"I'm so proud of how much we've accomplished together for the American people. And I wish the incoming administration success, because I want America to succeed. That's why I've upheld my duty to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition of power to ensure we lead by the power of our example. I have no doubt that America is in a position to continue to succeed. That's why, in my farewell address tonight, I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern. … and that's the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of very few ultra-wealthy people, and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked. Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead. We see the consequences all across America. And we've seen it before, more than a century ago. But the American people stood up to the robber barons back then and busted the trusts. They didn't punish the wealthy. They just made the wealthy … play by the rules everybody else had to. Workers won rights to earn their fair share. You know, they were dealt into the deal, and it helped put us on the path to building the largest middle class and the most prosperous century any nation the world has ever seen, and we've got to do that again. In the last four years, that is exactly what we've done. People should be able to make as much as they can, but … play by the same rules, pay their fair share in taxes."
Joe Biden

January 1, 1970

Quote Details

Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Added on April 10, 2026
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English

Sources

Imported from EN Wikiquote

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden