[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17319]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               LABOR DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 6, 2006

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, as we celebrated Labor Day this past 
weekend, the Census Bureau made the plight of working-class Americans 
more clear with its most recent report on income, poverty and health 
care in 2005. Unfortunately, the statistics confirmed what many 
Americans across the country have known for some time: the economic 
policies of the Administration benefit only a lucky few while most 
working Americans are struggling from paycheck to paycheck. The federal 
minimum wage has been stagnant since 1996, real household income has 
dropped more than $1200 in the past five years, and the number of 
uninsured Americans has jumped by 1.3 million just in the last year, 
totaling 46.6 million. Meanwhile, the Administration is pushing for a 
tax cut for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans. It is no wonder that 
most people believe that things are going from bad to worse, and want a 
new direction for America.
  These important concerns were raised by my constituent and good 
friend Shelley Kessler in the San Mateo Daily Journal on September 4, 
2006. Shelley Kessler is the executive secretary-treasurer of the San 
Mateo County Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. She is a powerful voice 
for labor rights and her clear vision makes her a trusted ally who 
always fights for the best interests of America's workers. I 
wholeheartedly associate myself with her comments and ask unanimous 
consent that the text of her article be included in the Record at the 
conclusion of my remarks.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues, on both sides of the 
aisle, to read this important statement on helping America's workers by 
Shelley Kessler.

                [From the Daily Journal, Sept. 4, 2006]

               Are We Working To Live or Living To Work?

                          (By Shelley Kessler)

       Mark Twain once said: ``Sometimes I wonder whether the 
     world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or 
     by imbeciles who really mean it.''
       When you look around this Labor Day, you have to wonder 
     about that quote. America is not working the way it should 
     for working people, let alone those who are struggling to 
     find jobs on which they can support themselves and their 
     families. The disparity between the rich and working poor is 
     growing every day. People are working harder and making less. 
     We're in a health care crisis that's deeper than any of us 
     ever imagined. We all worry about how we'll retire with 
     dignity. A good, middle-class life is increasingly out of 
     reach. Who ever thought that in America, our kids might not 
     be better off than their parents? Today's economic outlook 
     for children and the next generation is pretty grim.
       Bill Moyers recently cited these facts: ``In 1960, the gap 
     between the top 20 percent and the bottom 20 percent was 30 
     fold. Now it is 75 fold. Thirty years ago, the average annual 
     compensation of the top 100 chief executives in the country 
     was 30 times the pay of the average worker. Today it is 1,000 
     times the pay of the average worker. The top 10 percent of 
     earners have captured almost half the total income gains in 
     the past four decades and the top 1 percent have gained the 
     most of all--more in fact, than the entire bottom 50 
     percent.''
       And the Bush administration wants to tie an increase of the 
     minimum wage, which has not been raised in 10 years, to a tax 
     break for the top 1 percent, to the wealthiest 8,200 families 
     in the country. As if he or any of his cronies could live on 
     less than $7 per hour.
       Mark Twain, is this what you meant?
       In the words of one of our former Supreme Court justices 
     Louis Brandeis: ``You can have wealth concentrated in the 
     hands of a few, or democracy; but you cannot have both.''
       That's why it is time to take back our humanity! And that 
     means that the bad actor Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and 
     others of his supporting cast must be removed from the 
     script. Pretending to care about people while lining the 
     pockets of the rich cannot continue.
       Today there is vast public support of broad social goals 
     such as affordable medical coverage for all, decent wages for 
     working people, safe working conditions, a secure retirement 
     and clean air and water. We must bring back a government 
     ``of, by, and for the people'' to deliver on those 
     aspirations and make sure that America is working for all of 
     us.
       George Jean Nathan once said: ``Bad officials are elected 
     by good citizens who do not vote.'' So this November, we are 
     organizing, not just to provide for workers on the job, but 
     to mobilize our communities to action. We will build a 
     grassroots effort to elect people to fight hard for these 
     goals; people who share a vision of common good, who respect 
     the public trust that has been placed in their hands and will 
     earn the right to represent the majority of people who work 
     diligently every day and are the real backbone of this 
     county, this state, and this country.
       Here in San Mateo County, the labor community invites other 
     like-minded people to join with us. Let's work together to 
     protect the gains we've made while providing access to a 
     better quality of life for those struggling every day; our 
     food service workers, janitors, home care workers and many 
     others who deserve a decent wage and health care. Let us try 
     to create a place where people have retirement security for 
     which they have worked hard, instead of giving golden 
     pensions to corporate CEOs who have been stripped from the 
     obligations promised to their employees like at United 
     Airlines. Our county is making great strides in the area of 
     health care, sustainable communities and transportation.
       The challenges are great, but our efforts are paying off 
     and will continue with dedication and commitment.
       We can stop the race to the bottom. We can invest in our 
     future. We can and we will make a difference if we unite 
     together to improve the quality of life and respect for the 
     work we all do. Let's ``work to live,'' we've earned it.

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