[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

[[Page 490]]

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.

[[Page 491]]

    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.