Banking Hearing 12/11/18

President Trump and the Republicans on Capitol Hill promised that their big tax cuts for corporations would boost the wages of American workers by an average of $4,000. Instead, we have seen the windfall used for stock buybacks to fatten the wallets of corporate executives and wealthy stockholders. In fact, stock buybacks have reached a record high: more than $800 billion in 2018. This is enough to give more than $5,000 to every American payroll employee. But while the number of stock buybacks grows, workers’ paychecks barely keep up with the rising cost of living. I raised these issues directly with the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at this week’s Banking Committee Hearing. I asked Chairman Clayton to host an SEC roundtable to get to the bottom of this, and I’m going to keep pushing. He said he’d be willing to work with us, and I plan to hold him to his word.