Richard Gephardt: “Imagine what it is like to work hard all your life, to save up to buy your own home--only to have that home slide off…”

“Imagine what it is like to work hard all your life, to save up to buy your own home--only to have that home slide off its foundation--and to know you've got to start all over again. Imagine what it is like to wake up one day, living a comfortable middle-class life--and to wake up the next day sleeping on the street, and carrying your belongings in a plastic bag. Imagine what it's like, living paycheck to paycheck, and being struck by a crisis that's just too big for your bank account. Imagine what it is like to see the roads, the highways, the buildings, and businesses that have been a part of your everyday life, crumble to the ground like a house of cards. And imagine what it is like for a city and a State--still mired in a deep, painful recession--to be dealt a devastating economic blow. I am not going to pretend that I know what that is like. But I feel very deeply for the people of Los Angeles, because my district suffered that kind of devastation during last year's floods--when the tides of disaster washed away people's homes and cars and dreams.”