[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 146 (Monday, September 15, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S8516]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          STATE OF THE ECONOMY

  Mr. DURBIN. Today was an ominous day on Wall Street. It is my 
understanding that the Dow Jones Index may have lost more than 500 
points by the close of business. It is a day that will be remembered, 
but it will be remembered not just for that loss but what led to it. 
The announcement over the weekend that Lehman Brothers, one of the 
premier investment banks in the city of New York, was facing financial 
trouble and may close was followed by the announcement that Bank of 
America was going to acquire Merrill Lynch. It has been one body blow 
after another when it comes to economic news in America--first the 
rescue of Bear Stearns, then Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, where our 
Federal Government last weekend had to announce that we were coming to 
their rescue to keep these giants of the housing industry afloat until 
this economy improves.
  All of these things coming together today has obviously caused 
concern across America. Many people have commented on the situation, 
and one of those was the Senator from Arizona, Mr. John McCain. I will 
quote what Senator McCain said today in Jacksonville, FL, about the 
problems facing Wall Street:

       You know, there has been tremendous turmoil in our 
     financial markets and Wall Street. People are frightened by 
     these investments. Our economy--I think still the 
     fundamentals of our economy are strong, but these are very, 
     very difficult times. I promise you we will never put America 
     in this position again.

  This is not the first time John McCain has made a pronouncement on 
the state of America's economy and announced it strong. And I would say 
to Senator McCain that despite his travels across the United States, he 
has not had an opportunity to sit down with people who are trying to 
work for a living and trying to make ends meet at home. If he did, he 
would understand that what happened today on Wall Street, as troubling 
as it is, is merely an echo of what has happened across America among 
working families for the last several years. We are now seeing 
unemployment rates at record levels. We are seeing mortgage 
foreclosures at historic highs. We are watching as the retirement 
savings of workers and families across America are diminished every 
single day by the decline in the stock market and their investments. We 
are watching major banks across America collapse because of poor 
management and poor oversight by this Government. And most of us 
believe it is a clear signal that we need to step up for change in the 
economic policy in America.
  Senator McCain clearly believes this economy is still fundamentally 
strong. Let him tell that to a working family in Illinois, a family 
whom I recently ran into downstate struggling to get by, their kids 
with student loan debt; the family worried about the plant closing in 
Bloomington, IL; a daughter with a college degree can find no better 
job than a bartender; a husband and father worried about where his 
kid's future is going to lead. This is the state of the economy today 
for those who do not live in the rarified atmosphere of Washington.
  This economy is troubling. In the State of Michigan, one out of eight 
people is on food stamps. And to say that this is a fundamentally 
strong economy overlooks the obvious. The Presiding Officer, from the 
State of Vermont, is a Senator who understands firsthand that in the 
New England area, people will face heating oil costs this winter that 
will double. For many of them, it is thousands of dollars just to keep 
their homes warm--one of the basic necessities of life. These are the 
realities of life in America.
  Those who argue the economy is strong are overlooking the obvious. 
For many people, this economy is failing them. No matter how hard they 
work, no matter how many hours they put in, how many jobs they have to 
try to put together to keep their families fed, warm, and clothed, it 
becomes impossible. As they fall further and further behind, they turn 
to Washington and say: What are you going to do about it?
  This is the obvious question for us in Washington: Are we going to 
continue the Bush economic and tax policies we have seen over the last 
8 years? I certainly hope not. Look at where it has brought us. But 
Senator John McCain endorses the Bush economic policies. He will 
continue those policies. In fact, he will add on to them, giving tax 
breaks to corporations such as Exxon-Mobil at a time when we need 
fundamental change in the economic policies of this country.
  For Senator McCain to believe this is a strong economy is to overlook 
what is happening to real Americans, businesses, family farmers, and 
others who are struggling to get by every day.
  We need to promise the American people that the next 4 years won't be 
more of the same, as Senator McCain has promised, but a real change 
here in the economic philosophy in Washington. It has to be an economy 
that really makes the American worker and the small business and the 
family farmer the central point of our economic philosophy.
  We need a Tax Code that does not reward wealth but rewards work.
  We need to make sure we have oversight by Federal agencies in 
Washington. The era of proclaiming that Government is the problem 
really rings hollow when you look at the lack of Government oversight 
that has led to so many economic failures.
  There are times when the free market economy cannot regulate itself, 
cannot protect itself--in fact, may turn on itself if you are not 
careful. The only chance for the consumers and workers is a government 
that steps up, makes certain that greed does not overwhelm the basic 
fundamental principles behind a free market economy. That is what 
happened to us in the subprime mortgage mess which has led to so many 
foreclosures across America, has led to this administration coming to 
the rescue of major banks and financial institutions. If they have the 
right to be rescued, then they have the right to be regulated, as far 
as I am concerned.
  As Paul Krugman said in this morning's New York Times, ``This is a 
time for us to step up and understand there is a responsibility here in 
Washington.'' When Senator McCain does not see that, when he does not 
understand the economic challenges facing us, then he cannot really 
promise to bring change that we need to Washington, DC. We need to have 
a government which has appropriate oversight of those financial 
institutions, understands that the credit market of America is no 
longer, as Paul Krugman said, a market that is dominated by big banks 
in marble buildings but is a market that is dominated in many respects 
by investment banks that are loosely, if ever, regulated. That has to 
change.
  We also have to give assurance to the American people that hard work 
will be rewarded. They have to know that if they go to work, work hard, 
bring home that paycheck, try to spend it to make sure their family is 
well off, that at the end of the day, they can realize the American 
dream.
  Most importantly--and Senator McCain may not agree with me on this--I 
am troubled by the fact that most Americans are now worried that their 
children will not be as rich as they were, that they will not have the 
comfort many families have today. If we are going to reestablish the 
American dream and really make it clear that this economy can serve 
working families and middle-income families, then we have to get beyond 
Senator McCain's analysis that we are living in a strong economy. But, 
of course, what else could he say? He has endorsed the economic plan 
that brought us to this moment. He is going to stick with it even if 
the facts do not prove him right.
  The American people have the last word on November 4, a chance to 
bring real change to this town, change to this Congress, and change to 
the economic policies which have brought us to the sorry state we are 
in today.




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