Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about what is nothing less than the largest transfer of the American people's wealth from Main Street to Wall Street. It is likely the largest transfer in American history due to the fallout from the financial crisis of 2008. Banks at the heart of the crisis all got larger as their CEOs made more money while average citizens saw their incomes stall, or drop, or be eliminated, and while communities across this country were hit hard by their losses. Recently, the Federal Reserve issued a startling report showing that the net worth of the average American family fell by as much as 40 percent in the last 3 years. But I can tell you the banks and speculators at the heart of this crisis that has hurt us all have all done better. It's really startling. The 2010 numbers set families, ordinary middle class families, back by nearly two decades. America's middle class was the hardest hit. Many families saw losses in their retirement savings, they saw their home worths go down, and so many millions lost jobs. The majority of the damage nationwide was caused by the collapse of the housing market because the largest form of savings that any family actually accumulates is in the ownership of a family's home. According to the Federal Reserve, the median value of Americans' stake in their homes fell by 42 percent--nearly half--between 2007 and 2010 to about $55,000. Those are shocking figures.…”