Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding the time. Various measurements of the economy have shown economic growth and an increase in the stock market. The frustration that I hear from so many of my constituents is that: With all of this economic growth, why haven't my prospects improved? Why has there been wage stagnation? Why aren't my family and I earning any more than I was? It is true, because a lot of the benefits of this economic growth have gone to shareholders and consumers rather than workers. We are all consumers, and we have all benefited from that. And do you know what? We are all shareholders through pensions and through retirement accounts, public and private. Many people also put food on their table and pay their rent, wearing their hat as an employee or a worker. One of the things that we can do not just by passing this bill, but by passing a whole host of legal changes both in the tax framework and in the regulatory framework to make it easier for employees to own companies, is allow employees and workers to share in the value that is being created on the shareholder side of the ledger. Then, and only then, can we have an economy that works for more people rather than just a few. This bill is a small step in that direction. It can reduce the cost and remove a detriment that small to midsize companies have from aggressively pursuing employee stock ownership. But it is just a first step.…”