[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10950]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       WALL STREET V. MAIN STREET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about what is nothing 
less than the largest transfer of the American people's wealth from 
Main Street to Wall Street. It is likely the largest transfer in 
American history due to the fallout from the financial crisis of 2008.
  Banks at the heart of the crisis all got larger as their CEOs made 
more money while average citizens saw their incomes stall, or drop, or 
be eliminated, and while communities across this country were hit hard 
by their losses. Recently, the Federal Reserve issued a startling 
report showing that the net worth of the average American family fell 
by as much as 40 percent in the last 3 years. But I can tell you the 
banks and speculators at the heart of this crisis that has hurt us all 
have all done better. It's really startling. The 2010 numbers set 
families, ordinary middle class families, back by nearly two decades. 
America's middle class was the hardest hit. Many families saw losses in 
their retirement savings, they saw their home worths go down, and so 
many millions lost jobs.
  The majority of the damage nationwide was caused by the collapse of 
the housing market because the largest form of savings that any family 
actually accumulates is in the ownership of a family's home. According 
to the Federal Reserve, the median value of Americans' stake in their 
homes fell by 42 percent--nearly half--between 2007 and 2010 to about 
$55,000. Those are shocking figures. While we have seen wages stagnate 
for the vast majority of Americans during the past three decades, the 
median income fell nearly 8 percent in 2010 to $45,800. Our citizens 
are meeting the crisis, in my opinion, with great resolve and dignity. 
But those who are largely responsible for their situations have averted 
any real responsibility and scrutiny. Let's just take a look.
  The Federal Reserve actually found that only, roughly, half of 
America's middle class remained on the same rung on the economic 
ladder. Most fell down. Yet, as the Federal Reserve's data show, not 
everyone lost in the recession. The median net worth of the wealthiest 
among us--the millionaires and billionaires who helped cause the 
crisis--actually rose. Moreover, the value of some of the very top has 
simply been obscene. I think you'd say it's un-American. Let's take a 
look at the top executives on Wall Street. How did they fare when most 
Americans lost decades worth of their hard-earned savings?
  Reportedly, the take for 2011 of the chief executive officer of 
J.P.Morgan, Jamie Dimon, was a whopping $23.1 million. That's just, you 
know, the take-home. It's not all the stock options and everything 
else. I wonder if he thinks that's enough? His salary went up 11 
percent--11 percent more--even though J.P.Morgan recently admitted to 
trading losses of over $2 billion. How would you like that job? He got 
paid more while the institution lost money. Of course J.P.Morgan, still 
standing after it helped cause the crisis, got bigger after it became 
one of the Big Six. Mr. Dimon is not alone in taking home millions more 
while average American families lost much of their life savings.
  John Stumpf from Wells Fargo, well, he only earned $19.8 million for 
1 year--$19.8 million. Lloyd Blankfein from Goldman Sachs took in $16.2 
million. That's just the salary. His compensation reportedly rose by 
about 14.5 percent last year despite a sharp decline in profits and 
share price during that year. Isn't that interesting? Who among us 
could have that kind of position--you make more money when your 
institution loses money.
  This transfer of Americans' wealth has left most communities hollowed 
out with abandoned homes, abandoned commercial strips, high 
unemployment, soaring public debts, cars that have been confiscated 
sitting on the backlots of banks, and weakened infrastructure across 
this country. When you look at this picture, you can tell there is 
something really wrong here.
  In this body, we continue to debate how to get our fiscal house in 
order, but Republicans have been unwilling to negotiate. Last year, we 
saw how House Republicans gambled with our economy. They rejected plan 
after plan to raise the debt ceiling and to responsibly balance the 
budget by putting both spending cuts and revenues on the table. They 
were protecting their favored few and their like at any cost, including 
those who get special tax breaks and get millions even when their 
companies do poorly or fail. When and why are the interests of the 
privileged money barons put before everyone else? House Republicans 
refuse to provide tax relief for working families unless we give even 
more tax breaks to the super wealthy.
  We need to get our priorities straight. We need to get our fiscal 
house in order. We need a smart approach that puts revenues and 
spending cuts on the table, and we need to focus on job creation. We 
need to hold these Americans accountable for the damage they have done, 
and let them carry a hod and bear their fair share of the burden. So, 
for the sake of full disclosure, let's put their base earnings for last 
year on the record.

                    Wall Street CEOs Taking Millions

       Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan, $23.1 Million.
       John Stumpf, Wells Fargo, $19.8 Million.
       Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs, $16.2 Million.
       Vikram Pandit, Citigroup, $14.9 Million.
       James Gordon, Morgan Stanley, $13.0 Million.
       Brian Moynihan, Bank of America, $8.1 Million.

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