Hearing: Joint Economic Committee on the Challenge of Income Stability

Joint Economic Committee Hearing on Meeting the
Challenge of Income Instability
Opening Statement of Senator Schumer

February 28, 2007

Good morning. I would like to thank our witnesses and guests for attending today, and I
want to welcome the new Vice Chair, my colleague from New York, Mrs. Maloney. I
look forward to working closely with her to use this Committee as an engine for
generating economic policies that will work to deliver the benefits of economic growth to
all Americans.
Today, we are at a critical juncture in U.S. economic policy. We know that the upheavals
caused by technological change and international competition most acutely affect those
who are gaining the least economically—the middle-class and those who aspire to get
there. Yet in order for us to expand trade and make significant technological investments
to help grow the economy, the middle-class must feel that they will benefit. Right now,
too many of them don't.
Working at a large corporation for thirty or forty years that takes care of you and your
family for a lifetime is becoming a thing of the past. Employers are now shifting the high
costs of health care and the burden of saving for retirement onto families. And
increasingly, jobs are being automated away by technological advancements or moved
overseas -- leaving many displaced workers and their families behind.
Meanwhile, official numbers on the economy have been positive - at least until very
recently. But we must face the reality lurking behind the official numbers in order to
address anxiety on Main Street.
Not only have wages significantly lagged behind productivity over the past two
decades, but they are increasingly more volatile as workers bounce in and out of
jobs. Between 2003 and 2005, nearly 4 million workers were laid off from jobs they
held for more than 3 years. About half of these workers and their families took a
pay cut, and nearly one-third lost 20 percent or more of their prior earnings. And if
the recession in the manufacturing sector that hit our radar screens this week
spreads through our economy-- the economic rollercoaster for families will only get
worse.

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