Johnny Isakson: “I, too, wish to rise and talk some about the President's statement of last Friday but from maybe a different approach…”

“I, too, wish to rise and talk some about the President's statement of last Friday but from maybe a different approach than one might imagine. The President said he thought the private sector was doing just fine. I was driving in the car when I heard the statement, and the statement took me back because I feared the President might not actually know how the private sector truly was doing. Twelve weeks ago, I spent a week on the road doing townhalls, knocking on doors, visiting with Georgians. I come to the floor to provide some information to the President that maybe the private sector isn't doing that well, and maybe there is something we can do about it--this administration and this Senate--because right now we are doing nothing and America is languishing because of problems, some of which are our making. The private sector, by definition, is everybody other than the government sector; at least that is my definition. Let me talk about everybody other than the government sector for a minute and why they are not doing very well. Let me talk about the homebuilder I met in Valdosta, GA, who talked to me about the fact that he had just sold a home he built. I said that is great; house sales are getting better. He said, the only problem is I could not get an appraisal for what it cost me to build the house, so I am selling it, but I am selling it at a loss.…”