Sen. Elizabeth Warren delivered a withering attack on trickle-down economics and Reagan-era fiscal policy, saying it undermined the middle class while benefiting only the richest Americans.
According to
Politico, the Massachusetts Democrat, who has often been floated as a potential 2016 presidential contender, also praised President Barack Obama for his role in achieving economic recovery, but said the vast majority of Americans still have not seen their lives improve.
"The trickle-down experiment that began in the Reagan years failed America's middle class," Warren said in a keynote address Wednesday to an AFL-CIO conference, according to Politico.
She blamed both parties for the implementation of trickle-down economics, saying they agreed to fire "the cops on Wall Street" to cater to big corporations, "turning them loose to do whatever juiced short-term profits even if it came at the expense of working families," Politico reported.
Since then, she said Democrats continue to share the blame for a financial system that rewards only the richest.
"Pretty much the whole Republican Party, and if we're going to be honest, too many Democrats, are overly cozy with the financial industry and make decisions that benefit the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans while leaving others to struggle," she said.
Warren said that over the last 32 years, only the richest 10 percent of earners benefited from economic growth.
"We know that democracy does not work when congressmen and regulators bow down to Wall Street's political power," she said, according to Politico. "And that means it’s time to break up the Wall Street banks and remind politicians they don't work for the big banks, they work for us."
Labor leaders from across the country attended the conference, which focused on raising wages. Warren's comments were enthusiastically received, Politico reported.
During her 30-minute speech, she also praised Obamacare and the president's executive action on immigration as the type of policies needed to benefit working people. She added that while indicators for the economy are rosy, the vast majority of Americans have not yet seen the benefits.
"Despite these cheery numbers, America's middle class is in deep trouble," she said.
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