Pelosi Promises Action On Declining American Income

The incoming Democratic speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives promises a "new direction" to deal with declining American incomes.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, poised to become the first female US House speaker in history once Democrats assume control of Congress in January, cited Internal Revenue Service data showing that Americans' average real incomes declined by $1,641, or 3 percent, to $53,974 from 2000 to 2004.

"On Election Day, the American people demanded a New Direction, with an economy that works for all Americans, not just the privileged few," Pelosi says. "Today's new IRS data highlights the need for a New Direction: the so-called economic recovery has failed to benefit American families -- with family incomes dropping every year except for 2004 and impacting virtually all families. The American people work hard and deserve better than an economy plagued with rising deficits and falling incomes.

"Democrats are determined to take our country in a new direction to restore economic fairness and opportunity for all American families; that is why in the first 100 legislative hours of the new Congress, we will increase the minimum wage and impose strict pay-as-you-go budgeting," the California Democrat adds.

Democrats won control of Congress in elections earlier this month.