[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 93 (Thursday, June 8, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1183-E1184]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              THE AVERAGE AMERICAN HAS REASON TO BE ANGRY

                                 ______


                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 7, 1995
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following article for the 
Congressional Record:   
           (From the Christian Science Monitor, June 1, 1995)

The Average American Has Reason To Be Angry--Low Pay, Long Hours, and a 
                   Widening Gap Between Rich and Poor

                          (By Bernard Sanders)

       It has recently been widely reported that the average 
     American is angry. Well, the average American should be 
     angry.
       Since 1973, the working people of this country have worked 
     longer hours, earned less, and lost much of the economic 
     security they previously had. During the last 22 years, 80 
     percent of American families have experienced falling or 
     stagnant real incomes. Meanwhile, average Americans are 
     experiencing a major drop in their standard of living, while 
     the rich and powerful have never had it so good. 
     [[Page E1184]] 
       New statistical studies show that the wealthiest 1 percent 
     of the population own nearly 40 percent of the wealth of this 
     country, more than the bottom 90 percent. That is the 
     greatest concentration of wealth in the industrialized world 
     and, most significantly, it is a trend accelerating faster 
     here than anywhere else.
       In 1959, the richest 4 percent of American families earned 
     as much income as the bottom 35 percent. By 1989, that top 4 
     percent earned as much as the bottom 51 percent. In 1980, the 
     average pay for a chief executive officer of a major 
     corporation was 42 times as high as that of a factory worker. 
     Today, the CEO earns 149 times as much.
       Meanwhile, while profits soar and CEOs reap huge salary 
     increases, the purchasing power of the minimum wage has 
     declined by 26 percent over the last 20 years. Many of the 
     new jobs being created are low-wage, part-time, or temporary, 
     without benefits. As major corporations continue to 
     ``downsize,'' the number of temporary jobs in America has 
     exploded form 962,300 in 1987 to 1,657,700 in 1993.
       Tens of millions of American workers are experiencing 
     extraordinary financial insecurity and pressure. Will they 
     have their jobs tomorrow, or is the owner moving the company 
     to China where he can get workers for 20 cents an hour? Will 
     their limited health-care benefits be cut even further? Will 
     they ever collect on the pension plan they've been promised?
       From 1988 to 1993, worker productivity in the private 
     sector increased by 5.9 percent. Average hourly earnings, 
     however, declined by 4 percent. By 1993, the typical family 
     had lost $1,400 of the buying power it had in 1991. People 
     are working longer, harder, and more productively--and 
     they're becoming poorer. Should the average American be 
     angry?
       Given the crisis facing the American middle class, what has 
     the new Republican-controlled Congress been doing to address 
     our nation's underlying economic problems?


                                  jobs

       There is nothing in the ``Contract With America'' to 
     address our $160 billion trade deficit, the decline of our 
     manufacturing base, and the loss of missions of decent-paying 
     manufacturing jobs. How do we get corporate America to 
     reinvest in this country, rather than in cheap, unprotected 
     labor abroad? This is apparently not a subject of much 
     interest to the Republicans, who have recently received huge 
     amounts of corporate campaign contributions.


                       declining living standards

       At a time when the rich are getting richer and the middle 
     class and the poor are getting poorer, the Republicans have 
     adopted a series of bills to cut benefits drastically for 
     working people and the poor-making life more difficult for 
     those already hurting the most. The Republicans are proposing 
     major cuts in child nutrition, fuel assistance, education, 
     affordable housing, Medicare, Medicaid, and college financial 
     aid.


                                tax cuts

       Fifty percent of the individual tax breaks passed by the 
     Republican House will go to people making a $100,000 a year, 
     and the upper 1 percent will get more in tax breaks than the 
     bottom 60 percent. For the lower middle class, there will be 
     virtually no tax reductions at all.
       Should the average American worker be angry?
       If we are to turn this country around and create an economy 
     that provides well for all the people, and not just the rich, 
     we must focus on the real causes of our problems--and demand 
     real solutions.
       Most importantly, we must have the courage to take on the 
     big money interests who--through their control of the 
     economy, the political parties, and the media--make most of 
     the decisions that affect our lives now and those of our 
     children, too.
     

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