[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992-1993, Book II)]
[September 23, 1992]
[Pages 1626-1627]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to the Bush-Quayle Independent Business Coalition in Greensboro, 
North Carolina
September 23, 1992

    Let me just, at the outset, thank Miller Hicks and Pat Harrison for 
serving as the cochairmen on our Independent Business Coalition. And 
also to Jack Laughery who--I'm not sure the statistics anymore qualify 
him as what we say is a small-business man or small-business person 
because of the success he's had. But he does know what it means to start 
a business from scratch and to fight the excesses of regulation and 
taxes. And of course, I'm just delighted to see everyone else here, 
small-business men and women who are supporting me. And Pat, thanks for 
the very kind words.
    In a few minutes I'm going to outline in some considerable detail 
some new initiatives, coupled with the ones we've already made, that I 
think will spur small-business investment in this country. And I think 
it is fitting to stand here with people who represent the very backbone 
of the American economy, people who know what it's like to meet a 
payroll, build an inventory, sell a product, and most of all, create 
jobs.
    I can tell you this, that of all the experiences in my life, 
starting a business and working for a living and meeting a payroll and 
fighting with the regulators trained me for this job better than any 
other facet of my career. Half of my adult life in the private sector, 
the other half, adult life, half of it also in the public sector. And I 
think that's a good qualification for President, to have met a payroll. 
You all have done that. And in just a few minutes, as I say, I'm going 
to spell out an agenda that will en-

[[Page 1627]]

courage entrepreneurial capitalism--entrepreneur, a big name for risk-
taking, starting something--a coherent agenda for sharpening our 
competitive edge as a nation so that we can win.
    As I'll say inside--and I don't want to give you both barrels in 
here--but Germany and Japan tax capital at one percent and zero. And 
we've got it way up there. They say this is a tax break for the rich--my 
eye. It stimulates investment and business creation, and it is very, 
very important. So it's much more than that one item in the Tax Code, 
too, and I'll talk more about that later.
    It's about helping small businesses hire new workers and increase 
productivity, which is vital if we're going to compete. And I'm 
confident we can compete. It's about freeing up the businesses from 
redtape and the excesses of regulation. And it's about helping people 
provide for their workers, but doing it--I'm talking about health care, 
training--but doing it in a way that just doesn't break the back of the 
small business that's struggling anyway and make them lay off workers in 
order to accommodate some Federal mandate from Washington, DC. That's 
about helping more people in the sum realize the American dream.
    So what I'm doing is asking people to compare our agenda versus 
Governor Clinton's agenda. He relies heavily--and this is not a charge I 
can't back up--on Federal mandates, dictating from Washington how leave 
should be handled or how health care should be handled, and we don't 
need that. Our proposals are not that; they are structuring the tax 
system so as we can encourage the creation and success of more small 
businesses. He relies an awful lot on what I think would result in 
terrible redtape, and we don't. And most importantly, his plans tax 
jobs. And I think ours create jobs.
    We've been through a tough time in this country. As you can see from 
recent events in the world, actually, the American economy is doing 
better than most of the global economy. So they can lower all the blame 
they want on me, but what I'm trying to do is guarantee that the 
recovery, which is coming and, frankly, working in some places, will not 
be set back by more Government control and Government answers. That's a 
big difference. And that's what will come out on these debates.
    So, thank you again for this warm endorsement. Thank you for what 
you're doing to create jobs and, through that, helping men and women in 
this country as well as demonstrating what true capitalism really means, 
true risk-taking really means. I'm proud to be here, back in this State. 
Now, we're going to go in and spell out in some detail a plan that I 
hope captures the imaginations of small-business men and women all 
across this country. We're with you, and now I want to demonstrate it as 
cohesively and as forcefully as I possibly can.
    Thank you all for being with us.

                    Note: The President spoke at 9:25 a.m. in the 
                        Biltmore Room of the Joseph S. Koury Convention 
                        Center. In his remarks, he referred to Jack 
                        Laughery, chairman and chief executive officer, 
                        Hardee's Food Systems.