    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [March 23, 1996]
    [Pages 489-491]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    March 23, 1996

        Good morning. Today I want to talk to you about upholding our
    values, expanding our economy, and moving our country forward together;
    about giving every American family the opportunity to succeed in the new
    global economy; and about what some American businesses are doing and
    what more American businesses can do to increase economic opportunity
    and security for their employees and their families in a way that is
    good for business and grows our economy.
        In the last 3 years I have worked hard to give the American people a
    Government that is more responsible, that promotes economic opportunity,
    brings Americans together, and challenges all Americans to take
    responsibility for themselves, their families, their communities, and
    their country. I've challenged parents to get more involved in their
    children's education. I've challenged welfare recipients to move from
    welfare to work. I've challenged the entertainment industry to put our
    children first and voluntarily rate the programs they put on television
    so parents can protect their children from excessive violence or other
    inappropriate material.
        That same ethic of responsibility must guide all of us in our work
    lives as well. And I believe American business, the engine of our
    prosperity and the envy of the world, clearly has a role to play.
        We've made much progress already. Three years ago our economy was
    drifting. The deficit was twice as high as it is today. Unemployment was
    high and job growth was very low. I took office determined to change our
    economic course. Since then we've cut the deficit in half, invested in
    the education and training of our people, expanded exports through tough
    trade agreements, and reduced the size of Government by over 200,000
    while cutting regulations, giving more responsibilities to State and
    local governments, limiting the abuse of lobbying, without cutting
    essential services.
        And the American people have responded. In 3 years and a month, our
    economy has created 8.4 million new jobs, and every year more and

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    more of them are good, higher paying jobs. The combined unemployment,
    inflation, and home mortgage rates are at their lowest levels in 27
    years. We've halted the decade-long slide in real average hourly wages.
    Every year entrepreneurs have started a record number of new small
    businesses, and in key industries like autos and semiconductors, America
    now leads the world again.
        We are moving in the right direction, but we must do more to grow
    the economy and to support America's working families. Too many
    Americans are still working harder and harder just to keep up, and they
    worry that they'll be left behind by the new economy. We have to make
    sure all Americans who are willing to work for it can be winners of
    economic change and that all of our people share in the benefits of our
    growing economy.
        Of course, Government must play a role. We must finish the job of
    balancing the budget in 7 years to bring interest rates down even
    further. We should increase the minimum wage. We should ensure access to
    health care, to education, to training, to pensions for our people. We
    should reform welfare to move people from welfare to work.
        But we know that business has a role to play, too, if we want people
    to have better lives, provide for their families, and face the future
    with confidence. Let me be clear: The most fundamental responsibility
    for any business is to make a profit, to create jobs and incomes by
    competing and growing. After all, in the last 3 years, nearly all the
    new jobs created in the world's advanced economies, nearly all of them,
    were made in America by American business. We recognize, too, that not
    every business can afford to do more than worry about the bottom line,
    especially a lot of small businesses. But many of America's most
    successful businesses have shown that you can do well by doing right by
    employees and their families. Let me mention five ways businesses can
    show good citizenship toward their employees.
        First, they can be friendly to families. We know that most people
    play more than one role; we're employees and parents, too. And people
    have to be able to succeed at home and at work for America to succeed.
    So, many companies call for employees' flexible work schedules, help
    with child care, or good leave policies. And every business should let
    their employees know what is already their right under the Family and
    Medical Leave Act I signed into law: to take some time off without
    losing your job in case of a family emergency.
        Second, businesses can give their employees health care and pension
    benefits. We're trying hard here in Washington to pass the Kassebaum-
    Kennedy bill so that workers don't lose their insurance when they change
    jobs or when someone in the family gets sick. We passed pension reform
    legislation to protect the pensions of 40 million workers, and we're
    working to get money that is owed to pension funds paid in. We're also
    proposing to simplify rules so that small businesses can provide
    pensions for their workers and the owners of the businesses more easily.
    But business has to do more, too.
        Third, businesses can invest in their most important asset, their
    employees. The most successful companies do give workers broad
    opportunity for improved education and training, both within the firm
    and outside it. Every worker should know that whatever the new economy
    brings, he or she will be ready. When workers lose their jobs, I want
    Government to be there with a ``GI bill'' for America's workers, a
    voucher worth up to $2,500 a year so that people can immediately be
    retrained. When people need further education, I want Government to
    provide up to $10,000 a year in tax deduction for the cost of education
    after high school. But companies should do their part, too, with
    education and training. Upgrading the skills of our existing work force
    is the single best way to raise the incomes of America's workers and the
    productivity of our businesses and the growth of our economy.
        Fourth, businesses can work in partnership with their employees.
    That can mean giving employees a greater voice in the production
    process. It can mean collective bargaining. It can mean sharing the
    benefits of good times through stock bonuses, employee ownerships, and
    other means of gains sharing. And when layoffs are necessary for the
    long-term health of the company, the best companies provide adequate
    notice and good severance so employees have a chance at a new job with a
    good income.
        Fifth, every company in America has a duty to provide a safe
    workplace. No one should have to put themselves at risk just to put food
    on the table at home. Government has a part to play, too, with the
    Occupational Safety and Health Administration. But the safest workplaces
    are those that work in partnership, where the value at work is a safe
    and healthy workplace.

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        These acts of good corporate citizenship are good for employees, but
    many, many thousands of American businesses have proved they're good for
    business, too. Our changing economy puts a real premium on skill,
    ingenuity, creativity, and loyalty of the work force. The quality and
    productivity of America's workers are our greatest source of economic
    strength.
        Family flexible workplaces, health care and pensions, training,
    partnership, safe workplaces: five challenges many of America's best
    businesses are now meeting. We want others to follow their lead.
    Government should support them in doing so. That's the way to create
    strong, lasting growth for our economy, and that's the way to make sure
    that every American, every American, has the chance to reap the rewards
    of economic change and economic growth.
        We can meet these economic challenges the way we best meet all our
    challenges, by working together as partners, all of us doing our part.
    Remember, the greatest lesson of our democracy is this: When we are
    divided, we defeat ourselves, but when we are united, America never
    loses.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The address was recorded at 6:54 p.m. on March 22 in the Roosevelt
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 23.