Political Quotes

“Mr. President, after the extension of unemployment benefits is accomplished--and we will get it done--we will take on financial reform. Remember back, the failure of Lehman Brothers and the near collapse of our financial system and, as a result, the passage of $700 billion of taxpayer money to bail out Wall Street? Back in the fall of 2008, the break down in our financial system fueled one of the worst economic downturns since the early part of the last century. The stock market plunged. The credit and capital markets froze, and real economic activity took a nosedive. While we are seeing some slight improvement in both the markets and the economy as a whole, too many people remain unemployed and underemployed. In Florida, the unemployment rate has surpassed 12 percent. The unemployment rate in Florida is now the sixth highest in the country. Since the crisis began in the fall of 2008, a lot has happened. We elected a new President. We passed an economic recovery bill. We passed health reform. We passed an enhanced home buyer tax credit. We passed several measures of tax relief for small businesses. But there is one thing we have yet to do that is at the top of the list; that is, to try to help clean up Wall Street and our excesses in the financial system. We owe it to taxpayers so they do not face another $700 billion bailout in the future. Never again should we use taxpayer money to bail out reckless and freewheeling Wall Street bankers.…”