"Food stamps is an expensive, old-style program that rewards idleness."
"If your minimum wage goes up, you're going to lose food stamps, you may lose part of the earned income tax credit."
"We have more income and wealth inequality than any major country on earth."
"We have almost as many people living in poverty, somewhere around 46 million, than at any time in the last 60 years."
"We have the highest rate of childhood poverty of any major country on earth, somewhere around 22 percent."
"I have really not heard almost anybody suggest that raising the minimum wage to the level that we have in Vermont has been an impediment to our economy."
"I worry that if we carry this, 'Well, kids don't do this. Kids don't get their hands dirty.' Nothing wrong with being a plumber or a carpenter. The last I heard, they make good wages. It is a dignifie..."
"real unemployment in America is close to 14 percent. It is even higher for young people, people of color, et cetera."
"If I can, Mr. Chairman, point out that one of the other problems that we have in this country is not only just low wages--and wages, in many cases, going down--but many people with college degrees, pi..."
"What do you think when we have 14 percent real unemployment in America? That may not be the case in your town."
"a concern that many people have with regard to the current immigration bill on the floor right now is that the bill proposes to bring in hundreds of thousands of entry-level employees."