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While the middle class has declined under President Bush's reckless economic policies, the people on top have never had it so good. For the first seven years of Bush's tenure, the wealthiest 400 individuals in our country saw a $670 billion increase in their wealth, and at the end of 2007 owned over $1.5 trillion in wealth. We have the most unequal distribution of income and wealth of any major country on earth, with the top 1 percent earning more income than the bottom 50 percent. There has been a massive transfer of wealth from the middle class to the very wealthiest people in this country, when, among others, CEOs of Wall Street firms received unbelievable amounts in bonuses, including $39 billion in bonuses in the year 2007 alone for just the five major investment houses.

Senate Passes Bailout Bill A $700 billion financial industry rescue plan has been approved by the Senate. The final vote was 74-25, with 39 Democrats, 34 Republicans and independent Joe Lieberman voting "yes." Nine Democrats, 15 Republicans, and independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont voted "no." A vote in the House is next, reported The Associated Press.

Masters of the Universe "The masters of the universe, those brilliant Wall Street insiders who have made more money than the average American can even dream of, have brought our financial system to the brink of collapse," Sanders said, calling the bailout of Wall Street fundamentally unfair, according to an Associated Press article published worldwide. The remark also was an AP "quote of the day."

'We Can Do Better' "This country faces many serious problems . . . We must act, but we must act in a way that improves the situation," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. "We can do better than the legislation we are dealing with tonight," Sanders added in the Chicago Tribune.

The Senate approved a $700 billion Wall Street bailout. Senator Bernie Sanders voted against the bill that would put Wall Street's burden on the backs of the American middle class. "The bailout package is far better than the absurd proposal originally presented to us by the Bush administration, but is still short of where we should be," Sanders said. "If a bailout is needed, if taxpayer money must be placed at risk, if we are going to bail out Wall Street, it should be those people who have caused the problem, those people who have benefited from President Bush's tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, those people who have taken advantage of deregulation who should pick up the tab, not ordinary working people."

We Can Do Better Saying the Wall Street bailout bill the Senate is debating is better than the original Bush administration proposal, Senator Bernie Sanders said on a Senate floor speech that it is "still not good enough." He offered an amendment that would place a surtax on families with earnings over $1 million and individuals who earn more than $500,000.

Bailout Amendment A work-in-progress until tonight's vote, the bill will likely contain provisions for greater judicial oversight, higher caps for federally insured bank accounts and more tax credits for renewable energy. Because the bill's language has not yet been finalized, Sen. Patrick Leahy has yet to decide if he will support it. Among tonight's proposed changes is an amendment that would tax America's richest citizens to fund the bailout, sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders). Leahy plans to vote for the Sanders amendment, reported The Burlington Free Press online.

Wall Street Greed Neil Cavuto asked on his Fox News program: "I am told that (your amendment) does not have enough votes, but you are making a statement, right?" Sanders replied, "Yes, this financial meltdown has been caused by the greed of Wall Street, and during Bush's seven and half years in office, what we have seen is the decline of the middle class. People are working longer hours for lower wages. Poverty is increasing, while the people at the top, not just the CEO's at Wall Street, but the CEO's of major companies, big business in general, have done very, very well, and we are now in a position where the top 1 percent earns more than the bottom 50 percent."

Wednesday, the Senate will debate an amendment by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to impose a surtax on the wealthiest Americans to pay for a $700 billion emergency bailout. "Having mismanaged the economy for eight years while continually insisting that the 'fundamentals of our economy are strong,' the Bush administration now wants the middle class of this country to bail out Wall Street," Sanders said. "Meanwhile the wealthiest people, those who have benefited most from Bush's policies and are in the best position to pay, are being asked for no sacrifice at all. This is absurd." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) set aside one hour to consider the Sanders Amendment to raise $300 billion from a five-year, 10 percent surtax on couples with incomes of more than $1 million and individuals earning $500,000. It is the only amendment being offered to the bill.