Political Quotes

On the recordDecember 14, 2010
I have listened carefully to the remarks of the Senator from Nevada, and I respect him, although I must disagree with him on several particulars. When I look back at history, I see it differently. What I see is a Great Depression facing America that led to record unemployment, business failures, farm failures--one of the worst economic conditions faced by America in modern times. The election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932 and his ascension to office in 1933 ushered in a new approach, an approach that was called the New Deal. That basically said: We are going to take control of the situation. We are going to stand behind your deposits in the bank to make sure you don't lose them. If the bank fails, you won't be broke--the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. We are going to put the watchdogs on Wall Street to make sure people don't do things there that are basically, if not illegal, unwise, and so we are going to make certain we have good business practices there. We are going to stand behind the farmers. Before we let them lose their farms, we are going to try to get them through a difficult year so they can be there to fight again. We are actually going to create jobs across America. First, for those who are working, we are going to create the minimum wage so that people know they can get a basic salary to live on.
Said by
Dick Durbin
Democratic · Illinois
Source
govinfo.gov
Dec 14, 2010

Editor's note · Context

Senator Durbin discusses the historical context of the Great Depression and the New Deal.

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