[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 28, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS: INCOME INEQUALITY

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. MARCIA L. FUDGE

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 27, 2014

  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues Congressmen 
Jeffries and Horsford for once again leading the Congressional Black 
Caucus Special Order Hour. Today's topic of income/economic inequality 
is one of the most critical challenges currently facing our country.
  For too many Americans, the barriers to economic opportunity and 
mobility have become insurmountable.
  Just last week, a Pew Research Center survey found that at least 60 
percent of all Republicans, Democrats and Independents say the gap 
between the rich and everyone else has grown in the past 10 years.
  However, we do not need a survey to tell us what we already know to 
be true. According to the Census Bureau, 95 percent of all economic 
gains since the recovery began have gone to the top 1 percent.
  We also know that, since 1979, our economy has more than doubled in 
size, but most of that growth has flowed to a fortunate few.
  In the past, the average CEO made about 20 to 30 times the income of 
the average worker, today's CEO makes 273 times more. Meanwhile, a 
family in the top 1 percent has a net worth 288 times higher than the 
typical American family, the largest income gap ever for our country.
  This is simply egregious.
  We cannot continue to believe that a growing economy guarantees 
higher wages and income for all. Because it does not.
  We cannot ignore that in 2014, women continue to lag behind men in 
wages, with women making 77 cents for every dollar a man takes home.
  According to The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Pushes Back from 
the Brink, women make up nearly two-thirds of minimum-wage workers. 
Given this statistic, it's no wonder that a third of all American women 
are living on the brink of poverty.
  Americans are working harder than ever, for the smallest of gains. 
This is simply not acceptable.
  Congress must renew its focus on investing in the American people 
through quality programs that promote access to the middle class, 
equality and accountability.
  In order to help the working poor and middle class, we must raise the 
minimum wage; invest in education; improve our infrastructure; reign in 
Wall Street and return our focus to Main Street.
  Only then will we be on the path toward prosperity and equal economic 
opportunity for all.

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