Sen. Harkin's Fond Farewell to Washington Contained a Warning on Income Inequality

In 40 years of making laws in the nation's capital – 10 in the U.S. House of Representatives and 30 in the U.S. Senate, Tom Harkin (D-IA) has fought to give the little guy "a leg up on the economic ladder of success," with some failures but many, many successes, including leading the fight for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Harkin, chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP), spoke movingly about what drove him all these years.

In the speech, which was well received by his colleagues, Harkin adopted CWA's language and charts in linking the decline of collective bargaining with America's growing economic inequality, urging the Senate to tackle the problem in its next session because "[It] is destructive of lives, it slows our progress as a nation, and it will doom broad support for representative government."

"The answer to closing the inequality gap must include rebuilding labor unions and collective bargaining," he continued. "If you trace the line over the last 40 years of our growing economic inequality in America and also put that over another line showing the loss in the number of union workers, they are almost identical. I do not believe it is a stretch to say that organized labor, unions, built the middle class in America, and they are a part of the answer in strengthening and rebuilding our middle class."

CWA President Larry Cohen said, "Watching Tom Harkin's farewell speech to the U.S. Senate left me more committed than ever to building the movement for economic justice and democracy. For all of us in CWA this speech is well worth watching as Senator Harkin looks back on 40 years in the House and Senate and ahead to carrying on the fight."

Harkin spoke of his love of the Senate and the good it could do in our nation, but he also had warnings:

"When people at the bottom of the economic ladder feel the government is not helping them and in fact may be stacked against them, they will cease to vote, or they will turn to the siren song of extreme elements in our society. History proves this to be true.

"I don't have a cookie-cutter answer or solution, but it must include more fair tax laws and trade laws, more job training and retraining, rebuilding our physical infrastructure, and manufacturing. And I believe it must include some things, seemingly unrelated, like quality, free, early education for every child in America."

Watch the video here. 

Harkin also said this near the end of the speech:

"I came to the Senate 30 years ago as a proud progressive, determined to get things done. And as I depart the Senate, I can say in good conscience that I remained true to my progressive roots...You might say that my career in Congress is the story of a poor kid from Cumming, Iowa, trying his best to 'pay it forward', saying thank you for the opportunities I was given by leaving that ladder and ramp of opportunity stronger for those who follow."