    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [May 11, 1999]
    [Pages 738-743]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in a Roundtable Discussion on New Markets in Atlanta, Georgia
    May 11, 1999

        The President. Thank you. Well, first, Mayor Campbell, Mayor Jackson, Mayor
    Young, my friends, it's wonderful to be back in
    Atlanta. I will be very brief because I want to spend most of my time
    listening to our panelists, but I'd like to try to put what the mayor
    has said into the perspective of what we're trying to do with our
    administration. And I have with me our Housing and Urban Development
    Secretary Andrew Cuomo; our Small Business
    Administrator Aida Alvarez; my Deputy Chief of
    Staff Maria Echaveste. We had other members
    of the Cabinet with us earlier today, along with my National Economic
    Adviser, Gene Sperling, who helped to put this
    whole event today together.
        But let me try to tell you why I'm here. When I became President in
    1993 I had traveled around America and I had seen with my own eyes for
    many years, as a Governor and then as a candidate for President, people
    able to start businesses in places that had high unemployment or low
    income or other economic problems, if they just had access to capital
    and they had the right technical support, marketing support, loan
    guarantees, or whatever.
        So when we started our administration we put into our first economic
    plan this whole idea of empowerment zones which would give tax credits,
    loan guarantees, technical assistance, and direct investment, and
    community development financial institutions which would make direct

    [[Page 739]]

    loans to people who otherwise might not have access to them.
        We've also been greatly aided in this national endeavor by some of
    our own financial institutions, and I think the leading one plainly has
    been NationsBank in terms of what you have done to try to loan money to
    people who couldn't get it otherwise.
        Now, after 6 years, watching these empowerment zones work, we can
    see examples like this. But what I want to say to you now is, I think
    it's important that we try to take this example to the whole Nation. Our
    economy now is in the best shape it's been in at least a generation;
    some people think it's the best economy America has ever had. We have
    the lowest recorded rates of unemployment since we've been keeping
    separate statistics for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans. We
    have record numbers of new small businesses starting in each of the last
    6 years. We've got the lowest peacetime unemployment since 1957.
        Now, that's all good, but we also know that we have neighborhoods in
    big cities, we have small- and medium-sized cities, we have rural areas
    and Native American reservations where there has been almost no new
    investment, almost no new businesses, almost no new jobs. So I am trying
    to highlight, first of all, for the American people, you and people like
    you all over the country, so people will know this can be done.
        Secondly, I'm trying to build support for an initiative I have
    before the Congress now, which is called the new markets initiative,
    designed to give tax credits to people who put equity money, investment
    money, into low per capita income areas, high unemployment areas in our
    country, and to provide loan guarantees, up to two-thirds of the total
    investment for people who will do that, and to increase our community
    development loaning all over the country, not just in the empowerment
    zones, because I believe we ought not to leave anybody behind when we go
    into the 21st century. I think that every American who is willing to
    work ought to have a chance to do it.
        And so, that's why I'm here. I want people to see you and believe it
    can be done in their neighborhoods, in their communities, rural or
    urban. I want to listen to you, and I want to try to build support.
        The last point I want to make is, in July I am going to take 2 or 3
    days and go to places in America that need this help and try to
    highlight for the American people, in the midst of all our prosperity,
    both the obligation and the opportunity we have to do better. And I'm
    going to ask the American business leaders to help me. And a lot of
    these folks came with me today from all over the country. I just want to
    mention who is here. They're all the leaders of their various
    organizations.
        Duane Ackerman from Bell South and Dan
    Amos from AFLAC, both of Georgia; Don
    Carty of American Airlines; Emma
    Chappell of the United Bank of Philadelphia;
    Jon Corzine of Goldman Sachs; Ted
    Gifford of Bank of Boston; Martin
    Grass of Rite Aid; Dan Hesse, AT&T Wireless; Richard Huber, Aetna; Debra Lee of BET; Leo
    Mullin of Delta Airlines, another home base here;
    Frank Newman of Bankers Trust; Maceo
    Sloan of Sloan Financial Group; Sy
    Sternberg of New York Life; and Sandy
    Weill, head of Citigroup. I'd like to ask
    all them to stand. They are giving a day of their lives to try to help
    replicate this elsewhere, and we thank them. [Applause]
        Now, that's enough of our talk. We want to hear from you. Who would
    like to go first? I also want to say, I've got some of this good coffee
    from the Cameroon, and I gave myself a refill on the way out here; I
    hope you'll forgive me. And I had a little of that sweet potato
    cheesecake, and I have lifted things from almost every entrepreneur
    here. This is a beautiful market, and I want to thank all of those who
    had anything to do with it. This is something the entire city can be
    proud of, and especially because of its roots to the rich history of
    20th century Atlanta. So I'm very pleased.
        But I would like to hear from all of you now. Who would like to go
    first and talk about what your experience was, how you got your business
    started, or what progress has been made here? Would you like to start?

    [Jason Slaughter, president and chief
    executive officer, S&W International Food Specialties, thanked the
    President and stated that if people were given opportunities, they would
    do well. He explained how his business had been helped by the
    empowerment zones, the welfare to work program, and the Small Business
    Administration, saying it had grown from a $150,000 company with 12
    employees to a $13 million company with over 60 employees in 3\1/2\
    years.]

    [[Page 740]]

        The President. Give him another hand.
    That was great. [Applause] You were great. Jason, you might be
    interested to know that earlier today when we were meeting in the White
    House, a lot of these business leaders--and many of them have thousands
    and thousands of employees--but they repeatedly said to us, ``Look, what
    we've got to do is to get capital out there to folks. They need that
    more than anything else. If they can get that first investment money--
    because you can't borrow it all unless you're able to put something up--
    that will make a big difference.''
        And you're living proof of it. The way I
    figure it, if you can keep growing at this rate, by the time I'm ready
    to draw Social Security you will be a billionaire, and you can hire me
    to sort of work in my off hours. [Laughter] I accept right now in
    advance. I'll be here. You get ready. That's great.
        Would you like to talk a little bit about the role of your bank here
    and what you're trying to do?

    [NationsBank representative Sally Adams Daniels stated that the bank had opened its community
    development operation in 1993 and had redeveloped over 4,200 units of
    affordable housing in Atlanta through partnerships with local community
    development corporations.]

        The President. Let me say, many years ago, before I ever became
    President, my wife and I had a long talk one night with Hugh
    McColl about investment in low income
    areas in America. And we told him--we talked about the Grameen Bank in
    Bangladesh, which basically was the pioneering bank in the Third World,
    starting very poor people out in businesses and actually making good
    money doing that.
        And both Hillary and I at various times in the last, probably 10
    years, have had other conversations with him about it and then with
    others involved with NationsBank. But I was particularly pleased that
    not long after you announced your merger plans, that the bank's 10-year
    plan for reinvestment in communities, including direct loans to provide
    initial capital to people who otherwise wouldn't have it, was announced.
        And I want to tell you I very much appreciate that. I think it will
    make a huge difference. These people prove that they need a hand up, and
    they do right well if they get it.
        Vivian, would you like to talk about your experience?

    [Vivian Reid, owner of the Kaffee Shop,
    described how she and family members had started the business, which
    thrived, in part, because new market initiatives had provided others in
    the area with the means to support each other.]

        The President. Thank you. Let me say, I think you hit on an important point, because I can just say, I
    was really looking forward to coming down here because I've always loved
    Atlanta and I love the history of the place. But when I got here, I saw
    a lot of things I didn't know were here, so I think you do need a
    marketing plan that tells people what it's like now and where you're
    going with it.
        You know, you had so many different kinds of just food
    establishments, just different kinds. And the other thing that impressed
    me--you talked about the family businesses--the other thing that
    impressed me was the diversity of people working here. You have a lot of
    Asian-American families here. You have--there is a lady back there who
    is in a food store who told me she is from Ghana, and she said
    ``Akwaaba''--when I saw the Ghana word for welcome, which I first heard
    about a half a million people in Accra--and I think this is something
    that ought to be highlighted, that there are people here from all over
    the world, so that you get the best of Atlanta's past and a picture of
    Atlanta's future here. And I think there is a way for you to market it
    that would even increase the rate of growth that the merchants are
    enjoying.
        That's what I'm going to do when I get out of the White House, go
    around and give people advice like this.
        Go ahead. Ken.

    [Kenneth Bleakley, executive director,
    North Yards Business Park, stated that his organization wanted to try to
    create more jobs in the inner city as one of the legacies of the Olympic
    Games. He described how they had been successful with the help of the
    empowerment zone program and environmental funding from the Department
    of Housing and Urban Development.]

        The President. Give him a hand. That
    was great. [Applause] I would like to emphasize just one of the points
    that Ken made. And that is the funds the Federal Government put into
    environmental cleanup. Most people don't ever

    [[Page 741]]

    think about this as an economic development issue. But one of the things
    that has retarded the comeback of many areas in our cities are so-called
    brownfields, areas that have been subject to some measure of
    environmental pollution and areas, therefore, that can't get new
    investment and new support and can't even very often get permits to do
    what people want to do unless the cleanup is done.
        But if the people who want to put the plan in or the business in
    have to bear the cleanup costs, then the financing doesn't work out.
    There's no reasonable way they can make the economics of their business
    work in the early years. So this is something the Vice President pointed out to me fairly early on in our work
    together, because he was heading this empowerment task force that we
    had. And we've spent a lot of time and effort trying to give communities
    funds to clean up the brownfields, because--and it's just breathtaking
    what we've found happens, the way it sort of cascades on itself--the
    money. And I appreciate what you're doing.
        Mr. Bleakley. Thank you.
        The President. And congratulations to you, too. That's great.
        Now, this is my cheesecake lady who
    destroyed my diet today, and I loved every bite of it. Do you want to
    tell us a little about your experience here and how you got started and
    what you're doing?

    [Sonya Jones, owner of the Sweet Auburn Bread
    Co., stated that the empowerment zone agencies were very aggressive in
    helping clients get projects off the ground. She described her problems
    getting qualified employees, citing the need to offer benefits to
    attract them.]

        The President. Let me ask you this: Are the
    principal needs you have, to attract and keep good employees, child care
    and health care?
        Ms. Jones. Definitely.
        The President. Those are the principal ones?
        Ms. Jones. Yes.
        The President. One more than the other?
        Ms. Jones. They're right together, actually,
    I would say.
        The President. I do believe this year, at the end of the year when
    Congress has to pass the budget, I still think we have quite a good
    chance to pass our health care initiative--I mean our child care
    initiative, which would provide more tax credits and more direct
    subsidies for people with modest incomes to afford quality child care.
    And one of the things--there must be a child care center very close to
    this market with all these people down here. If there's not, that's
    something that ought to be looked at. But when you get a certain number
    of employees in the market and then people near here, you may be able to
    quite economically establish something for the neighborhood if there's
    not.
        But if we pass this program, people like the people who would get a
    job working for you will have access to a lot more financial help to pay
    for that child care.
        On the health care side, I really believe the only places that I
    know that have been really, really successful at this are people that
    have offered pool coverage to small businesses so, in effect, both the
    employers and the employees can buy health care at the same cost, more
    or less, per person that some of these large employers can. I don't
    think there is presently available another alternative to that, and so I
    think it's--except for when some States allow people who make relatively
    low incomes to buy into the Medicare/Medicaid program for--you know,
    they pay something but not the full range.
        Those are the only two options that I'm aware of. But if there's not
    such a pooled arrangement here in this area, that's the next thing you
    ought to try to get the empowerment zone to organize. They can't do it
    until they have a certain number of employees, because it doesn't work
    economically. But once you cross a certain threshold with a certain
    profile for the employees, and a lot of them are young restaurant
    workers and healthy--you know, for example, you can do this and make the
    economics work. So that's something I think the empowerment zone can do.
        Mr. Aderhold, do you want to say something there?

    [Mr. John E. Aderhold, chairman, Aderhold
    Properties, Inc., pointed out that the community did have a day care
    center, but that it operated on a small scale and needed to be
    expanded.]

        The President. You know, it's very interesting. One of the things
    that--I saw a study of Georgia about--oh, this was 6-8 months ago, we
    were looking at the impact of the welfare reform law. And at the time,
    one of the big problems was that Georgia was growing jobs like crazy,
    but most of them were growing in the suburbs. And

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    most of the people who were losing their welfare benefits lived in the
    cities, and there wasn't an adequate transportation link.
        Here's something that's been done here that has the potential to
    grow where are all of you are working folks in the urban areas. And
    there may be some way that the State's welfare reform program--and I
    think the person who ran it at least for Governor Miller is here--I
    don't know if the commissioner is here
    or not, but he was out at the airport. But there may be some way that
    they can use some of the money that they still have from welfare reform
    to subsidize child care centers in the city of Atlanta around here.
        Because when we--when I signed the welfare reform bill, one of the
    things we did was we gave every State the amount of money they were
    receiving in February of 1994, when welfare caseloads were at an all-
    time high. Now, they have dropped more than at any period in history.
    They're almost 50 percent lower than they were in February of '94. The
    State still has that dollar amount. So they've got the same amount of
    money they had then, minus inflation, which hasn't been very much. So it
    may be that you could go there and try to get them to help the
    empowerment zone locate child care here for you.
        Mr. Aderhold?

    [Mr. Aderhold described how the Fulton
    Cotton Mill project had progressed, renovating 12 acres of dilapidated
    territory and converting it into an area which was helping to draw
    people back into the city.]

        The President. Well, thank you for
    taking a chance on it. And I think that, if someone like you is willing
    to take a chance of that magnitude, at least the modest amounts of money
    that the Government put up is the least we can do to share the early
    risk.

    [Mr. Aderhold then added that the way the
    city cooperated in dispensing the funds was key to the project's
    success, and he thanked Mayor Bill Campbell of
    Atlanta for his assistance.]

        The President. Thank you. [Applause] Yes, give them a hand. That's
    great.
        I didn't mention this earlier, but we are having, 2 weeks from
    today--maybe, and maybe it starts 2 weeks from yesterday; but either 2
    weeks from yesterday or today, we're having our annual empowerment zone
    and enterprise community national convention that the Vice President
    hosts, and we're doing it in south Texas
    this year, in a small town, rural empowerment zone area we had down
    there. I think it's in McAllen. And it's a great place to go if you've
    never been there.
        And we're going to all gather down there, and, Mayor, if either you're going, or whoever is going from Atlanta
    representing you--I'm sure you'll be represented there--I think the
    point that John just made is one that ought to be made there. Because we
    have now had enough experience with these empowerment zones that we can
    see differences in the rate of effectiveness. And I think this is a
    point that ought to be hammered home.
        So if either you go, or if you will instruct whoever is going on
    behalf of Atlanta to make that point, I'd appreciate it.
        Tricia?
        Tricia Donegan. Hi, welcome. Thanks for
    coming to Atlanta. You're the first guy to get me off a day of work so--
    [laughter]--since we've opened.
        The President. Glad to do it.

    [Tricia Donegan, owner of the Eureka
    Restaurant, described how she had started her restaurant business in
    1995, with assistance from Federal funds to help get it off the ground,
    and how it was expanding into other empowerment zones in the city.]

        The President. Thank you, that was great.
    I said this morning when I was meeting with all the CEO's, I don't think
    any of us ever conceived this as a charitable operation. We thought that
    if we could build a community where everybody had a chance to make a
    living, that it would help all the rest of us, that we would all be
    stronger if people who were willing to work and had skills and had gifts
    to give to the community had a chance to do it and be paid an
    appropriate amount for it.
        I think that this is a--it is really--America is very good at
    creating jobs. And compared to almost every other country in the world
    with an advanced economy, we've got a very low unemployment rate. But we
    still have a problem when places have been down for a long time, going
    back and getting that economic opportunity there and bringing people
    into the circle of success.
        And if we can't do it now when the economy is good, we'll never get
    around to doing it. So

    [[Page 743]]

    that's why I wanted people to see and hear all of your stories and your
    philosophy and see how this can work, because this is what we would like
    to do in every community in America where it is not now being done.
        Mr. Mayor?

    [Mayor Campbell thanked the President for
    bringing the business leaders to see how the inner city was flourishing.
    He stated that the President's urban policy, whether the COPS program or
    the empowerment zones, had effectively contributed to the city's growth
    and well-being.]

        The President. Let's give all our participants a hand here. They're
    great. Thank you. Great job.

    Note: The discussion began at 2:55 p.m. at the Sweet Auburn Market. In
    his remarks, the President referred to Maynard Jackson and Andrew Young,
    former mayors of Atlanta; F. Duane Ackerman, chairman and chief
    executive officer, Bell South; Daniel P. Amos, president and chief
    executive officer, AFLAC, Inc.; Donald J. Carty, chairman, president,
    and chief executive officer, American Airlines; Emma Chappell, chairman,
    president, and chief executive officer, United Bank of Philadelphia; Jon
    Stevens Corzine, chairman, Goldman Sachs; Charles K. Gifford, chairman
    and chief executive officer, Bank of Boston; Martin Grass, chairman and
    chief executive officer, Rite Aid Corp.; Dan Hesse, president and chief
    executive officer, AT&T Wireless; Richard L. Huber, chairman, president,
    and chief executive officer, Aetna, Inc.; Debra Lee, president and chief
    operating officer, BET Holdings; Leo Mullin, president, chairman, and
    chief executive officer, Delta Airlines; Frank Newman, chairman and
    chief executive officer, Bankers Trust; Maceo Sloan, chairman,
    president, and chief executive officer, Sloan Financial Group; Sy
    Sternberg, chairman, president, and chief executive officer, New York
    Life; Sanford I. Weill, chairman and co-chief executive officer,
    Citigroup, Inc.; Hugh L. McColl, Jr., chairman and chief executive
    officer, Bank of America Corp.; and Georgia Commissioner of Labor
    Michael L. Thurmond, who had been director, Division of Family and
    Children Services, Georgia Department of Human Resources, under former
    Gov. Zell Miller. The transcript released by the Office of the Press
    Secretary also included the remarks of the roundtable participants.