[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 7873-7874]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    WALL STREET IGNORES MAIN STREET

  (Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, the Dow Jones will hit a record and the 
Nation's economists will be doing their hosannas, but who profits when 
factories and businesses are closed in the United States and cheap 
goods made by no-rights, no-benefits, low-wage Chinese workers flood 
our markets?
  We have an $804 billion trade deficit. Hello?
  Since 1982, $4.5 trillion in assets have been transferred from 
American to foreign owners. Hello?
  Wall Street thumps their golden tub for the Wal-Marts and the 
cigarette-peddling Altrias while record numbers of Americans are laid 
off, file bankruptcy, lose their homes, their health care benefits, 
their retirement and savings, and in some cases, their families. Why do 
we celebrate Wall Street when Wall Street does not celebrate Main 
Street?
  Wall Street makes a killing while gas prices soar, health care costs 
skyrocket, and food prices increase. We

[[Page 7874]]

need a new way to measure our economy, as in how many people are 
working at good-paying jobs and have job security, and how many have 
health and retirement benefits.
  Let us create economic progress for all in America, not just for a 
privileged few.

                          ____________________