On the recordMarch 1, 2011
We are in a very difficult time right now because we are getting out of the deepest recession since the Great Depression. If we go back and look at the headlines when our President was inaugurated, we see the pace of job loss and we see what happened to credit and we see what happened to the auto industry and we see what happened to the stock market--we eventually lost about 50 percent from its highs. We are now in a situation where we have this economic recovery starting, but the jobs are not coming as fast as we want. We don't want to do anything which threatens that economic recovery, which threatens our families and threatens the middle class. This is not the time to hurt the middle class. What we see in Wisconsin is the middle class finally saying to the Governor there: Look, be fair to us. We are willing to give up pay, we are willing to pay more for our benefits, but don't destroy our ability to have a say in our lives. We have to deal with our deficit, there is no question about that. We have to do it like grownups. We have to do it with common sense.
