[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992-1993, Book II)]
[August 27, 1992]
[Pages 1435-1439]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to Public Safety Equipment Employees in St. Louis, Missouri
August 27, 1992

    Thank you all. I know, anything to get out of work. [Laughter] 
Steve, thank you, thank you very much for that kind and genuine 
introduction. Let me thank some other members of the host committee: 
Mike Latta, one of the founders, Ed Ryan, Andrew Smith. And of course, 
I'm very, very pleased that my dear friend and your great Governor, John 
Ashcroft, could be with us this morning. He's done a superb job for this 
State, and I'm proud to be at his side once again.
    This is really great. Look at the equipment you have here, 
lightbars, beacons. You've given a new meaning to ``a thousand points of 
light.'' [Laughter]
    Over the past 3\1/2\ years we've seen a world transformed, as Steve 
mentioned in his introduction. And yes, the cold war is over. And now 
the defining challenge of the nineties is to win the competition of this 
new global economy, to win the peace. Our goal is simple and profound: 
We must be a military superpower, an economic superpower, and an export 
superpower.
    In this election, you're going to hear two versions of how to do 
this. My opponent's answer is to turn inward, to protect what we already 
have from the challenges of this new world. My approach is to look 
forward, to look out, to open new markets, prepare our people to 
compete, to restore our social fabric, and to save and invest so that we 
can win.
    I've come to St. Louis today, you'll be happy to know, not to have a 
political rally but really to deliver a serious message to the people in 
this factory, the people in Missouri, and the people in the country. I 
want to point out the sharp difference between Governor Clinton and me 
on the crucial issues of investment and open trade. My policies 
encourage both because my experience in business and foreign affairs has 
shown me that trade and investment create jobs.
    In contrast, my opponent and, regrettably, the Democratic Congress 
want to tax

[[Page 1436]]

both trade and investment. But common sense tells us that if you tax 
something you get less of it. Taxes stifle growth and chase away 
business and destroy jobs.
    I know that the other side has lots of slogans and policy buzzwords 
that sound appealing when you first hear them, but America cannot afford 
them. There's a difference between soundbites and sound policy. Talk is 
cheap until you get the bill.
    The reason I'm so pleased to be here is because PSE is an example of 
where I believe this whole country should go and how we should get 
there. Not so long ago, companies like PSE could be satisfied with a 
national market, sell your goods in the 50 States, leave it at that.
    That's no longer good enough. So a few years ago, you decided to 
take on the world. I'm told that now 35 percent or about a third of what 
you make is sold outside the borders of the United States and in 48 
different countries. Today your lightbars and sirens help save lives not 
only on the streets of Detroit and Peoria but in Israel, Hong Kong, and 
Spain. I was told that when the Kuwaitis, their country freed, went back 
in, that your products helped lead the way and keep the peace.
    You know, your story is a parable for our Nation's economic future. 
You've taken the challenges of foreign competition and reshaped them as 
opportunities, made your name literally a standard of excellence. You 
should be very, very proud of that, every single person that works here.
    I don't want to bore you with life history, but let me tell you how 
I first learned about competing in the world. I learned my economics in 
the oilfields of west Texas, painting rigs, and then for a while I drove 
tens of thousands of miles through the fields in Texas and New Mexico 
and then California and back to Texas. All around me in those days I saw 
towns and businesses start from nothing, for a simple reason: The world 
wanted what Texas had to offer, cotton, cattle, crude.
    Later on, when I started my own business, I shopped for investors on 
the west coast and the east coast, but I couldn't stop there. I traveled 
the world. We had a tiny company, smaller than PSE by far. And that 
little company exported our services, and I think success, to Japan, to 
Brunei, to South America, and to the Middle East. We created American 
jobs in the process.
    Now, I tried to build on that experience when I got involved in 
foreign relations. And I saw again how important America is to the world 
and how important the world is to America, not just for national 
security in the traditional sense but for economic security, for our own 
economic security, for creating jobs right here at home.
    We've held steady to this vision for 3 years now, and we have made 
solid progress. As we knock down trade barriers, American companies are 
rushing to meet the demand all around the world. More and more people 
are buying American. Since I took office, exports have increased by one-
third. America is the greatest exporter in the entire world, greatest 
one the world has ever seen, $422 billion of exports last year alone.
    Let me bring that right into the shop here in St. Louis, bring it 
close to home. In Missouri, exports are up 37 percent over the last 3 
years, $3.8 billion worth of goods shipped to 151 countries around the 
world. It looks like the Show Me State is showing the world.
    Now these numbers are impressive, but when you dig behind them, get 
in behind the math, you find the real benefit of the new world economy, 
and in a word, it is jobs. Here in Missouri, 150,000 jobs are supported 
by foreign trade. Across the country, more than 7 million Americans owe 
their jobs to exports.
    Everyone recognizes, everyone now, that the world is moving at a 
faster clip, but I see something more: It's moving our way. Right now 
we're building on the export success of the last 3 years. Two weeks ago 
we entered into an era, a new era, I'd say, of open trade. Along with 
Mexico and Canada, we concluded talks on the North American free trade 
agreement, called NAFTA, knocking down tariffs and creating one of the 
largest free-trade areas in the world, an integrated economy worth more 
than $6 trillion.
    Here in Missouri, you already export $2 billion worth of goods to 
Mexico and Canada. That's a lot of paychecks, but our

[[Page 1437]]

new agreement will create even more American jobs and make us even 
stronger in the race with our European and Asian competitors.
    NAFTA is a solid agreement. But right now, before the ink is even 
dry, the Democratic leadership in the Congress is calling for us to slap 
a tariff on any new trade that comes from NAFTA. Now, you've got to--
this is complicated, but just think about it for a minute. After long 
and tough negotiations with our closest trading partners, we've agreed 
to end tariffs. The protectionist Democrats say, ``Okay, fine. But first 
you have to put on a new tariff.''
    In other words, they think the way to eliminate trade barriers is 
build a new trade barrier. And they call this new tariff a transaction 
tax. It'll make it more expensive for businesses like yours to compete 
in the world economy. And it will discourage the creation of new jobs 
for your neighbors and, most important, for you. It turns the agreement 
on its head. They may think that's good politics, but it is, frankly, 
lousy policy.
    Now, you might ask, what about Governor Clinton on this, where does 
he stand? Just last week, he was asked about our new trade agreement, 
and he hemmed and hawed. At last he said, and I quote, ``When I have a 
definitive opinion, I'll say so.'' I hope nobody's planning to hold 
their breath on this one. [Laughter] I know politics. And I guess as a 
candidate you can be on both sides of every question. But as a 
President, you cannot. You have to make the tough decisions. And you 
shouldn't be on both sides of each issue.
    Governor Clinton can fudge all he wants, but the difference couldn't 
be clearer. The difference is based on two very different views of our 
future. My opponents see us knock down trade barriers, and they say, 
``Hold everything.'' They see us open new markets for American goods, 
and they say, ``Wait a minute. Maybe we can't compete. Maybe the 
American worker can't cut it. So let's pull down the blinds, lock the 
doors, and hope the world goes away.''
    Let me tell them something you already know in this plant. The 
American worker doesn't have to hide from anybody. Americans can 
outwork, outthink, outcompete anybody, anywhere, anytime. And that's 
what we're trying to do, expand these markets. That's something everyone 
in the world seems to understand, everybody but the protectionist 
Democrats.
    Over the last decade, we have literally seen a boom in foreign 
investment in the United States, even when things are very, very tough 
at home. We've seen a boom in that, businesses from all over the world 
coming here, setting up shop from Portland, Oregon, to Portland, Maine. 
These investors follow a simple logic: If you want the best science and 
universities in the world, if you want the best workers in the world, 
you have to come to the United States of America. And the result has 
been jobs. One out of every ten manufacturing workers in the United 
States works for a company supported by foreign investment. That's the 
bottom line: jobs for Americans, a growing economic pie for everyone.
    Now, here's one issue Governor Clinton does not fudge. He's proposed 
to increase taxes on foreign investment in the United States, even 
though those companies employ a total of 4\1/2\ million American 
workers. Governor Clinton says his tax increase will crack down on 
foreign companies. But that crackdown is more like an eviction notice. 
When those companies pack their bags, they'll take those jobs with them. 
I'm not going to let that happen.
    We've got to open markets. We've got to encourage investment here, 
encourage investment abroad, create new markets for the American worker.
    All I ask is that you just travel around this State. Go to New 
Madrid, talk to the 1,200 employees at Noranda Aluminum, or to Joplin, 
talk to the 425 employees at Atlas Powder. Go to any of the 244 foreign-
owned companies that employ 60,000 workers, 60,000 Missouri workers 
right here. And I don't think you're going to find any of those 
Missourians complaining about foreign investment. If Governor Clinton's 
tax hike had been in effect these past few years, those companies simply 
would not be here, and those jobs wouldn't have been created for the 
citizens of Missouri. And it's not just Missouri. Whether it's the 
Nissan plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, or the Honda plant in Marysville, 
Ohio, Governor Clin-

[[Page 1438]]

ton's tax increase would be felt in every region of every State in this 
country.
    And he could use a lesson in international relations. If he raises 
this tax, our foreign competitors are going to say, what's good for the 
goose is good for the gander. His tax hike is like a gilded invitation 
sent to foreign governments where U.S. companies do business. And the 
invitation reads: Please retaliate. You do not want these governments 
abroad to retaliate against Code 3, against your wonderful products, 
because of tariff policies or tax policies in the United States.
    His tax would not only destroy jobs and reduce investment here, it 
would do the same throughout the global economy, causing a worldwide 
contraction. I don't have to ask you to go back to the history books, 
but there was an occasion when that happened, right before the Great 
Depression. And we're fighting our way out of a tough recession now, and 
we don't need to throw more Americans out of work. So look carefully at 
this taxing.
    Those are the facts about Governor Clinton's tax: It will literally 
destroy jobs, discourage investment, and it threatens to start an 
economic war just as markets the world over are opening up to American 
products.
    We should ask why, given all this, Governor Clinton would ever 
propose such a tax in the first place. Well, I have a hunch. Today 
change is accelerating, and change breeds a certain uneasiness, 
skepticism, even fear. And by attacking the bogeymen of foreign 
investors, Governor Clinton hopes to exploit the darker impulses of this 
uncertain age: fear of the future, fear of the unknown, fear of 
foreigners.
    Now, I know his reputation for opportunism, as the kind of guy who 
will say anything, do anything for political gain. But he should 
understand what's at stake here. And if he doesn't understand it, let me 
tell him. Those are American jobs he's playing politics with. Those are 
American workers he's putting at risk. The American people simply won't 
buy it. The proudest people on Earth have never stooped to fearmongers 
before, and we must not stoop now to fearmongers.
    In talking about our future in the global economy, I mentioned, 
touched on my own experience because I want you to understand why I 
believe what I do about America's ability to compete. I've, with a lot 
of help, built a business, and I've dealt with foreign nations. I know 
how to bring it together. I know what it takes to make America secure 
and strong at home and abroad.
    So, you see, your vote will make a difference this year, not only in 
the Presidential election. When you look at your candidates for 
Congress, I'd like you to ask them something. Ask them where they stand 
on keeping America an export superpower, on our new trade agreement, and 
on Governor Clinton's new taxes on investment and jobs. Please listen to 
the answers very carefully. Don't let them talk any longer--talk one way 
in Missouri and another way back in Washington, DC.
    And this is important. Please follow up. Some of them will do more 
flip-flops than Ozzie Smith out there. [Laughter] I'll give you an 
example. Earlier this summer we lost a close battle in Congress for a 
constitutional amendment to balance the Federal budget, to discipline 
the Congress and discipline the executive branch. One of St. Louis' 
Representatives, Joan Kelly Horn, signed up--this is going to be hard 
for you to believe--signed up as a cosponsor, one of the leaders of, a 
cosponsor of the amendment to cause us to have to balance the budget. 
She signed up in April. And then when it came to the vote, she flipped. 
She voted against the very same amendment that she had cosponsored.
    Enough is enough. This fall ask her about that balanced budget 
amendment, and vote for Jim Talent, her opponent. And I know Mack 
Holekamp supports the balanced budget amendment, too. Vote for him. We 
need to make people do in Washington what they tell you in Missouri 
they're going to do.
    Well, anyway, those are the kind of choices we face this year, a 
choice between the patrons of the past and the architects of the future. 
I believe we can shape our future not by taxing trade but by opening 
markets, not by scaring off investment but by using it to create jobs 
for ourselves and our kids.

[[Page 1439]]

    I have great faith in America's future because I have faith in the 
American people and in the American worker. It is the same faith that 
brought me out to Texas more than 40 years ago, the same faith that 
brought me into public life, the same faith that has led me to fight for 
these open markets, because I know that no challenge is too great for 
the hearts and the minds of America.
    And lastly, do not listen to the pessimists who tell you that the 
United States of America is in decline. We are at the sunrise, not the 
sunset. And if we pursue these opening of markets, we will demonstrate 
to the entire world once again why everybody looks to America: peace, 
security, strength, freedom, democracy, and an ability to outwork 
anybody, anywhere, anytime.
    Thank you all very, very much. And God bless you.

                    Note: The President spoke at 9:10 a.m. on the shop 
                        floor at Public Safety Equipment, Inc. In his 
                        remarks, he referred to PSE officials Stephen 
                        Rose, engineer; Michael D. Latta, president; 
                        Edward F. Ryan, vice president, marketing; and 
                        Andrew G. Smith, vice president, engineering; 
                        and Ozzie Smith, St. Louis Cardinals baseball 
                        player.