Liz Warren Town Hall Writing and Reporting Exercise

August 6, 2017

REVERE, MA — In a town hall meeting Friday in Revere Sen. Elizabeth Warren suggested the recent positive employment report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is not reflective of most Americans’ lived experience.

“Since 1980, 100 percent of economic growth in the U.S. has gone to the top 10 percent of Americans,” said Sen. Warren, addressing a crowd at Revere High School. “I’m happy to see unemployment down, but in the larger scheme opportunity is continuing to move to the top.”

Sen. Warren said the massive disparity in wealth in the U.S. began during the Regan administration as a result of trickledown economics, a collection of fiscal policies disproportionately favoring corporations and wealthy business owners.

The Massachusetts senator said that to close the opportunity gap, progressive taxation and fiscal policy promoting prosperity for all Americans needs to be a focus of the legislature moving forward.

In addition to discussing recent employment numbers, Sen. Warren also used Friday’s platform as an opportunity to inspire hope among those concerned over the seemingly endless gridlock in the Senate many fear will result in a government shut-down later this year.

Citing recently approved legislation the senator devised with the help of Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, allowing for the over-the-counter sale of hearing aids, she commended the willingness of her partisan colleagues to work together in the interest of the American people.

“There is always somebody who is making money off the system the way it is,” she said. “But this bill proves we can work together to ensure the American people are not taken advantage of because of special interests in Washington.”

Sen. Warren says the new bill will increase competition and innovation among hearing aid manufacturers and greatly reduce the cost of the technology, making hearing aids more widely accessible to the millions of Americans who need them.

“Forty-eight million Americans suffer from hearing loss,” Sen. Warren said. “Fewer than one sixth get a hearing aid.”

The senator attributes the disparity to the high cost of hearing aids, which she said can amount to as much as $2,500 for a single pair. The bill, which will ease restrictions on the way hearing aids are sold and make them available to patients over the counter, will create greater opportunity for new manufacturers to enter the industry and bring new, more innovative products to market.

Town hall facilitators opened the floor to questions from the public during Friday’s engagement as well, spurring discussion on a variety of topics that included healthcare reform, education policy, immigration legislation and the opioid epidemic.

Among the topics discussed more extensively during the event was an issue raised by Emma Daniels, an Everett woman, who asked how Sen. Warren intends to curb student debt in the United States and ensure students have access to affordable housing.

“It’s about demanding public accountability,” the senator said, acknowledging nearly 70 percent of students in the U.S. are currently burdened by student debt. Warren continued with an indictment of the Trump administration, saying people like Betsy DeVos, who want to cut funding for Pell Grants in half, need to be monitored and held accountable for their actions.

In the final question of the night, a Revere resident asked Sen. Warren whether she intends to run for president in 2020.

“We can’t just be engaged every four years,” Sen. Warren said, stating that she is not is focused on running for president at this time, but rather on using her power in the senate to continue to fight on the behalf of the American people.

In addition to Sen. Warren, Friday’s town hall included several other speakers as well, including Rep. Katherine Clark and Revere’s Mayor Ryan Arrigo.

Final Grade: A