Bernie Sanders reads the Riot Act to new Fed Reserve Chair

Armstead

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Wed Feb-15-06 09:57 PM
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Bernie Sanders reads the Riot Act to new Fed Reserve Chair

Edited on Wed Feb-15-06 10:02 PM by Armstead

One of the highlights of the otehrwise long and boring updates to Congress by Alan Greenspan was the impudent Cong. Bernie Sanders telling the truth. All of the otehr Congresscritters -- including Democrats -- would listen in awe to Greenspan spout off Ayn Rand/Milton Friedman junk about the economy, and then say "Great Mr. Greenspan. You're doing a helluva job."

Then Ol' Bernie would take his turn in the questioning and he would lay into Greenspan like an angry raccoon on speed. Bernie did something highly unusual. He actually told the truth about how the economic policies Greenspan espoused -- and which too many democrats embraced -- was driving the United States middle and working class into the ditch.

Those confrontations were classics. Almost comedic, if they hadn't been tragically true. (I think he still has videos of those on his website. They're worth watching.)

And now, Ben Bernanke has succeeded Greenspan. And Bernie isn't letting hom off the hook either.

http://bernie.house.gov/documents/document.asp?issueNum=4786

/15/2006, For Immediate Release:
Sanders Questions New Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke during the Chairman’s First Report to Congress

Washington D.C.—Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) today questioned new Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke during the chairman’s first report to Congress. Bernanke appeared before the House Committee on Financial Services to deliver the central bank's semi-annual report to Congress. During the hearing, Sanders urged Bernanke to work for economic reforms that would put the needs of middle and lower-income Americans first by raising the minimum wage and keeping good-paying jobs in the United States.

Sanders said, “The views and actions of the new Federal Reserve chairman can have an extraordinary impact on the employment and economic outlook of millions of Americans for years to come. Right now, there is a great concern in this country that our current economic policies are not working for ordinary Americans. The middle class continues to shrink, poverty is increasing, the gap between the rich and poor is now wider than it has been in over 70 years and we have a record breaking national debt, as well as a record breaking trade deficit. Meanwhile, while millions of Americans are seeing their real wages decline, while they are losing their pensions and their health care, the wealthiest people in this country have never had it so good.

“Over the last 5 years, since President Bush has been in office, more than 5 million Americans have slipped into poverty, childhood poverty has increased by over 12% and the U.S. continues to have, by far, the highest rate of childhood poverty in the industrialized world. Income for the average American household has declined for the past five consecutive years down more than $2,500; and 20% of U.S. jobs now pay less than a poverty-level wage for a family of four. The federal minimum wage, which is currently $5.15 an hour and has not been raised since 1997, has a purchasing power today that is at a 56 year low. States all over the country, including Vermont, have raised their minimum wages, but the federal government has not. In order to confront the growing problem of poverty in this country, it is critical that the new chairman recognize the need to raise the federal minimum wage in order to make sure that people who work 40 hours a week do not live in poverty.

“Over the past five years, the United States has lost about 2.9 million good paying manufacturing jobs representing nearly 17% of all factory workers. In Vermont, we have lost almost 10,000 manufacturing jobs since 2001 – about 20 percent of our total. According to some of the leading experts in the field, we are on the cusp of losing millions of good paying, white collar information technology jobs which are on their way to India, China and elsewhere. While we are losing jobs that provide good wages with decent benefits, many of the new jobs that are being created are low wage with minimal benefits. In order to address this mass exodus of American jobs, it is critical that the new chairman work with Congress to fundamentally reform our positions on trade and develop fair trade policies that protect American workers.

“At a time when poverty is increasing, and the middle class is shrinking, the wealthiest people in this country have never had it so good. The richest 400 Americans enjoyed an increase of $125 billion in their combined net worth last year and are now worth $1.13 trillion. While real earnings for millions of working Americans are going down, the income of the top 1 percent rose by 148 percent, and the wealthiest 13,000 households experienced a 599 percent increase in their income. Today, the wealthiest 13,000 households earn nearly as much income as the bottom 20 million American households, and CEOs now make more over 430 times more than the average worker. At a time when the gap between the rich and the poor is growing wider, the new chairman must recognize the importance of rescinding President Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy and work towards policies that benefit all Americans.

“The time is long overdue for the Federal Reserve, President Bush and Congress to start making fundamental changes in their economic policies, so that government begins to represent the needs of all Americans, and not just the wealthy and their lobbyists. If we don’t, I fear very much that for the first time in the modern history of our country the next generation will have a lower standard of our living than their parents, and that would be a real tragedy.”