    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
    [February 13, 2003]
    [Pages 165-169]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in a Discussion With Small-Business Owners in Jacksonville,
    Florida
    February 13, 2003

        The President. Thank you all. Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm sure
    glad I came. [Laughter] It's--I want to talk about some of the
    challenges which face our country. A little later on, I'm going to go
    speak to those souls who wear the uniform of the United States military
    and thank them for their service to the country and tell them we've got
    all the confidence in their capacity to help us keep the peace and
    promote freedom.
        It's clear we have challenges abroad, particularly the challenge to
    keep the peace, to secure our homeland, to adjust our way of thinking to
    make sure that we do everything we can to say with complete confidence
    that we'll protect America. We'll protect this generation of Americans,
    and we'll secure the homeland and make the world more peaceful, so that
    future generations of Americans can grow up in peace.
        That's a big challenge. And equally as big a challenge is to make
    sure our economy is strong so that America is a hopeful place, that our
    economy is strong enough to make sure the entrepreneurial spirit is
    alive and well--and today we're going to talk to some entrepreneurs who
    are living the American Dream--that our economy is strong enough to make
    sure moms and dads have got the capacity to save and invest for their
    children if that's what they choose to do, that our economy is strong
    enough so that people who are looking for work can find a job.
        And that's also a challenge we face. Today you'll hear me talk about
    the plan that I have asked Congress to approve. I want the folks on the
    stage up here to share with me and with you and others listening what
    that plan means for their lives. In Washington, we spend a lot of time
    talking about numbers. I like to remind people that behind each number
    is somebody's life and why the plan that I've described to the Congress
    is such an optimistic, hopeful plan for every American.
        Before I begin, I want to thank
    would be your Governor. So he had his 50th birthday on the 11th of
    February. I called him and said, ``Happy birthday. Fifty is not quite as
    old as it seemed to be, is it?'' [Laughter] But we're proud of him, and
    we love him. Actually, I had coffee with Mother
    and Dad this morning. And Mother said to make
    sure I told Jeb she loved him still, so--[laughter]--she still loves
    you. [Laughter]
        I want to thank Hector Barreto for
    being here as well. Hector is the head of the Small Business
    Administration. One of the commitments of this administration is to
    promote the entrepreneurial spirit throughout all our country. We want
    anybody from any walk of life to realize if they have a dream and work
    hard, they can realize their dreams. That's the greatness of America.
        And I'm honored that Joe, Joe Dagher,
    would invite us into his facility. He had a dream. He realized his
    dream. He owns his own business. He can call it his own. And we're proud
    of you, Joe, and thanks for letting us come.
        So here's my attitude about economic growth and vitality. It's based
    upon the principle that if people have more money in their pocket,
    they're likely to demand a good or a service. And when they demand a
    good or a service, somebody in the marketplace is going to produce a
    good or a service. And when somebody meets that demand with production,
    somebody is more likely to find work. And so when you couple that with
    the understanding that the role of Government is not to create wealth
    but an environment in which the entrepreneur is willing to take risks,
    it yields this kind of plan.

    [[Page 166]]

        I believe we ought to cut the rates on everybody who pays taxes, and
    I believe that we ought to reduce the income-tax rates. But you know
    what's interesting is Congress has already agreed with that plan. In the
    year 2001, in the face of a recession, we convinced both Republicans and
    Democrats to support a rate reduction. It helped make our recession more
    shallow. People did get more money in their pockets, and they did spend
    that money.
        What's interesting about the rate reduction plan that we've proposed
    is that it is scheduled to phase in over time. It takes 5 years to get
    the rates down. It takes years to get the child credit up to $1,000 per
    child. It takes years to get the marriage penalty reduced to where we
    want it to be reduced to.
        Now, if the economy is still not as strong as it should be and if
    Congress has already recognized that tax rate reduction helps economic
    growth, my message to the United States Congress is: Speed up the
    growth. If it's good enough 5 years from now, it is good enough today.
        This economy needs immediate help, so I will ask Congress, when they
    pass the bill, to make it retroactive to January 1st, which means
    workers will get money in their pockets immediately, will mean small
    businesses will get money to invest immediately. It will have an
    immediate effect on today's economy, something I think we need,
    something a lot of Americans understand we need, as we--coming out of
    recession and recovering from a terrorist attack and as we're finally
    getting--washing out of the system those who thought they could lie and
    cheat when it came to their balance sheets. We're recovering from three
    shocks to the system, and we need a little further wind at the back of
    this economy.
        Now, that means 92 million Americans will receive an average income-
    tax relief package of $1,083. And that's good. And we'll hear from some
    of our fellow citizens up here about how much relief this means for
    them. And if they feel like it, they may share with us what they intend
    to do with it. [Laughter] But one thing is for certain, I will assure
    them, is at least I understand the money we're talking about up in
    Washington is not the Government's money. See, it's their money and your
    money. It's the people's money we're talking about.
        Now, one of the things--reasons we came to Joe's business is, I wanted to make it very clear to the
    American people that tax rate reductions have got an incredibly positive
    effect on small businesses. Most small businesses are what they call a
    sole proprietorship or a limited partnership or a Subchapter S
    corporation. If you happen to be one of those three entities, you pay
    tax at your business, on your business profits, at the individual
    income-tax rates. And so therefore, by reducing income-tax rates, you're
    really affecting small-business growth, and because over half the jobs
    in America are created by small businesses, it makes sense to stimulate
    that aspect of our economy.
        Twenty-three million businesses will receive over $2,000 in income-
    tax relief. Now, that means a lot when you start thinking about the
    implications. I mean, you've got a one-man shop; $2,000 may mean the
    capacity to buy a machine, leverage the money to buy a machine, which
    means another job.
        One of the things we understand in America, though, is investments
    equals jobs, and therefore, one of the things we're going to try to do
    is encourage more investment. And so I want to--right now, small
    businesses are limited to the deduction of only $25,000 for a capital
    expenditure. We want to raise it to $75,000, to encourage small
    businesses to buy more equipment.
        And so those are two aspects of this plan that makes sense. One is
    how to encourage people to have--how do we encourage Congress to let
    people have more money in their pocket, for the good of economic growth
    and jobs, and what do we do about

    [[Page 167]]

    stimulating small-business activity and growth.
        The third aspect of the plan is really to make the Tax Code more
    fair. We tried to address that earlier, by the way. It is unfair to tax
    a person's assets twice. That's why I've called upon Congress to get rid
    of the death tax. See, really what we want is, we want our small-
    business owners to work hard, to keep their vision, to build up their
    assets, so they can leave it to whoever they want to leave it to,
    without the Government standing in between. Congress passed it. They
    need to make that aspect of the tax relief permanent, like they need to
    make all aspects of tax relief permanent.
        But today I want to talk to you about another unfair aspect of the
    Tax Code, and that is the double taxation of dividends. It's fair to tax
    a company's profits. What's not fair is when you take--the company takes
    those profits and distributes them to one of the owners of the company,
    the shareholder, and that person then has to pay tax on it. It means
    Government is really interfering with capital. It means there's less
    capital in the system for investment. And if investment means jobs, by
    nature, getting rid of the double taxation of dividends will make it
    easier for capital to accumulate, make it more likely people will find
    work.
        Secondly, the double taxation of dividends hurts our senior
    citizens. It's particularly acute here in the State of Florida. There's
    over 10 million seniors rely upon dividend income during their
    retirement years. Why would we want to have something unfair in the Tax
    Code which also penalizes those who we really need to help after their
    retirement?
        The double taxation of dividends will also put a premium on good
    accounting. In other words, if you're distributing dividends, your whole
    growth portfolio, your whole growth agenda will be based upon yield, as
    opposed to pie-in-the-sky projections. Of course, people will say,
    ``Well, gosh, I'm going to invest in this company because I want a share
    of their cashflow or share of their profits.'' And therefore, the
    company ownership must base its projections on how they treat the
    shareholder, as opposed to some pie-in-the-sky prognostication about
    what may or may not occur. Growth will occur based upon the certainty of
    the dividend being distributed. It will be a really important corporate
    reform in America, in my judgment.
        So this is what I've asked the Congress to approve. There's a lot of
    talk about whether or not this is what they call stimulative, whether or
    not it will affect the economy. Of course it will, because over the next
    15 months we'll have pumped in $100 billion of additional money into the
    private sector. That money will circulate. As that money circulates,
    it's more likely somebody is going to be able to find work.
        And so I'm here not only to share the details of the plan with you;
    I'm here to ask you to contact your Senators and your Members of
    Congress, remind them of whose money we're talking about, and remind
    them of the philosophy I've just outlined to you as how best to create
    jobs. The role of Government is to create an environment in which people
    are willing to risk and take risks and to go to work and work hard, and
    tax relief encourages that kind of environment.
        So we're going to first start off and hear from Sue Butts. Sue is a entrepreneur. She owns her own business. She
    owns Supreme Janitorial. She has owned it since 1968. Is that right?
        Ms. Butts. Ninety-two.
        The President. Ninety-two. Okay. [Laughter]
        Ms. Butts. It's been in existence since '68.
        The President. You bought it in '92.
        Ms. Butts. Ninety-two.
        The President. I will just tell you that she
    will receive a $3,300 tax reduction if Congress--when Congress passes
    this plan. I'm optimistic, by the way, that Congress

    [[Page 168]]

    is going to get the message. Why don't you tell us? Give us your
    thoughts.

    [At this point, the discussion proceeded.]

        The President. Yes, I think it's important for our fellow citizens
    to know that there are ways for Government to incent people to invest,
    and this is a good way. I mean, here's a classic example of somebody who
    has limited the amount she is going to invest
    based upon tax policy. And the idea of raising the limit to $75,000, in
    this case, it sounds like, could encourage more investment.
        Now, what that means is somebody is going to be tasked with building
    the machine she purchases or the equipment she
    purchases, and that person will be working. And then, of course, the
    people who she hires will have more equipment. And it may mean that she
    needs an extra person to deal with the equipment she purchases.
        Economies grow with the circulation of money. And this is a classic
    example of how tax policy will encourage investment and the circulation
    of money.
        And so, thanks for sharing that with us. Congratulations on being a
    successful entrepreneur, by the way.
        Ms. Butts. Thank you, Mr. President.
        The President. James is a installation
    supervisor. He is a taxpayer. He is a man who has got a daughter that he
    cares a lot about. And he's a guy who is going to have his taxes fall by
    20 percent when this plan goes through. You see, there's a lot of
    rhetoric in Washington about the--rich this, rich that, class warfare.
    This is the kind of guy I'm worried about, and this is what this tax
    plan--the tax plan speaks to people like James Thomas. Welcome.

    [The discussion continued.]

        The President. You've got more to say than that. Here's your chance.
    [Laughter]
        Mr. Thomas. I'm going to let it rest at
    that.
        The President. See, here's the thing about--you know, a dad puts
    aside money for the daughter. The daughter invests it. It rolls over.
    There is a compounding effect when it comes to investments. Money saved
    and invested will keep rolling over and rolling over. So the $2,100, by
    the time she goes to college 8 years from now, will be significantly
    larger than that. And I appreciate you thinking about that. It's very
    important for people to make the sacrifices for their children. It's
    hard to raise kids. Tax relief will make it easier for people to make
    sacrifices. It will help people meet the priorities they've set.
        And I want to thank you, James, for that.
        Zim is an entrepreneur. He--Zim, tell
    us about your business. You've got some of your employees here, too.

    [The discussion continued.]

        The President. We're in Joe's house, Joe's
    business. Joe, tell us what you do. Tell us when you started this
    company, why you started the company. And thanks for letting us come by.

    [The discussion continued.]

        The President. This country must never forget what Joe just said. This is a welcoming society, based upon
    allowing people to realize their dreams. I love to be in the presence of
    somebody who is realizing their dreams.
        We love freedom in America. We love the fact that people are free.
    And I want to remind you what I said, Joe, and
    I believe this as sure as I'm sitting here: Liberty is not America's
    gift to the world; liberty is the Almighty God's gift to mankind. We
    just have a chance here in America to protect liberty and freedom. And I
    want to thank you for sharing that with us.
        Another man who is living the American experience is Joey
    Gonzalez, a hard-working man. You recommend
    him, don't you? He works for Zim.
    [Laughter] Joey, thanks for coming.

    [The discussion continued.]

    [[Page 169]]

        The President. What you just said--you said, your most important job
    is not working for Zim, necessarily; your
    most important job is to be a loving dad. And I appreciate that example.

    [The discussion continued.]

        The President. Jodie also works with
    Zim. And Jodie, we're proud you're here.
    She's married. She's got a little girl who is 9.

    [The discussion continued.]

        The President. Well, I appreciate you sharing that with us. Thanks.
    You're right, some of those pennies are going to the Government, and
    they should. I mean, as a matter of fact, I'm now going over to the
    base, and we're sending people into harm's way. They deserve the best
    pay, the best equipment, the best possible training. And that requires--
    there are legitimate uses of Government. But what we're talking about
    today is really setting priorities, funding those priorities, but
    remembering how to increase revenues. Revenues increase with economic
    vitality and fiscal discipline in Washington, DC. Revenues increase by
    empowering people and entrepreneurs and small businesses to grow and, at
    the same time, saying to Congress, ``Let us focus on important
    priorities.'' Remember whose money it is we're talking about. We're
    talking about your money.
        And I want to thank you all for coming today to give us--give me a
    chance to talk about our vision for economic vitality and growth, for
    letting people understand that behind every number there is a life that
    will benefit, and when individuals benefit or small businesses benefit,
    we all benefit. It's the cumulative effect of millions of acts--
    decisionmakers in the marketplace, which affects job creation.
        This administration is committed to job growth. I want to repeat to
    you, so long as any American who wants to work can't find a job, we will
    be committed to job growth.
        And so I want to thank you for giving me a chance to come and share
    this plan with you. This is a realistic plan. It is a hopeful plan. It
    is a plan based upon sound principle. It's a plan which will work. It's
    a plan that your Members of Congress--Ander
    is all right. Don't worry about him; Crenshaw is with us. John
    Mica is with us. I don't worry about those two.
    But there are some who haven't gotten the message yet, and they need to
    hear from you. And you can start right here in the State of Florida,
    contacting your elected Representatives and letting them know how you
    feel.
        I want to thank you for coming. I want you to know that we're
    citizens of the greatest country on the face of the Earth. God bless.

    Note: The discussion began at 10:28 a.m. in a printing press room at
    Dagher Printing. Discussion participants were: Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida;
    Joseph Dagher, owner, Dagher Printing; Sue Butts, owner and president,
    Supreme Janitorial Services; and Zimmerman Boulos, owner and president,
    James Thomas, installer, Jose Gonzalez, installer, and Jodie Beere,
    sales assistant, Office Environments and Services.