    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [February 13, 1993]
    [Pages 102-103]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    February 13, 1993

        Good afternoon, my fellow Americans. On Wednesday night I will
    present my plan to generate jobs and increase the incomes of the
    American people. This morning I want to talk with you for a few moments
    about that program, its goals, and the thinking that went into it.
        As I have traveled our country over the last year and a half, a
    single theme has emerged repeatedly from all of you in every region and
    from every walk of life. That theme is the need for change: bold,
    comprehensive change to reverse the trickle-down policies of the 1980's
    and restore the vitality of the American dream.
        Over the last 12 years, while the middle class saw their tax burdens
    rise and their incomes go down, the wealthiest Americans, whose incomes
    went up, often by paperwork manipulation and moving jobs overseas, saw
    their taxes go down. Higher deficits came with lower taxes on the
    wealthy. And those deficits forced Government to cut back on essential
    services to the middle class, the working poor, and the neediest
    Americans. Good families in embattled neighborhoods saw their children
    getting by with outdated school books, going to school in neighborhoods
    that were ever more dangerous, while the wealthiest Americans in
    protected communities watched their bankbooks grow. Our economy suffered
    through two grinding recessions, and our job-creating engine stalled.
    The status quo simply isn't working for working families anymore.
        The experts say we're in a robust economic recovery. And to be fair,
    there are some good signs: our best companies doing better, people being
    able to refinance their homes, and consumer confidence on the upswing
    since the election.
        But the jobs just aren't there yet. The unemployment rate has been
    over 7 percent for 14 months now, and we're 3 million jobs behind where
    we ordinarily would be in a real economic

    [[Page 103]]

    recovery. That's why change is so important. And the risk of doing the
    same old thing is far higher than the cost of change. If we don't
    change, the American economy and the living standards of our broad
    middle class will continue to decline, and many of us and most of our
    children will not enjoy the standard of living that past Americans have.
        Change is never easy. It requires us to forsake the old order and to
    embrace a new one. Change means asking everyone to pull his or her own
    weight for the common good. But change is our only choice.
        Under my economic program, we will build an America where even the
    most privileged pay their fair share, not because we want to soak the
    rich but because we want to stop soaking the middle class and ask
    everybody to bear a fair share of the load; an America where the most
    impoverished move off welfare and go back to work; an America where
    middle class families who work hard and play by the rules are rewarded
    in their own lives and can pass on to their children a more prosperous
    future than they inherited from their parents; and yes, an America where
    Government is not immune from the sacrifices it asks of our people.
        Just this week I cut the White House staff by 25 percent and saved
    $10 million compared to the budgets of my predecessors. I've ordered
    further administrative cuts in Federal departments and agencies of $9
    billion over the next 4 years, with more to follow from tough and smart
    management.
        I'm also ordering an investigation into the enormous cash bonuses
    paid to officials of the departing administration. In some cases it was
    done just minutes before I was sworn into office. While I deeply admire
    the dedicated members of our Federal services, we simply cannot have
    extravagant payments made to departing bureaucrats and political cronies
    at a time when most people are tightening their belts.
        If Government is going to ask the American people to contribute, it
    must lead by example and learn to do more while spending less. That is a
    challenge I have embraced and one I will present to the Congress on
    Wednesday.
        Next, we will take the battle to the special interests. We will
    demand that those who see the Tax Code as a table game to be won rather
    than a social compact to be respected pay their fair share of taxes. I
    will keep my pledge to restore fairness to the Tax Code. We will raise
    taxes on the wealthiest individuals and companies in our society. That
    will be one of their contributions to create the high-skill, high-wage
    economy that we seek. And I will say to the drug companies, the
    insurance companies, and the others who profit from the status quo, they
    must join our cause to make comprehensive reforms in our medical care
    system. The time has come for all Americans to have affordable health
    care, a real chance at a healthy life.
        In return for these contributions, we are determined to create long-
    term, good-paying private sector jobs. We will encourage the development
    of new technologies and find markets for them all across America and
    around the world. We will provide special incentives to new businesses
    and small businesses to create the jobs of the future. We will lower
    their costs of capital so they can expand and succeed. We will upgrade
    the skills of the long-term unemployed and the rest of our work force.
    And when military cutbacks hurt our enterprises, we'll help defense
    workers to find new careers and to continue productive lives.
        That's what my plan is all about: a leaner, more efficient, more
    responsive Government; a ladder of contribution that demands the most
    from those who have the most; investment incentives to help businesses
    build for the future and create jobs for all Americans; education and
    training to prepare workers and students for new jobs in a new economy;
    a reformed medical system that restores peace of mind to family life; an
    America where every citizen has a right to a prosperous economy and a
    shared patriotic stake in the work to make it grow.
        That is a program for economic change you have justly demanded. Now
    it's time for all Americans to join the cause and embrace the change. It
    is time to restore the American dream.
        Thank you, and God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:06 p.m. from the Oval Office at the
    White House.