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Weekly Democratic Address | Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

Uploaded 09/05/2017

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio gives the weekly Democratic address.

TRANSCRIPT

HI, I AM SHARAD BROWN. I WANT TO THANK THE FIRST RESPONDERS, THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE NATIONAL GUARD, SO MANY WORKING HARD TO PROTECT THOSE IN THE PATH OF HURRICANE HARVEY. OUR HEARTS BREAK FOR ALL THOSE WHO LOST LOVED ONES, INCLUDING LIEUTENANT NICHOLAS MICHAEL WARREN, WHO WAS ON A TRAINING MISSION IN TEXAS, AND ACCORDING TO REPORTS, HE GAVE HIS LIFE TO HELP PEOPLE REACH SAFETY. PLEASE KNOW, YOUR FELLOW AMERICANS STAND BEHIND YOU AND WE WILL BE THERE FOR YOU AS YOU RECOVER AND REBUILD. THIS LABOR DAY, WE HONOR THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO BUILT IN THIS COUNTRY AND WHO CONTINUE TO POWER OUR ECONOMY TODAY, INCLUDING ALL THOSE WHO ARE CRITICAL TO HURRICANE RECOVERY EFFORTS. AMERICAN WORKERS LAID DOWN THE RAILROAD TRACKS THAT MOVED PEOPLE AND PRODUCTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THEOIL IN MINES, DIGGING THE COAL THAT POWERED OUR INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. THE FORGED THE SEAL — THE STEEL THAT BUILDS OUR BRIDGES AND SKYSCRAPERS. THEY BUILT THE STRONGEST MIDDLE LAST, AND WITH IT, THE STRONGEST NATION THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN. THIS PEN I WEAR IS A CANARY IN A BIRDS CAGE, TO REMIND ME OF THE PROGRESS WE HAVE MADE IN THIS COUNTRY FOR WORKING PEOPLE. AT THE TURN OF THE LAST CENTURY, WORKERS TOOK CANARIES DOWN INTO COAL MINES. IF THE CANARIES STOPPED SINGING, IT MEANT POISON GAS AND THE WORKERS HAD JUST MOMENTS TO GET OUT. WORKERS IN THOSE DAYS DIDN’T HAVE A UNION STRONG ENOUGH, OR FRANKLY, A GOVERNMENT CARED — A GOVERNMENT THAT CARED ENOUGH FOR THEM. BUT WE PASSED LAWS TO PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF WORKERS. MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WORKED HARD TO EARN THEIR WAY TO A BETTER LIFE. AS OUR ECONOMY EXPANDED, THE WAGES OF ORDINARY AMERICANS WERE ALONG WITH IT. TODAY, THE HARD WORK DOES NOT PAY OFF THE WAY IT USED TO. OUR TRADE POLICY, OUR TAX POLICY, HAS ENCOURAGED A CORPORATE BUSINESS MODEL THAT SHUTS DOWN FACTORIES IN TOLEDO, OR DAYTON, OR MANSFIELD, OHIO, AND CASHES IN OUR TAX CREDIT AT THE EXPENSE OF WORKING AMERICANS,AND THEN SHIFTS PRODUCTION OVERSEAS AND MOVES THOSE COMPANIES OVERSEAS, TO MEXICO, OR CHINA, AND THEN SELLS THOSE PRODUCTS BACK INTO THE. FAR TOO MANY OF THE JOBS HERE DON’T PAY ENOUGH IN WAGES AND BENEFITS TO COMPENSATE WORKERS FOR THE HOURS THEY PUT IN.OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS, GDP HAS GONE UP, CORPORATE PROFITS HAVE GONE UP, EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION HAS GONE UP, BUT WORKERS HAVE NOT SHARED IN THE ECONOMIC GROWTH THEY CREATED. WALL STREET HAS MADE MILLIONS BUT THE AVERAGE BANK TELLER EARNS $26,000 A YEAR.MIDDLE MANAGERS HAVE SEEN THEIR WAGES CUT. PEOPLE FEEL LESS STABLE, WHILE WORKING HARDER AND PRODUCING MORE THAN EVER BEFORE. IT IS UNIVERSAL PROBLEM IN THIS COUNTRY, WHETHER YOU PUNCH A TIME SHEET, WHETHER YOU ARE A PAYROLL WORKER OR A TEMP WORKER,YOU ARE GETTING SQUEEZED. IT AFFECTS WORKERS BEHIND DESKS AND ON FACTORY FLOORS, BEHIND RESTAURANT COUNTERS, WORKING RETAIL. IT IS A PROBLEM IN THE HEARTLAND, IT IS A PROBLEM ON THE COAST, IT IS A PROBLEM IN THE SOUTH, IT IS A PROBLEM EVERYWHERE. YOU ARE THE BACKBONE OF THE GREATEST ECONOMY IN THE WORLD AND YET YOU HAVE LESS TO SHOW FOR IT. DEMOCRATS ARE FIGHTING HARD TO MAKE YOUR HARD WORK HAS OFF — PAY OFF ONCE AGAIN. WHEN I WAS ELECTED TO THE STATE HOUSE IN MANSFIELD OHIO, I USED TO SPEND HOURS AT THE UNITED STEEL WORKERS LOCAL 169 IN MY HOMETOWN. I TALKED WITH WORKERS WHO STOPPED IN BEFORE OR AFTER THEIR SHIPS — THEIR SHIFTS. I LEARNED HOW THEY MADE STEEL, I LEARNED HOW THEY MADE CARS, I LEARNED ABOUT THEIR CHILDREN AND NEIGHBORHOODS. THEY WORKED HARD. MOST OF THEM GLADLY WORKED SIX DAYS FOR THE OVERTIME PAY. THEY OWNED, IN MOST CASES, MODEST HOMES. THEY COULD MOVE UP THE INCOME LADDER AND BUILD UP A BETTER LIFE FOR THEIR KIDS AT MANSFIELD’S JOHNNY APPLESEED JUNIOR HIGH. THREE DECADES LATER, THE HOPES OF OHIOANS REALLY HAVEN’T CHANGED. IT WANTS TO BE VALUED FOR THE WORK THEY DO, THEY WANT TO SAVE FOR THE FUTURE AND TAKE THE FAMILY ON VACATION, AND BUILD BETTER LIVES FOR THEIR CHILDREN. WHAT HAS CHANGED IS THAT PEOPLE NO LONGER SEE IT HAPPEN TO GET THERE THROUGH HARD WORK. AND TOO OFTEN, THEY ARE RIGHT. WE NEED TO CHANGE THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT THE ECONOMY. IT IS NOT MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS THAT DRIVE OUR ECONOMY, IT IS AMERICA’S WORKERS AND SMALL BUSINESSES. WE GROW THE ECONOMY FROM THE MIDDLE CLASS OUT, AND THAT IS WHAT DEMOCRATS ARE FIGHTING FOR. 

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