mr. speaker , i thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time .  what the majority is seeking to accomplish here is another transfer of wealth from the great mass of americans to a privileged few .  this bill would raise taxes on 17 million american middle-class families by as much as $ 640 .  millionaires get tax cuts as much as $ 32 , 000 .  people who bet on the market are going to see their taxes cut or reduced , while workers are not going to see that kind of relief because this bill is about a transfer of wealth upwards , a transfer of wealth from the poor and the middle class to the wealthy .  more than half of the american taxpayers will get less than $ 30 out of this so-called tax cut ; yet that is what this administration 's strategy has been all about .  there has been no trickle-down benefits from their previous tax cuts of over a trillion dollars .  americans ' savings have disappeared , credit cards are maxed out , home equity is exhausted , foreclosures have increased , pension funds are disappearing , health care benefits for many have been cut or eliminated .  there are 45 million americans without health insurance .  the wealth in this country is being transferred upward , and as wealth accelerates upward , the quality of our democracy is deteriorating .  this bill continues that trend with spending cuts suffered by college students , suffered by senior citizens and children and family farmers .  my colleague congressman lewis asked what would jesus do .  we know his teachings .  he said whatever you do for the least of the brethren , you do for the lord .  this bill does not do for the least .  it does for those who have the most .  there is a transfer of wealth to the great mass of americans to a few as a matter of policy here .  it is tax cuts , it is the war , it is all of the spending that is accomplished by our majority brothers and sisters goes to help those who are wealthy become wealthier .  that is not how you can maintain a democracy .  the tax system is central to making sure that we stay a democracy , and yet what we see here is the beginning of a plutocracy by continuing the acceleration of wealth upwards .  we need to take stock and assessment of what these tax policies are doing to undermine people in this country , of what these tax policies are doing to make it impossible for a middle class to survive , of what these tax policies are ignoring in terms of trying to protect america 's manufacturers .  there are auto workers and steel workers who are looking for a way for businesses , their industries , to survive ; and instead we are worrying about accelerating the wealth upward .  we need to take stock of this .  this is not only a fiscal question .  it is a moral question , and the arc of our moral fiber here is going to be determined on whether or not we can stand up to this challenge about accelerating the wealth upwards .  