even the strongest proponents of collective bargaining for the private sector, people like franklin delano and roosevelt, never thought there was a place in government where no one is playing with his own money. the representative on the government side is playing with the taxpayers' money. i think that is a legitimate issue. who works for whom here? is the government there to serve the public? tavis: if the debate is about the rights of workers, we could have a whole conversation tonight about government in this country. however government being oftentimes the worst discriminator, the worst offender. let's not talk about civil rights or slavery or woman suffrage -- i mean, i could do this all night, giving examples where government has been the discriminator in chief. why not access to collective bargaining? just because they work for government? >> there was a time when in the old days of of patronage and so forth when government workers were put upon and vulnerable, but that is a long time ago. now in 41 states out of 50, they are better paid than the taxpayers to support them. in the f

were locked so there was only one exit there was no sprinkler system it was a different time and franklin delanoroosevelt's labor secretary called it the day the new deal so one hundred years later looking back at this day as a catalyst for the labor movement that's changed what stayed the same and what's happened in america well here discuss with me is that your line reporter and blogger for think progress dot org and the progress report the center for american progress as well as state motley president of less government so i want to thank you both for joining me tonight and see i'm going to start with you because i know that you aren't a fan of unions obviously but if we look back at this day if we look back at this day in history though i look at this tragic event you know can you deny the importance of unions when it comes to workers' rights when it comes to safety in the workplace yes in the u.k. no wait they've long since outlived their usefulness as demonstrated by the current private sector union membership is under eight percent it's seven point nine percent they have served their purp

during world war ii, president franklin delano roosevelt said a nation of homeowners is on comparable. in the 80's president ronald reagan advocated the need to preserve mortgage interest deductions in order to promote the most important aspect of the american dream, homeownership. americans realtors agree. we see a bright future of housing with america. we ask the congress to maintain a positive aggressive forward-looking approach to overcome the obstacles we currently face and ensure that the housing and the national economic recovery sar sustained. i think you for the opportunity today and as always, the national association of realtors is ready, willing and able to work with congress to create a bright future for our children and grandchildren. thank you. >> thank you, mr. phipps. because we have to votes, the committee will recess for a short time and resume the hearing after the votes. [inaudible conversations] >> [inaudible] >> thank you a maturing johnson and ranking member shall be and distinguished members of the committee. for the opportunity to testify. my name is jeff lub