Robin Carnahan: “the state of our economy is causing great concern. The experts may tell us the recession is officially over, but that is…”

“the state of our economy is causing great concern. The experts may tell us the recession is officially over, but that is cold comfort to many Americans. Last week, we got some startling new numbers on the pain being felt by working families. The income of middle-class families fell for the first time since the last recession. And for the first time in 12 years, our national poverty rate grew. Today, almost 33 million Americans live below the poverty line. The stock market is also reflecting the uncertainty Americans feel. Yesterday, the market finished its worst quarter since 1987. The Dow Jones lost nearly 1,200 points in the last month, and the Nasdaq just hit a 6-year low. These losses are more than numbers. They are a crushing reality for far too many Americans who are working hard to save for their retirement. The recent declines are especially painful to our seniors who are living off their savings or planned to in the next couple of years. Congress has taken some important steps to address our economic woes.”