Eleanor Holmes Norton: “If the gentleman would yield, this has been a very important, it seems to me, a very clear explanation the gentleman has…”

“If the gentleman would yield, this has been a very important, it seems to me, a very clear explanation the gentleman has given as to how we got where we are, and particularly his description of the difference between the European model and the American model. With the European model you would think that would be all the object lesson we would need because Britain is one of our closest allies. And what austerity has done to Europe it will almost certainly do to us. What I don't understand, Mr. Garamendi, is why my good friends--our good friends--on the other side would believe that you can get something for nothing. Many of them believe in the economy of the private sector. Well, the first thing the private sector does is to invest. Once it invests, it hopes to yield from that investment. The kind of approach you're speaking about says that if you do nothing, if you--you, the Federal Government--step back and contribute nothing to a recovery, then recovery will happen. Well, let me tell you why I think that's impossible. The economy is of a piece. You can't pull an important piece out and expect the whole to remain whole, particularly when ours is a demand, a consumer-driven economy. What that means is what the Federal Government does is really meant to get people out there spending so that other people can make jobs.…”