Political Quotes

“Mr. President, from World War II until the 1980's, American families saw a steady rise in their standard of living. The poorest 20 percent saw their incomes increase by over 130 percent, and the middle 40 percent of American families doubled their income. Paraphrasing the words of John Kennedy, ``a rising tide raised all boats.'' A bedrock truth of American life virtually since our creation as a Nation has been the assurance that, with initiative and hard work, men and women can pull themselves up, and even more importantly, generations of Americans confidently expected that their children would have better lives than they had. Unfortunately, most Americans no longer feel that for a variety of reasons, including Government policies in the 1980's, the increasing Federal deficit, our toleration of discrimination against American products in foreign markets, and a wider labor base in the United States. People are working harder to advance more slowly and, in some cases, only to slide back down. Individuals who enter the labor market today expect to change jobs at least seven times within their lifetimes.”