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Rep. Jan Schakowsky

Mr. Speaker, the State of the Union address tonight is going to be very important, and I agree with President Obama that this is a make-or-break moment for the middle class and those trying to reach it.

And what's at stake is the very survival of the basic American promise that if you work hard, you can do well enough to raise a family, own a home, and put a little bit away for retirement. We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while more Americans barely get by, or we can build a Nation where everyone gets a fair shot, he says, everyone does their fair share and everyone plays by the same rules.

We found out today that, especially when it comes to taxes, there really are different rules for the rich. Mitt Romney released his taxes. He made $42 million over the last 2 years and paid at about a 14.5 percent rate because most of his income is in capital gains.

Look at the tax brackets. If you make $8,500 as a single person, you're in a 15-percent tax bracket. Is that fair? I don't think so.