mr. speaker , much of the rhetoric coming from the majority in defense of this sinful package is pure fiction .  so let us discuss it in those terms .  you know , charles dickens has written perhaps one of the most famous pieces of fiction discussed at this time of year , the holiday season , a christmas carol .  the lesson of christmas carol , scrooge , this miserly man , very , very well fixed financially that chose not to give to others .  and we know that in the course of this beautiful story the ghosts of christmas past help him reflect upon the paucity of his life , and in the end he has a new spirit of community , helping others , including the cratchett family , with the crippled son , tiny tim .  well , i think that what the majority wants to do is rewrite the christmas carol .  it is probably going to be titled `` a christmas carol ii , revenge of the scrooge. '' and in this christmas carol , scrooge , sitting in his mansion , contemplating his wealth , wants more .  and rather than be challenged as to the paucity of his inclination , we have a republican majority , bought and paid for , that is all too eager to placate the most selfish whim of mr. scrooge .  and so , as the story unfolds , there is more and more for scrooge , and taking , from the very beginning , a low base , less and less for mr. cratchett who loses his job when it is outsourced overseas , tries to find something at minimum wage which has not been raised since 1997 , and tiny tim , tiny tim is left out all together .  let us ask ourselves some basic questions about this .  after passing a $ 31 billion tax reduction yesterday out of this house , do we really want to add an additional $ 56 billion without having it paid for ?  look at this .  this shows that we are north of $ 8 trillion in accumulated debt , that the average share is $ 27 , 000 of debt per american .  you know , another christmas story talks about naughty children getting a lump of coal in their stocking .  well , this majority gives every child $ 27 , 000 of debt , debt that will fall on their shoulders when the baby boomers retire with this debt woefully unpaid .  the second question , do we need it ?  you know about half of this package today , for all the talk about how desperately it is needed , does not take effect until 2009 and 2010 .  existing tax code makes the very provision that they are talking about in 2006 , in 2007 and in 2008 .  it is there for the next 3 years .  they are talking about driving us deeper in debt today , cutting programs that help people today so that we can deal with something that happens in 2009 and 2010 .  next question .  is it fair ?  well , in looking at who gets what under this bill , you know , most of the people in this country , 55 percent , earn less than $ 40 , 000 .  they will come out on average $ 7 , $ 7 per under this dividend and tax cut provision .  one out of 500 , one out of 500 taxpayers , the most affluent of the 500 , one out of 500 get nearly half of this bill .  and they will average , per taxpayer , more than $ 30 , 000 back .  so in this christmas season , we are hammering on programs that help those who need help .  we are passing a tax package that gives nothing , virtually , to most under this capital gains dividend tax cut provision , and we are absolutely loading it up for the wealthiest few in this country .  this is christmas carol ii .  this is revenge of the scrooge .  this is totally bad policy , and it must be stopped .  i urge a no vote on this rule .  