Political Quotes

“And I appreciate yours. Just to reinforce the point you were making, this chart illustrates the very facts of the matter. Why is it okay that Wall Street profits are at record highs over the last 3 years since 2009, at 720 percent, but it is not okay to increase the minimum wage for millions upon millions of Americans who are using that minimum-wage job to provide for themselves and their family? Why is it okay that the unemployment rate is over 102 percent during this period, but it is not okay to increase the minimum wage for workers in this country? Why is it okay that CEO pay is 185 times bigger than the average worker according to the Economic Policy Institute, but it is not okay to raise the minimum wage from $7.25, incrementally, to $10.10 in order to lift people out of poverty? And why is it okay that Americans' home equity has dropped 35 percent during 2007-2009 thereby affecting the very income wealth that the majority of middle class Americans did have and yet not help to lift our economy by raising the minimum wage? These are the questions that we would like to pose to our friends and colleagues on the other side. These are the questions that the American public expect this House of Representatives to debate, and these are the issues that would really go to the crux of closing the income inequality and moving economic mobility forward in this country. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on these and other measures.…”