    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [March 27, 1993]
    [Pages 366-367]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    March 27, 1993

        Good morning. Last November you demanded a new spirit of action and
    an end to gridlock in Washington. Well, what you demanded is finally
    taking hold. The House and the Senate are now completing work on the
    heart of our bold economic plan for new directions: to create jobs, to
    increase incomes, to bring down our terrible national debt.
        The actions taking place in Congress are a welcome departure from
    the status quo of the past. For 12 years, our Government was paralyzed
    by partisan gridlock, our economy caught in the grip of powerful special
    interests who bent the system so that they could win at our expense. Our
    deficits went up, and the creation of high-paying jobs went down. And
    good families found themselves working harder, paying more in taxes, and
    bringing less money home.
        When you sent me and our administration here, you wanted a plan of
    action, and we've provided it. Our plan is based on this simple
    principle: The best social program is a good job, and the best way to
    reduce the deficit is by cutting spending and making smart investments
    to grow the economy.
        Last week, the House of Representatives endorsed this plan. And this
    week, the Senate did the same, approving our budget resolution in record
    time, just 36 days after we took it to you, the American people.
        I salute our supporters on Capitol Hill for their outstanding work.
    And also I want to thank Vice President Gore, who's worked tirelessly to
    enlist lawmakers in the cause of change. We should all be pleased that
    we're on our way toward putting this plan in motion.
        Before the Congress goes home for Easter recess, I'm counting on
    them to complete their work on the plan, to finish the budget and pass
    our proposals to create good jobs in the short term. The progress we've
    made shows we're beating the status quo. And you have given us the clout
    to do it.
        We've come a long way in 9\1/2\ weeks. Interest rates are down. The
    power of investment is returning to the economy. Confidence is strong.
    But I won't rest until we right the economy and guarantee for future
    generations the prosperity that should be the birthright of every
    American.
        We can begin with this program, because the best way to build the
    economy and lay the foundation for the future is to create 8 million
    jobs in the next 4 years and by adopting the immediate investments that
    will create a half a million jobs in the near term. That's what this
    plan

    [[Page 367]]

    does.
        To create jobs and to make our economy more productive, we're
    planning to build and repair new roads and transit systems. We want to
    place hundreds of thousands of Americans in productive summer jobs and
    get young people the education they need while they're working. And
    we're challenging the private sector to create more and giving them the
    incentives to do it.
        We want to fund future-oriented research and equip our Nation's
    young scientists and engineers with the skills to excel in high-
    technology fields. We want to convert military technology for peaceful
    uses that will benefit all of us and help communities hard hit by base
    closings and cutbacks on defense contracts. We want to retrain the
    defense workers put out of work by the end of the cold war. These people
    are patriots, and they deserve nothing less than a chance to work in
    civilian jobs that will earn them the kind of money they earned
    protecting our national defense.
        Some people say these investments are unnecessary and costly. Their
    only alternative is to do nothing, accept things just the way they are,
    and hope, with no Government action in partnership with the private
    sector, somehow things will get better. These friends of the status quo
    have tried everything in recent days to show that we don't need new
    investments. But they've forgotten: We tried cutting investments for
    years. We forgot about the human equation, the necessity to train and
    educate people. And guess what? We didn't get jobs.
        We still have a jobless economic recovery. If this were even an
    average recovery, we'd have 3 million more Americans working today. Many
    of the jobs that were created last month were part-time jobs. And the
    unemployment rate is still higher today than it was at the bottom of the
    recession.
        This job drought has put individuals and families under great
    stress. Americans don't want handouts; they just want a hand up, a
    chance to work and to provide for their own. And our plan does just
    that. In doing so, we'll be on our way to a real job-creating recovery
    that gets the incomes of American workers growing again.
        We have to raise the living standards of our people now and in the
    long run. To keep our preeminence in the world economy, we have to
    create a smarter work force, with lifelong learning that trains all our
    people for better, higher paying jobs. And we need to develop the new
    technologies that are farsighted, that will create the high-wage jobs of
    today and tomorrow. If we're shortsighted today, we'll be blindsided
    tomorrow.
        That's why I'm working hard, not just on this economic plan,
    although it is the centerpiece of our efforts, but on other fronts too:
    from controlling health care costs and providing the security of health
    care to all Americans, to moving people from welfare into jobs, to
    correcting the way we finance campaigns to bring the people in and move
    the special interests out. Each step of the way, I'm trying to listen to
    you. What happens on the short stretch of road between 1600 Pennsylvania
    Avenue and Capitol Hill is only meaningful if we're acting for you and
    with you. This is the promise of our new plan for new directions.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. from the Oval Office at the
    White House.