Elevator Speech

This economy doesn't work for working people. We have not been creating good jobs here at home to compete in the global economy. Instead, we've given free rein to corporations, cut taxes on the wealthy and reduced protections for workers.

Americans are working harder and getting less for it. Wages are stagnant. Costs for housing, health care and home heating oil have skyrocketed. Millions of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck—only a serious illness or personal crisis away from poverty. While CEOs pocket tax cuts, bonuses and stock options, working Americans worry about credit card payments and the price of a tank of gas.

We need to change course, with policies that put people first. We all do better when the benefits of prosperity are widely shared.

We need to make sure work pays a living wage and that children aren't forgotten when both parents are out of the house. We need to invest in areas vital to the future and reclaim the manufacturing prowess that made us the strongest economy in the world. Workers need real enforcement of labor laws so they can organize on the job and get a fair share of the profits they help generate. In an economy of unceasing change, we must ensure that health care and retirement plans are secure and cannot be lost because of a change in jobs. And we have to develop a trade strategy that works for the entire nation, not just for multinational companies.

We must come together to create the rules and policies needed to empower working people. A new economic strategy is necessary to ensure the existence of the middle class glue that holds America together.