Harkin Calls Out Congressional Scrooges and Their ‘Benign Neglect’
Harkin Calls Out Congressional Scrooges and Their ‘Benign Neglect’
George Zornick on December 18, 2013
http://www.thenation.com/blog/177658/harkin-calls-out-congressional-scrooges-and-their-benign-neglect#
There’s a certain buzz in Washington that correcting income inequality is back on the agenda—big speeches are made, think tanks launched, strenuously worded columns published. But in practice, this means exactly nothing (yet) for economically challenged Americans.
In fact, this year has seen Washington actively make the fortunes of many middle- and low-income Americans worse: federal pensions will get slashed, food stamps have been cut (and will be cut again) and vital long-term unemployment insurance will expire. And forget about anything proactive like raising the minimum wage.
Tuesday afternoon, Senator Tom Harkin took to the Senate floor and gave one of the more bracing speeches of the year, in which he called out the “benign neglect” of Congress towards Americans with “tough lives.”
I would encourage you to read or watch the entire speech (especially if you, say, work in the office of a Republican House member) but allow me to quote from it at length here first. ..................
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