    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [December 1, 2003]
    [Pages 1649-1654]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in a Discussion With Employers and Employees at Dynamic Metal
    Treating, Inc., in Canton, Michigan
    December 1, 2003

        The President. Loren, thanks for having us.
    Let me say a couple things before we get started here. First, thanks for
    coming out to say hello. We're here, obviously, to talk about one of the
    great strengths of America, which is the entrepreneurial spirit of our
    country, the small-business men and women who create the new jobs. And
    we're talking about jobs. And I want to thank you all for being here
    today to talk about your businesses and/or your personal lives.
        Just a couple of things I want to remind our fellow citizens about.
    We've done a lot; we've overcome a lot, when you think about what this
    country has been through in a short period of time. First of all, as
    Loren mentioned, things starting going bad in
    2000 for this business. In other words, we were headed into a recession.
    And that's tough, when there's a recession. That means negative growth.
    It means businesses, in order to survive, sometimes lay people off,
    which, worse, means that some of our fellow citizens are looking for
    work and are having trouble feeding their family.
        And then the enemy hit us. Just as things were getting a little
    better, we got attacked. And let me take a step back. I'm never going to
    forget the lessons of September the 11th, 2001. The only way to deal
    with these coldblooded killers is to stay on the offensive and bring
    them to justice, which is precisely what America will do.
        And then we had some CEOs in corporate America forget what it means
    to be a responsible citizen. You might remember, right after the
    attacks, when the great resiliency of America came forth and the country
    began to recover from this unbelievable period of time, it turned out
    that we

    [[Page 1650]]

    found--there were some corporate scandals, and that affected our
    confidence. We acted there. We passed some tough laws that sent a pretty
    clear message that if you betray the trust, if you don't tell the truth
    to your shareholders and employees, you need to be held to account. That
    means justice needs to be sent your way, and that's what's happening.
    And then we had a march to war. And that all affected the people's
    confidence.
        And so when we talk about job creation and job growth, it's
    important to understand we have come through a lot, which speaks really
    to the greatness of America, doesn't it? It speaks to the greatness of
    the entrepreneurial spirit, to the high productivity of the American
    workforce. We're the best workers in the world. I think it speaks a
    little bit as well to the policies we put forth.
        I want to thank the Members of the United States Congress who are
    here from the great State of Michigan. A lot of them have come over
    here, for which I am grateful. We passed tax relief, and I want to talk
    a little bit about tax relief, as we go through the panel, and its
    effect on economic recovery. Because when people have more money in
    their pocket, it means they're going to demand an additional good or a
    service, or likely demand a good or a service. And when that happens in
    our economy, somebody will produce it. And when somebody produces the
    good or a service to meet the demand, somebody is more likely to find a
    job. And so not only did the tax relief help hard-working Americans,
    with their pressures on their families and education needs, but it also
    helped the economy.
        And the other thing I want to remind people about is that the tax
    relief was also geared toward small businesses. Most new jobs in America
    are created by small-business owners. You just heard Loren talk about--they laid off workers; they replaced those
    workers; and they've added workers. Well, there's all kinds of companies
    like Dynamic Metal across the country that are adding workers, one or
    two or three at a time, and that's the vibrancy of our economy. And the
    Congress wisely cut the--made it--provided the incentive for small
    businesses to invest. And if the proper incentive is in place, it means
    people will buy equipment and computer software, and that means somebody
    is likely to find a job as they provide that equipment for small
    businesses.
        The other thing is, most small businesses do not pay corporate
    income tax. They pay tax at the individual level because they're a
    Subchapter S or a limited liability partnership. And therefore, when you
    hear us talking about reducing all taxes on individuals, you really hear
    also the message that we're reducing taxes on small businesses. And when
    small business has got more money in their coffers, they're more likely
    to expand, and someone will find a job.
        So what we're here today is talk about good economic policy. But
    really what we're here about is to make sure people can find a job. I
    mean, things look pretty good; the growth is high. Today the Purchasing
    Managers Index was released, which shows the manufacturing sector of the
    American economy is coming back pretty strong. But my attitude is, so
    long as we have one of our fellow citizens out of work and who wants to
    work, it says we've got a problem. So let's keep a progrowth policy in
    place. We're here to emphasize the role of the small business in
    providing that job opportunity.
        I want to thank both the small-business managers as well as the
    employees for joining us. And Loren, after that
    kind of long-winded explanation of why I'm here--[laughter]--take over.

    [The discussion continued.]

        The President. Yes. I appreciate the story. It's indicative of how
    small businesses work. You'd better be light on your feet and willing to
    change in order to survive, be flexible and fast, and to meet the needs
    of

    [[Page 1651]]

    your consumer. Listen, Government can create an environment in which the
    entrepreneurial spirit remains strong, but we can't make you successful.
    That's up to you. And I appreciate the--you just laid out your strategy.
    I hope your competitor isn't listening. [Laughter]
        Loren Epler. We're up to the challenge.
    [Laughter]
        The President. That's good. But anyway, thank you for sharing that.
        Sam, how about yourself?

    [The discussion continued.]

        The President. A couple of points that Sam
    made: One, we need an energy policy. If you noticed, he said energy
    costs are high. And we need clean coal technology. We need an energy
    policy. We need to encourage conservation and certainly efficiencies.
    But in order for manufacturing concerns to be vibrant and vital, they
    need reliable sources of energy. And I appreciate you bringing that up.
        The other thing is, Sam, is I understand these
    tax cuts save you and your family about $2,000.
        Sam Domke. For this next tax year, yes. And
    that's great. I can really use the money, I'm sure.
        The President. The other thing, as I understand--we had a little
    visit beforehand--that Sam had a chance to
    refinance his home. Maybe some of you have done that as well. Part of
    the vitality of the economy is the fact that people are able to
    refinance because of lower interest rates, which puts a little money in
    the pocket because you've got lower monthly payments. But the $2,000 is
    important part of an economic recovery package. You see, it's his money
    to begin with. And we hear people say, well, the Government is giving
    Government money. It's not Government money; it's the people's money
    we're talking about. It's the hard-working people that make this economy
    grow.
        My attitude is, the more money you've got in your pocket, the more
    likely it is your family is going to be okay, but more importantly, the
    more likely it is it will increase the demand for a good or a service.
        Mr. Domke. I know we had the $800 checks that
    came back for the child credit, and that came in quite useful----
        The President. Yes.
        Mr. Domke. ----to help me pay some bills and--
    --
        The President. Actually, when the Government said, ``The check's in
    the mail,'' it actually was. [Laughter]
        Mr. Domke. Well, I got mine, so--[laughter].
        The President. One of the things about the tax cuts that's important
    for people to understand is, they're not permanent. They're temporary
    because of a quirk in the law, particularly in the United States Senate.
    After a period of time, the tax cuts go away. And so one thing we need
    to do and make sure this economy stays strong is to make the tax cuts
    permanent. We don't want the child credit to go down. That will affect
    you. It's like a tax increase. We don't want the marriage penalty to be
    as onerous as it used to be. We want the tax cuts to stay permanent, so
    that people--small businesses can plan and citizens can plan their
    lives.
        And so one of the ways that Congress can respond to the economic
    recovery and to make sure that this recovery keeps going is to make
    these tax cuts real and long-lasting. I'm for it. I think it's essential
    that we do this. And I hope Congress joins.

    [The discussion continued.]

        The President. Again, Government can create an environment to
    encourage investment; it's up to you to produce the product so people
    want to invest with you, want to buy your stuff. And I presume the
    reason why you're doing good is you've got a
    good workforce.
        Tom Zimmerman. Yes, we do. In fact this is
    a----
        The President. Two of them happen to be here.

    [[Page 1652]]

        Mr. Zimmerman. Let me put them on here.
    This is John Krynak and Cliff Daniels. Pass it on to John.
        John Krynak. Mr. President, it's good to be
    here. It's an honor and a privilege to have you here. I'm a family man
    myself. I was fortunate enough not to be one of the 10 percent that was
    laid off. I'm very thankful for that. Spectrum is a wonderful company.
    I'm blessed to have a wonderful wife, Krystal, and I have four children,
    two daughters, 7 and 9, and two boys, 11 years old.
        The President. Twins?
        Mr. Krynak. No, we're a blended family.
        The President. Good.
        Mr. Krynak. So we got $1,600 back----
        The President. That's good. [Laughter]
        Mr. Krynak. ----$1,600 back credit this
    year. And it came in handy. Went down to Myrtle Beach and--[laughter].
        The President. Yes? Somebody had to feed you
    when you were down there, so you helped that person keep a job. But you
    also got some tax relief from the reduction of the rates, as I
    understand it----
        Mr. Krynak. Yes, this year, I----
        The President. ----$2,700, somebody told me.
        Mr. Krynak. Yes.
        The President. I'm not putting numbers in your mouth. [Laughter]
        Mr. Krynak. Yes, the tax relief can be a big
    help this year. Income is still not quite where it was, but I'm thankful
    that it is on the rise. Overtime is back, kicking right now. I'm ready
    to put my shoulders to the wheel, keep it going.
        The President. I suspect old Tom is happy
    to have you working with him.
        Mr. Zimmerman. Very much so. A good
    person. Same with Cliff.

    [The discussion continued.]

        Cliff Daniels. I want to retire. Your plan
    that you're going to sign, your Medicare prescription bill, is going to
    help me immensely.
        The President. Yes. It is going to help you.
        Mr. Daniels. And I'm figuring that I'm
    paying about $900 right now. And with this plan, I should save about
    $5,000 a year. And I do want to thank you for that very much.
        The President. Well, thanks. Thank the Congress. They finally got
    moving.
        Mr. Daniels. One more thing, sir. Can you
    make it a Presidential order that our local football team, the Detroit
    Lions, win a road game? [Laughter]
        The President. No. [Laughter] If I could, I might be thinking about
    some of those Texas teams. [Laughter]
        I appreciate you bringing up health care. Small businesses have got
    an issue with health care. I think if you were to talk to these owners,
    they'll tell you. Small businesses need to be able to pool risk in
    what's called associated health care plans. Congress needs to allow this
    to happen so that you can share risk across jurisdictional boundaries.
    And that will help with health care costs.
        I appreciate you bringing up Medicare. The people in the Congress
    worked hard to get a good bill out. And I think it's going to make a
    difference in a lot of seniors' lives. It will mean we've kept our
    promise. It's also going to make a difference in the lives of those of
    us who are fixing to be seniors. It means you're going to have more
    choice in the marketplace, plus prescription drugs will be available as
    part of the basic Medicare package. And those who can least afford it
    will get the most help, of course, from the Government. So I thank you
    for bringing that up.
        The other thing for health care, by the way, is it's very important
    that we have a society that allows a person to sue a bad doc if they get
    hurt. But we don't need a society in which there's junk and frivolous
    lawsuits being filed all the time which raise the cost of medicine,
    particularly to these businesses. It hurts these small-business

    [[Page 1653]]

    owners when these people file these lawsuits over and over and over
    again. And therefore, for a while--I looked at this issue for a while,
    and then I decided it was a national issue because it affected our
    Medicare budgets, the Medicaid budgets, the veteran health care costs,
    because docs practice what's called defensive medicine. If they think
    they're going to get sued, they'll provide more medicine than needed.
    And you would too, if you were a doctor who thought you were going to
    get sued. And that then makes medicine more expensive, and it runs the
    cost up for you as well as the employers all around the country.
        And then the other thing that happens is, docs have to pay a high
    premium for liability reform--insurance, and they're starting to quit
    the practice of medicine, which means now medicine is more expensive and
    less available. And so we need medical liability reform.
        I want to thank the Members of the House who are here who voted with
    us on that bill. It was a good piece of legislation. It's stuck in the
    Senate, however. We need to get it out of the Senate.
        And so that can help us as well. I'll tell you the other thing that
    I think is important for these small-business owners to hear is, at the
    State level--and I know that Terri Lynn is
    here and the attorney general is here and others
    from the State of Michigan are here--we need less paperwork requirements
    on small business, less regulations and the paperwork that these owners
    have to file--same, by the way, at the Federal level. It's one thing to
    regulate; it's another thing to overregulate. And a lot of times
    Government has a tendency to overregulate, which is a nonproductive cost
    to these small-business owners who would rather be employing people and
    making it easier for somebody to find work than filling out reams of
    paperwork that probably doesn't get read anyway.
        Finally, I know there's a lot of talk about trade. I just want you
    to understand my position on trade. If you're good at something, we
    ought to try to find more markets. And we're good at a lot of things.
    We've got the most productive workforce in America. And we've got some
    of the greatest farmers in America. And we've got some of the greatest
    entrepreneurs in America. And therefore, it seems like to make sense to
    me that we ought to be opening up markets for us to sell our goods. But
    the other thing I want you to understand is, we're going to make sure
    it's fair. We want the playing field to be level so we can compete in a
    fair way.
        But those are some of the things that we can do to keep the economy
    growing. And that's important. We're really here to talk about how to
    sustain the economic growth. About 286,000 new jobs were created over
    the last 3 months, and we need more. I think the foundation is laid.
    You've heard these two business owners talk in terms of their hiring new
    people and how confident they are, and that's good. We've just got to
    keep it going. We want everybody in the country working. We want the
    people who have the responsibility to put food on the table to be able
    to find a job to do so. We want to answer that human desire of a
    responsible dad to be able to say to his four children, in this case,
    ``Here's something not only for you to eat but something for you to
    maybe put aside for your education.'' That's what we want.
        And a vibrant economy will provide that opportunity for people to
    seize the moment. And we've got some people up here who have--one has
    already seized the moment. He kind of looks like he's going to try to
    quit seizing it. But you never retire, by the way. [Laughter] You never
    retire. And we've got some great workers and great owners up here.
        I want to repeat to you that the entrepreneurial spirit of America
    is strong. And we aim to keep it that way. We want people owning their
    own business. We want people

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    to feel like if you want to be a small-business owner, there's a chance
    for you. No guarantees of success, but the opportunity is available for
    people from all walks of life, I might add, all throughout our society.
    You know, one of the great strengths of America is the fact that we've
    got a lot of people that say, ``I want to own my own company,'' and feel
    confident in trying to start that business and making it work. It's
    really what makes our society such a vibrant and wholesome place.
        We're looking at two people right here who have taken on the tough
    task of running a small business. It's not easy. It may look simple when
    you hear them talk about it, but it's hard work. But it's the creativity
    and the spirit of the entrepreneur in America that I think sets us
    apart, and kind of the backbone and vibrancy of our society.
        I want to say one other thing, and then I promise to be quiet. I met
    a guy at the airport today. Where is he? Did he come out? There he is.
    This is a good man. This is Brad Simmons. You
    probably never heard of Brad; I hadn't either until I landed. The reason
    I mention Brad is he works for Ford, but more importantly, he is in
    charge of encouraging Ford employees to volunteer in your communities.
    See, he's taken it upon himself to tap into the true spirit of the
    American soul, and that is that spirit that says, ``I want to help a
    neighbor in need.'' And Brad's particular focus has been on Boy Scouts.
    But he's got a broader job at Ford, and that is to say--to encourage
    voluntarism.
        You know, the reason I like to talk about people like Brad--as I
    told Brad, he is a soldier in the army of
    compassion in our country. It's the Brad Simmonses of the world who
    really define the true character of America. You see, our strength is
    not measured by the size of our military or the size of our Treasury.
    Our strength is measured by the size of the hearts and souls of our
    fellow citizens, people who are willing to love a neighbor just like
    they'd like to be loved themselves. Brad reflects the true spirit of
    America. He's a great credit upon the country.
        And for those of you who are doing your duty as responsible
    citizens, whether it being a good mom or a dad or helping a neighbor in
    need, I want to thank you on behalf of a grateful nation. The strength
    of America is the people of this country. And it's my privilege to be
    the President of such a great country.
        God bless you all. Thank you for coming.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:24 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to
    Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land and State Attorney General Mike Cox
    of Michigan; Loren Epler, president, and Sam Domke, quality manager,
    Dynamic Metal Treating, Inc.; and Tom Zimmerman, secretary and
    treasurer, Spectrum Automation Co.