Political Quotes

“My thanks to my colleagues from Massachusetts and Michigan for bringing to our attention the struggle this economy presents to many families across the United States. You would almost find it hard to imagine that this Senate could meet with such regularity and not address these issues directly. But this administration and its economic policies have not focused on working families. They have focused on tax breaks for those in the highest income categories in America. That is something they do without embarrassment. They suggest that if the wealthy people in America have extra money to spend, it will be good for everyone else. That is a hard message to deliver and even harder to believe. Elizabeth Warren is a professor of law at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, MA, and has become a good friend and adviser to many of us. She recently made a presentation to a number of Senators and showed an analysis which she had done relating to the middle of the middle class. Professor Warren took a look at real middle-income families and basically asked the question: What has happened to them during the last 7 years? Her findings are troubling. From 2000 to 2007, she writes, the American family lost ground. Measured in real dollars, incomes declined while basic expenses skyrocketed. By the time today's family makes a few basic purchases--housing, health insurance, food, gasoline, and phone--it has about $5,700 less than it had been in 2000.”