1995 were the cutting edge of Reagan's 1985 vision of boosting growth and balancing the budget by cutting regulation on corporations, taxes on the wealthy, and spending on the poor.

Negotiated 1998 budget: first one balanced since 1969

I met the Republicans halfway on the amount of Medicare savings. The Republicans accepted a smaller tax cut, the child health insurance program, and the big education increase. We had produced the first balanced budget since 1969, and a good one to boot. Senator Lott and Speaker Gingrich had worked with us in good faith, and Erskine Bowles, with his negotiating skills and common sense, had kept things going at critical moments.

Focus on customers; use employee knowledge

Deming’s name is not familiar to most Americans. But he embodies so many of the traits of the American character that he deserves a place in the nation’s mythology. He is already honored in Japan, where the highest annual award bestowed upon a Japanese company each year if the Deming Award for Quality. Although Deming’s work defies any easy summary, his teachings generally focus around four basic points:
1. The customer should be the focus of any business.
2. Systems, rather than individuals, should be the focus of improving production.
3. There has to be a theory or hypothesis before each change or action. Prediction is the key to management.
4. Every employee can be a key player in improving a process or product. Employees should be treated as knowledgeable contributors to their activities.

Supports balanced budget amendment & line item veto.

[As part of the Contract with America, within 100 days we pledge to bring to the House Floor the following bill]:

The Fiscal Responsibility Act:
A balanced budget/tax limitation amendment and a legislative line-item veto to restore fiscal responsibility to an out-of-control Congress, requiring them to live under the same budget constraints as families and businesses.