Political Quotes

“the House has taken little note of what is happening to the economy. Millions of Americans, however, are clamoring for our attention, and our increasing economic distress, I am not surprised that the House takes little interest in the unemployed. Poor people must live on another planet, not in the United States. But there has been a recent wake-up call that spreads deep into the middle class, and that is recently released figures on a 2-year decline in the number of uninsured after what had been some steadiness. Recent figures show a decline in health care coverage among many working Americans. I think the Washington Post says it best: There is new evidence that a weakened economy is having adverse ripple effects on ordinary people. What we see is a drop in the proportion of people who have health benefits. That is usually working Americans who have gotten them as a result of their employment. At the same time, we are seeing a mediocre rise in health insurance costs, up 12.7 percent this year, and then, of course, there is the completely unsustainable increase in prescription drug prices at twice the rate of inflation. All of these health care indicators at the same time show the kind of distress that urgently needs our attention. Much of the drop in health insurance costs comes from small businesses, 10 percent of it in the last 2 years, but that is where the jobs are.…”