Political Quotes

“And there is a limit to what they can consume. What the Senator from Vermont is saying and what I am saying--I want to be very clear, because the Senator and I don't agree on every piece of legislation. He tends to be a little bit more liberal and progressive in his politics than I am, but on this subject we are both equally concerned about the shrinking of the middle class. From my perspective--the Senator may have a different view--I am talking about the broad middle class: incomes of $50,000 to $500,000. In my State, $500,000 of income--not net worth but income--is a huge amount of money. In fact, I brought a graph to show that 84 percent of the households in Louisiana--when I talk about middle class--84 percent of the households in Louisiana make less than $75,000. I said 84 percent. Most people in Louisiana--most--believe they are in the middle class, but 84 percent make below $75,000. So when I use the term middle class--and we all have a different view--I am saying the broad middle class with incomes between $50,000 and $500,000. If you have $500,000 in income, you are quite wealthy in Louisiana, but I realize we are not New York, Connecticut, or California. Maybe if you make $500,000 or $400,000 in some of these places, you don't consider yourself very wealthy or rich. I think by Louisiana standards you would be, but this is a big nation. So I want to be as broad as I can possibly be here. I am not talking about the wealthy being $400,000 or $500,000.…”