Article

Harkin Bill a Big Step Forward for Our Middle Class

David Madland details why the Rebuild America Act is a crucial and comprehensive piece of legislation for restoring broad-based prosperity and sustained economic growth.

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Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) today introduced one of the more significant pieces of legislation this year: the Rebuild America Act, a bill designed to help restore America’s middle class. The wide-ranging bill takes major steps forward in a number of areas to address challenges the middle class faces, including stagnant wages, financial insecurity, rising costs of college, inadequate infrastructure, and an unfair tax code. The bill deserves high praise because it would do more to help the middle class than virtually any other piece of legislation currently before Congress.

The American middle class is the heart of our economy and restoring its strength is key to getting the economy going again. A weakened middle class doesn’t just hurt those who are losing ground. It hurts all of us by stifling our country’s economic growth, as a growing body of economic research indicates.

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Authors

David Madland

Senior Fellow; Senior Adviser, American Worker Project