President and the first lady a full and speedy recovery from the covid19 illness that they are nowpp dealing with. And, of course, we wish the same for our colleagues in the congress as well as the many, many millions of americans who are struggling with this terrible disease. [applause] what the last few days have told us is if there was ever any doubt, it should now be clear that no one, no one is safe from this pandemic. It doesnt matter if you are a Frontline Worker in a hospital, and i want to take a moment to thank all of the doctors in the nurses and thehe medical personl who up with their lives on the line to protect all of us. [applause] and it doesnt matter if you are an essential worker in the supermarket, if you are a packing house worker, if you are a bus driver, and it doesnt matter t if you are the presidet of the United States. Each and every one of us is vulnerable, and we will remain vulnerable until there is a vaccine or a perfected qr. That is the w reality and theres non way to get away from that. There are some who say that we have to make a choice between having a Strong Economy and protecting the American People from this terrible disease. I disagree. The truth is we will never have a Strong Economy so long as this pandemic continues i to surge, s it is today. [applause] we will never have a Strong Economy if people are afraid to go to work, afraid to go to school, afraid to shop, afraid to have dinner at a restaurant, or afraid to do all of the things that we normally do. We will never have a Strong Economy unless we get this pandemic under control. [applause] is the solution to this crisis to shut down the economy and like everybody in their homes . No, it is not. We can keep our country moving forward if we do so in a way that is disciplined, not dangerous, that is responsible, not reckless. [applause] and now i want ask you and the American People some very simple questions. Which candidate for president has shown that he will be disciplined, that he will be responsible in dealing with this pandemic . [shouting] joe biden. Which candidate has made it clear that hech will develop policies based on the advice of the best scientists in our country and the world . Joe biden. Which candidaters for presidt will develop National Protocols guidelines and model behaviors we all need to engage in to keep our families, our neighbors and ourselves safe . Joe biden. Which candidate has the temperament to see us through this difficult crisis . Joe biden. And let me repeat that point. Which candidate has the temperament to see us through this difficult crisis . Joe biden. I dont think there is any doubt that the answer to those questions is that in the worst Public Health crisis of the last 100 years we need joe biden as our president. [applause] now let me say a word about the economy. And let me be blunt, tell you the way it is, and that is that the working class of this country is in more desperation today than at any time since the Great Depression of the 1930s. That is a fact. It is a sad fact, but that is the truth. Tens of millions of our fellow citizens have lost their jobs as a result of this pandemic. They have lost their incomes. They had lost their health insurance. Theyif have depleted their life savings. They cannot afford to pay their rants or their mortgages, and into many cases in the richest country on earth, they cannot afford to put food on the table for their kids. Today, the percentage of americans who lack employment is at the highest level in 45 years, while tens of millions of americans who do have jobs are often working parttime for starvation wages. And as bad as the economy is in general, it is far worse for the africanamerican and latino communities. During this pandemic nearly 60 of latino families and 55 of africanamerican families have either experienced a job loss or a pay cut. How devastating is that . Meanwhile, and it is important to makean this point, because it is not made often enough, while the working class as this country is being devastated as a result of the pandemic, not everybody in america is hurting. The truth is that at the time of massive income and wealth inequality, over the last six months, that situation has gotten even more grotesque. In the last number of months, 643 billionaires thats not a lot of people have seen their wealth to up by 845 billion. [booing] and let me just say that again. While 30 million americans have lost their jobs, while 12 million americans have lost their health insurance, while 29 million americans do not have enough food to eat, while 40 million of our people face eviction, 643 billionaires increased their wealth by 845 billion over the last six months alone. So that is the state of the economy today. Simple truth is that the very, very rich are getting much, much richer while nearly everybody else is struggling or getting poorer. And let us be very clear. Despite what you may have heard over the past four years, the economy has not been very good for the working class of this country. [applause] sometimes we lose track of that, but here is the truth. You dont have, over the last four years im not just talking about the last six months, you dont have Strong Economy when half of our people are living paycheck to paycheck. [applause] you all know what living paycheck to paycheck is about . I grew up in the family that lived paycheck to paycheck. Joe biden grew up in a family that lived paycheck to paycheck. Many of you are living paycheck to paycheck. [shouting] if you got one. It was not a good economy for the last four years when 87 million americans were uninsured or underinsured, couldnt get to a doctor when they were sick. And unbelievably and horrifically, when 68,000 americans were dying each year because they could not go to the doctor when they got sick. Can you imagine that . Richest country in the history of the world, 68,000 of our people die each year because they cant get to a doctor when they get sick because they lacked the money and dont have any health insurance. It is not and has not been a good economy, went over 40 million workers were earning starvation wages of less than 15 an hour. And here again is the simple truth. Nobody in america can make it on eight or nine or ten bucks an hour. [applause] and over the last four years, and its not a been a good economy, when half off all the workers, and we dont talk about this enough, when half of Older Workers have no retirement savings. Imagine being 55, 60, 65, you dont got a nickel in the bank and now you are on retirement, and how do you do that with any shred of dignity wax it is not a good economy with over half a million americans are homeless. Half a million of our people are homeless, including many veterans who put their lives on the line to defend us. And as part of the housing crisis that we are experiencing, some 18 million families are spending half of their incomes on housing, or more. How do you take care of your basic needs if you are spending half of your income on housing . I must tell you, over the last four years it was again a great economy for the billionaire class, and it has become even better for them during this horrific pandemic. My friends, we need an economy that works for all of us, not just a few. [applause] and is not just in recent years. Its not just over the last four years. Here is Something Else that we dont talk about. Over the last 45 years there has been a massive redistribution of wealth in america, but sadly, that redistribution has gone in the wrong direction, from the working class, from the middle class, from the poor to the very richest people in this country. Since 1990, while the2 top 1 sw their wealth go up by 22 trillion you got that . Top 1 saw the wealth increased by 22 trillion. The bottom half of american saw their wealth actually go down. Today, the average worker in america this is really quite astounding when you consider the growth of technology in theer explosion inw productivity, the average American Worker today is now making 34 a week less than he or she did 47 years ago after adjusting for inflation. Can you imagine that . Over a 47 year period, and explosion in technology, increase in worker productivity, yet the average american is earning less than he or she did 47 years ago. What i understand and doubly ae you understand, the American People know, is that we are all becoming more and more outraged with the corporate greed that we are seen every single day. [applause] the American People are sick and tired of large profitable corporations shutting down here in america and then moving to lowwage countries all over the world. They are sick and tired of seeing ceos now make 300 times more than their average employees, while they give themselves huge bonuses. They cut back on the Health Care Benefits of their workers. The American People are sick and tired of that corporate greed. Hell yeah, we are. [applause] they are sick and tired, all of us paying by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. While at the same time the pharmaceutical industry makes tens of billions of dollars in profit year after year after year. [booing] in my view, the American People understand that we can no longer sustainti an economy which has more income and wealth inequality today than at any time since the 1920s, and when three people own more wealth than the bottom half of this country, three people. That is not acceptable, and under joe biden, and under a Democratic Congress we are going to change all of that. [cheers and applause] together, we are going end a rigged tax code. [applause] that allows billionaires to pay a lower tax rate, and effective tax rate, then nurses, teachers and truck drivers, while at the same time we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on earth. So together what this campaign is about, and what we must do in whthe future, is bring our peope together byat the millions to create a government and an economy that works for all of us, not just the 1 . [cheers and applause] now, it is no great secret that joe biden and i disagree on a number of issues. Thats a fact. But theres also no question that the economic proposals that joe biden is supporting our strong and will go a long, long way to improving life for working families. And i i want to take a minute to talk about thoseow proposals because of everything that is going on in this crazy world today, i think there is not been enough focus on joes economic proposals. Again, they are not mine, if they are strong proposals and of what you and the American People to know what they are. Joe biden, you and i know that it is not acceptable that tens of millions of americans work at starvation wages. People cannot make it on nine, ten bucks an hour. Joe knows that. You know that, i know that. And that is why joe biden is going to help us raise that minimum wage to at least 15 bucks an hour. [cheers and applause] what jill understands is that if you work 40 hours a week, you should not be living in poverty. And joe biden also understands that it is absurd that women make 75 cents on the dollar compared to men. [applause] and if you are a minority woman, that is even lower, and that is why joe is going to make sure that we have equal pay for equal work. [applause] and joe also knows that the path toward a stronger middle class is strengthening trade unions in america. [applause] right now all across this country there are millions of workers who want to join unions, but because of the heavyhanded corporate tactics that now exists, its impossible for them to do that. Joe and i and the United States congress are going to go forward and make it easier for workers to join unions, engage in collective bargaining. [cheers and applause] and joe also understands that weve got stop providing corporate welfare to companies that are throwing American Workers out onte the street and moving abroad. [applause] itse absolutely insane that we provide welfare to these guys, and then they say thank you, and they shut down factories and plants in america. And theres Something Else that you understands, and that is that in the midst of the worst economic crisis in our lifetime, we need to create millions and millions of good paying union jobs. [applause] and the fastest way to do that is to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, our wastewater plants, our water systems, and to build millions of units of affordable housing. [applause] and i will tell you what else jill understands. He understands that weve got to end the International Embarrassment of the United States being the only major country on earth not to guarantee paid medical and family leave. [applause] when a woman in america gives birth, she should not be forced to go back to work after one or two weeks. [applause] when a child gets sick, mom or dad should be able to stay home, take care of that kid, and not lose a days pay. I want everyone to hear it because its not be talked about enough, that is why joe biden has proposed at least 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for working families. [applause] and when we talk about babies and we talkna about young children, we all know that our current childcare system is dysfunctional and it is totally inadequate. Our children and their parents deserve high quality, reliable and affordable childcare. [applause] and that his wife jill has proposed universal preachy education for every three and fouryearold child in this country. [cheers and applause] that is why joe and when we talk about having the best educated workforce in the world, jill understands that weve got to make public colleges and universities tuition free for the working class of this country. [applause] and that we must substantially reduce student debt in america. [applause] and at a time of massive income and wealth inequality, joe biden understands that we must demand that the wealthiest people and the most profitable corporations in our country start paying their fair share of taxes. [cheers and applause] no more tax breaks for billionaires while half 1 million americans sleep out on the street. No more tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseasatversayp their profits to the cayman islands. [applause] joe also understands that one out of five americans who walked into their Doctors Office and gets a prescription, they cannot afford to fill the prescription because of the outrageous cost of prescription drugs in this country. And what joe biden knows and what ige know is that if anybody is serious about healthcare reform, wein have finally got to summon the guts to take on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry. [cheers and applause] during my campaign for the presidency, i took a trip to the midwest, a few miles into canada to buy insulin for diabetics. Weve got millions of people who were dealing with diabetes in the need for insulin. We went 15 minutes away from detroit, michigan, into ontario canada. We bought the same damn insulin that is sold in the United States for onetenth of the price that was charged in america, onetenth the price. That is an outrage. And together joe knows, i know and you know that we have to take on theo collusion, the pricefixing and the greed of theer pharmaceutical industry so that americans no longer pay the highest prices in the world for the medicine we need. [applause] now, as many of you also know, the United States is the only major country on earth not to guarantee health care to all people as a human right. Meanwhile, despite paying almost twice as much per person for healthcare as the people of other countries, over 90 million americans today are uninsured or underinsured. And unbelievably, over half a Million People go bankrupt every single year because they cannot afford to pay their medical bills. While joe and i disagree on the best path to get to universal coverage, his proposal will greatly expand access to health care and makens it more affordae for tens of millions of people across this country. [applause] and heres an important point that has not been talked about enough during this campaign. He is going to lower the eligibility age for medicare from 65 to 60. [applause] meaning millions of more people will be eligible for medicare. He will expand medicare to cover dental care, eyeglasses and hearing aids. [applause] and he will substantially increase funding for Community Health centers to make sure that millions of americans get the primary health care and the Mental Health care that they desperately need. [applause] joe knows that when you talk about healthcare, you are talking about Mental Health care as well. [applause] and by the way, if the Democrats Gain control of the senate, youre looking at the chairman of the subcommittee on health. [cheers and applause] and trust me that the Healthcare Industry and the Drug Companies will understand a very new reality when that happens. [cheers and applause] let me conclude by once again thanking all of you for coming out today, and for saying that in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, and that that. Verybody to remember sometimes we forget it. We are not ait poor country. We are the wealthiest country not only in the world but in the history of the world. We need to create an economy that works for all of us, that works for our children, that works for our seniors, that works for the middle class, for the working class. We need to have a government and an economy that works for all, not just wealthy Campaign Contributors and the 1 . [cheers and applause] there is no excuse, none whatsoever, that in our country, we have millions of workers [cheers and applause] ther