Donald M. Payne: “at the end of last week Forbes Magazine released their annual list of the 400 richest Americans. For the first time…”

“at the end of last week Forbes Magazine released their annual list of the 400 richest Americans. For the first time ever, this list was comprised entirely of billionaires. Not one millionaire made the list. 400 billionaires. These are the types of people who benefited from the massive tax cuts pushed by President Bush and his Republican rubber-stamp allies here in this Congress. The giveaway to the wealthiest Americans stands in stark contrast to the plight of millions of working people in my home State of New Jersey and throughout the Nation who have actually seen their wages fall by over $3,000 over the past 6 years if you take inflation into account. How are working Americans supposed to realize the American Dream when their wages remain stagnant, when all of their monthly bills are steadily rising? Over the past 6 years, the cost of health care has risen by 71 percent and the tuition of public colleges has gone up 57 percent. We must stop this. Let's stop benefiting the billionaires.”