[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
[June 17, 2004]
[Pages 1068-1078]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks to the National Federation of Independent Businesses
June 17, 2004
The President. Thank you all. Go ahead and be seated. Thanks for
coming. Please be seated. I'm honored you're here. Thanks for coming.
Welcome to the Nation's Capital. I'm honored to follow Denny
Hastert. He is a fabulous Speaker of the
House of Representatives. I enjoy--he is a good friend and a really good
leader, and I've enjoyed working with him.
And I've enjoyed working with the members of the NFIB as well. I
love to be in the presence of entrepreneurs. Wait, who's minding the
store? [Laughter] I think if you look back on your record, you'll find I
was an NFIB member in Midland, Texas, way back when. You're 600,000
strong. You have a good voice here in Washington. I want you to know
that, and you need to make sure you continue to speak it clearly,
because the policymakers need to hear from you about the need for less
regulation,
[[Page 1069]]
good taxation, and less litigation in order for you to be able to do
your job.
I know you know this: You've got friends on Capitol Hill. You have a
friend in the White House too. There is a practical reason why I'm your
friend. One of the practical reasons is, most new jobs--by far, the vast
majority of new jobs are started by small businesses in America. See,
I'm interested in our people working. I want the American people to be
at work so they can fulfill their responsibilities as mothers and dads.
And during a time of slowdowns, which we have been through, it's really
important to make sure the small-business sector of the American economy
is strong.
And so I'm about to talk about some policies we put in place to help
you do your job better. The way I look at it is: What is good for small
business is good for America.
We're here at a time of great promise and great opportunity. The
economy is shifted into high gear, and that's good news. It's good news
if you're trying to make a living. It's good news if you're trying to
make a living, and it's good news if you're trying to meet a payroll.
[Laughter] Factories are busier. Families are earning more.
Homeownership rates--the homeownership rate is the highest ever in
America. See, that is good news if you're interested in promoting an
ownership society in our country. We want people owning their own
business. We want people owning their own homes. You and I know this,
that if you own something, you have a vital stake in the future of our
country. The more ownership there is in America, the more vitality there
is in America, and the more people have a vital stake in the future of
this country.
We've got economic challenges. We've got economic momentum, and
that's good. Because of the good policies, but more importantly, because
of your hard work, because of working to realize your dreams, because of
the spirit of the small-business owner in the country, the economy is
strong, and it is getting stronger.
I want to thank Jack Faris for inviting me
here. I'm honored to come right around the corner. I appreciate Tom
Musser, the chairman of the board. I want to
thank Dan Danner. He does all the work.
[Laughter] But most of all, I thank you all. I've seen many of you as
I've traveled the country. Part of my job has been to sell a pro-growth,
pro-entrepreneur economic stimulus plan. And I was able to do so in your
presence in different parts of America. And I want to thank you for
showing up then and for showing up now. It's good to see you again.
I think every one of you knows full well what this economy has been
through, and it's important for our country to remember what we have
been through, because we have been through a lot. That's why I'm so
optimistic about the future, because I've seen where we have come from.
Audience member. Four more years!
The President. I might as well quit on that note. [Laughter] Let me
just remind you where we have been through--what we have been through.
When I was the President-elect, sitting in Austin, Texas, I had a group
of business leaders come down and see me, including Jack Faris. The universal message from those leaders was this: The
economy was in trouble. In early January, when we showed up here to go
to work, the economy was heading into a recession. The stock market had
been declining. Factories were laying off workers, and these were tough
times. And you know it as well as I. It's hard to be a small-business
owner during a recession. It's hard to make your payroll. It's hard to
fulfill your obligations to your workers when the economy is not
growing. I understand that.
We began to recover somewhat, and then the enemy hit us on September
the 11th. The attack not only affected our psychology; the attack
affected the economy, and the two go hand in hand, as you know. Parts of
our economy came to a standstill
[[Page 1070]]
right after September the 11th, 2001. Remember, airports were shut down.
The stock market closed. We lost nearly a million jobs in 3 months.
And then we began to recover, because of policy and the spirit of
America, and then we discovered some of our corporate citizens forgot
what it meant to be a responsible American. They didn't tell the truth
to their shareholders and their employees. We came together here in
Washington, passed tough laws, and made it clear we're not going to
tolerate dishonesty in the boardrooms of America. We will hold people to
account.
There is no question that we--the economy was affected by recession
and attacks and emergencies, the march to war, corporate scandal, but we
acted. We acted. I want to thank you for your help. We acted together.
We went to Congress and said, ``Let's lower the taxes on the American
people. In order to get this economy moving, let's make sure people have
got more of their own money in their pocket.''
See, I believe--I think you may agree with me--that the people can
use their money far better than the Federal Government can. And so we
cut rates across the board. We said to Congress, ``If we're going to
have tax relief, let's make sure it's fair. If you're going to have tax
relief, let's make sure everybody who pays taxes gets relief.'' And they
listened, fortunately. The good news about reducing the individual tax
rates across the board was that it helped small businesses.
You know what I know: Most small businesses pay tax at the
individual income-tax rate. Because either being a Subchapter S
corporation or other types of structures that, on the one hand, limit
your liability and, on the other hand, cause you to pay tax at the
individual rate level, about 90 percent of the small businesses across
America pay tax at the individual income-tax rate level. And that's
important. In other words, if you're interested in trying to get out of
recession and recover from an attack, it's important to stimulate the
small-business sector. And the definition of ``stimulate,'' for people
out there who are trying to understand--when I say ``stimulate,'' the
definition of ``stimulate'' means more money in your pocket. That's how
you stimulate growth. That's how you encourage confidence.
We also helped families by doubling the child credit. We reduced the
marriage penalty. I've never understood a society which penalizes
marriage. It seems like you want to encourage marriage. [Laughter] But
we reduced the marriage penalty.
And very important for the small-business owner in America, we put
the death tax on the road to extinction. We had an interesting debate
here in Washington about whether we needed a death tax or not. My
position is, you shouldn't tax a person's assets twice, once while
they're living, once when they move on. [Laughter] I mean, it's your
property. You built your business, and you ought to be able to leave
your business to whomever you choose.
And secondly, the people here in Washington must understand that
many times, when a small-business owner passes on, the estate must be
liquidated, the company must be liquidated in order to pay the burden of
the taxes. Many times the asset base is illiquid. There's good capital
worth, but they're illiquid. And the taxes are such that people have to
sell their business, sell something they've loved, sell something
they've tried to build up for the future.
Many moms and dads have got dreams about a--of leaving their
businesses to generation after generation after generation. It's become
one of the great parts of the American heritage, isn't it--whether it be
a small business or a farm. People like that asset base in their own
family. And yet the death tax makes it, in some cases, virtually
impossible to do so. And getting rid of the death tax is a very
important part of making sure the entrepreneurial spirit is strong in
America.
[[Page 1071]]
We also created new incentives for the small businesses by
quadrupling the annual expense deduction for equipment, up to $100,000,
and that's important. See, that's important. It's an important part of
stimulating the economy. We say, ``Look, we're going to encourage you to
invest.'' And our fellow citizens must understand that when small
businesses invest, it means really what you're doing is you're
purchasing something that somebody has to manufacture for you. And when
they manufacture it for you, somebody is more likely to find work. It
has a ripple effect throughout our economy.
The tax plan, that stimulation--the economic stimulation plan we
passed was based upon a certain principle. It was based upon my optimism
about people making the right decisions throughout our economy. See, I'm
optimistic about our future because I've got great faith in the small-
business entrepreneurs of America and the workers of America. And the
economic plan we put forth to Congress, which they passed, is based upon
that great trust and optimism and knowledge about how the small-business
sector works and affects the future of the country.
Some looked at the problems--we had a debate here in Washington, of
course, and that's good, and that's healthy for democracy. You like
debates. You also like to win the debates. [Laughter] Some looked at the
problems and offered familiar solutions. They said, ``Look, what we
really shouldn't have done is we shouldn't have cut the taxes on the
American people. We shouldn't let people have more of their own money.''
It's kind of the old age--it's the age-old argument, ``Do you want more
Government or more money in people's pockets?'' I came down on the side
of more money in the people's pockets. Others would have had it that
they want to increase the size of the Federal Government. I just don't
think that increasing the size of the Federal Government will help you
recover from a recession or emergency or corporate scandals.
They said they would--probably best to isolate America from the
world. It was kind of a knee-jerk reaction to tough economic times to
say, ``Why don't we become isolationists, economic isolationists.'' I've
rejected that point of view because that's too pessimistic, as far as
I'm concerned, and I'll discuss that in a minute.
In other words, they were quick about pointing out the problems, but
frankly, they didn't come up with many good solutions. And in my
judgment, there wasn't a better solution than letting people have their
money, stimulating the small-business sector, and it's paying off. The
policies we have put in place have made sense.
Of course, recoveries don't happen overnight. Tax relief takes a
while to have an impact, and people got impatient. The critics got
impatient. You know, there was a lot of gloomy predictions around our
country. Let me take a look at a few of them with you and see what's
actually happened, thanks to tax relief.
We used to hear it said that America was in a jobless recovery. That
term seems to have fallen out of use lately. [Laughter] Since August our
policies have helped American businesses create 1.4 million new jobs.
We've seen 4 straight months of manufacturing job gains. It's a clear
sign of a broad and strong recovery. Even after the recovery began, some
doubted whether it would really take hold. They predicted what they
called a ``double-dip'' recession: There would be a recession, recovery,
and then another recession. Yet in the past year, the economy has grown
at the fastest pace in almost two decades. Since last summer, we now
have the fastest growing major industrialized economy in the world. And
the recession was one of the shallowest in modern American history,
thanks to you, thanks to your hard work, thanks to the entrepreneurial
spirit being revived.
The critics made a few other predictions. They said businesses and
households would not spend their tax savings. Turns out business
investment is up more than 9 percent
[[Page 1072]]
in the last year. Businesses are investing. They're spending capital. An
NFIB survey shows nearly two-thirds of all small firms had capital
spending projects in the last 6 months. Households have used their tax
relief to help drive our economy forward as well. Consumption remained
strong through the rough times and has accelerated since the tax relief
was passed.
Some of the pessimists looked at this economic progress and claimed
that the American families are still falling behind. Well, they didn't
offer much evidence, because, in fact, as our economy has come back,
American families are doing a lot better. Higher growth and higher
productivity are leading to better paying jobs across America. Families
are keeping more of their own money.
Since the beginning of 2001, real after-tax incomes, which are what
people earn after inflation and taxes, have increased by 11 percent.
That figure matters a lot. Let me see if I can put it in west Texas
terms. That means you've got more money in your pocket. [Laughter] And
it's your money to spend. You get to decide what to do with it, not the
Federal Government.
Turns out when people have more money in their pocket, they make
decisions that suit their own needs and at the same time has the
cumulative effect of stimulating our economy. It's the millions of
decisions by consumers and small-business owners and investors which
drives our economy forward. It's not the decisions by bureaucrats in
Washington, DC, that creates economic growth.
At every stage of our recovery, people were always looking for a
cloud to stand under--or some were looking for a cloud to stand under
here. One of my--I read something interesting that I'd like to share
with you about an attitude that sometimes can take hold. On the morning
after D-day in 1944, the Wall Street Journal ran a headline that read:
``Invasion's Impact: Marks Beginning of End of War Economy; New Problems
for Industry.'' [Laughter] That's kind of an interesting way to look at
the liberation of Europe. [Laughter]
The economic--there are modern-day economic pessimists around who
are quick to offer dire predictions and complaints. But you know what?
They do not offer pro-growth economic policies. They can find the dark
cloud, but they can't see the sunshine because they don't know where to
take the country and they don't know where to lead.
You can't lead unless you understand the strengths of America. And
one of the great strengths of our economy is the small-business sector
of our economy, and I intend to keep it strong and vibrant and alive.
According to the NFIB, the small-business optimism has reached a 20-
year high at the end of 2003, and that's good. Things are working. In
your jobs survey, the last one you had, about half your members were
looking to hire. Half your members are saying, ``I see a better future,
and I need somebody to help me make my business grow.'' And that's
positive news for American workers. It's positive news when the small-
business sector feels a wind at its back, where the owners are saying,
``I see a better day. Therefore, I'm going to take a little more risk,''
or ``I see a better day. I'm going to help--find somebody to help me
make my business work better.''
A guy named Mike Baldino from Fremont,
Nebraska--he's a NFIB member--he owns Kelly Klosure Systems. They make
steel buildings and enclosures. He's a Subchapter S--his company is a
Subchapter S. He's a Subchapter S CEO. You know what that means. It
means when you lower income taxes at the individual level, it affects
his cashflow. He saved $30,000 last year. He's a small-business guy, has
30,000 more dollars in his pocket. He says he's going to invest. He's
going to buy a conveyor system, a new conveyor system. Our citizens must
understand that when Mike makes a decision like that and says, ``I want
to buy a new conveyor system,'' because
[[Page 1073]]
of the tax relief Congress passed, somebody's got to make the conveyor
system. And somebody's got to provide the parts for the person who makes
the conveyor system. In other words, has a ripple--Mike's decision has a
ripple effect throughout our economy. He said this--he said, ``I've been
dragging my feet. The tax bill gave me the incentive.''
See, the tax bill--and it's essential for our citizens to
understand--when we passed the tax bill, it changed the decisionmaking
process of millions of small-business owners. It changed the attitude of
the decisionmakers in the small businesses of America. Not only are you
more optimistic than you had been in the past, you've got a little more
money to spend too, which makes you optimistic. And it's your
decisions--it's the millions of decisions in the marketplace that have
helped define the economic recovery we're going through, and Congress
must understand that.
Mike added four new jobs. Now, that
doesn't sound a lot to people who think in terms of a lot of zeros. But
it meant a lot to the four people he hired. It meant a lot to Mike.
And when you think about it, there are a lot of Mikes out there who
own their own small business. It's the cumulative effect of small-
business hiring practices that have helped create this momentum in job
hiring across the country. You know what I'm talking about. You've hired
1 or 2 or 3, 10, 20 people. And it's had an enormous effect. It's
changing the dynamic of our economy. People are getting back to work.
Small businesses are hiring. The future looks bright, and the
fundamental question facing the country is, how do we make sure we
continue to grow?
See, we've still got some problems. I want to discuss a few of them
with you. I'm going to ask for your help in convincing your elected
representatives to perhaps listen to our point of view about how to make
sure this growth that we have going today not only lasts throughout the
political cycle, more importantly, lasts throughout the decade. That's
what we want, and the way I like to put it is, one way to do so is to
make sure America is the best place in the world to do business. The
best place for people to risk capital, the best place for people to try
to realize their dreams must be America if we want our people working
throughout the next decade.
And there are some things we must do. First, there must be certainty
in the Tax Code. If you're a decisionmaker at a small business, you want
to know what the future tax--your future taxes are going to look like.
That's what you want to know. It's hard to make a decision if you're
uncertain about what next year's taxes will look like, what the rates
will look like, and so therefore, it's very important for Congress to
understand and listen to the decisionmakers. As you know, some of tax
relief is set to expire this year, and Congress must hear from you.
They're going to continue to hear from me. Instead of raising taxes on
the American people at this point, we ought to make sure the taxes stay
where they are and stay low.
We need to make sure the child credit stays where it is, the
marriage penalty stays down, the 10-percent rate stays in place. That's
what we need to make sure. It will send a signal. It will send a signal
that we intend to make the tax relief we put in place a permanent part
of the Tax Code so our small-business owners can plan for the future.
And by the way, the death tax could conceivably come back to life.
It's being phased out. It's going to be an unusual year--I think it's
2011 that it--see, it fades out to 2010. Then all of a sudden, it shoots
back up in 2011. I guess a lot of people are going to have to be making
some decisions in 2010. [Laughter] Congress needs to hear from you on
this issue, I'm telling you. It's important to make sure that the death
tax goes away forever--forever--that there's permanency.
[[Page 1074]]
One of the challenges that we have as our economy shifts is to make
sure that we have a skilled workforce to fill the jobs of the 21st
century. We're not going to be able to grow throughout the decades
unless we make sure our workforce can do the jobs that are being
created. In other words, if you can't find workers to be able to do the
jobs that are necessary to compete in the 21st century, you'll look
elsewhere. And so one of the economic realities is to make sure the
education system works well. And I've worked with Congress to pass the
No Child Left Behind Act. It is a strong piece of legislation. I'll tell
you why. It sets high standards. And for the first time, it says, ``In
return for Federal money, show us whether or not a child can learn to
read and write and add and subtract.''
See, you live with accountability all your life, don't you? It's
called the balance sheet and the income statement. A small-business
person is held accountable every day. If you're in retail sales, you're
held accountable when you close the register that evening. If you're in
construction sales or building homes, you're held accountable every day,
based upon progress you've made on a project that you've got.
The school systems need to be held accountable as well. And in
return for money, we've said all we expect is for a child to read at
grade level, starting at the third grade. That's not too much to expect.
As a matter of fact, it's necessary to make sure the workforce works.
But we've got other programs to make sure our kids are ready. We've
had a system, as you know, that has just simply shuffled some through
the system without asking the hard question about education achievement,
and they need help now. And so we've got programs for middle school kids
and high school kids and intervention programs in English and math.
We're working hard to promote science and engineering programs, both in
high school and college.
But one of the most important initiatives that we have put forth
here in Washington is to match up our community colleges with employers
looking for workers, is to say to the workforce, ``You can go back to
school for a period of time--we'll help you in most cases--and train for
jobs which actually exist.'' I don't know if you're having problems
finding workers in your respective industries, but I can tell you, the
health care industry's looking for nurses. I mean, there are a lot of
jobs where people are looking to fill jobs, and one reason why they
can't fill those jobs is because the education system hasn't responded.
The education system must be flexible, available, and affordable. And
the best place to do that is in the community college campuses all
across America.
We're not going to be able to compete in the world and create the
jobs we want to create over the next decades if we strangle our small-
business owners and large-business owners with needless paperwork and
regulation. The governments--and I say ``governments'' because I know
the Federal Government has got a lot of paperwork you need to fill out,
but so does the State government and local government. I can't guarantee
you that we read all the forms we ask you to fill out. [Laughter] I
would bet they don't read all the forms. [Laughter] And we've got to be
mindful about what paperwork does to the job creators. We want you
hiring people, not hiring--not filling out paperwork. That's what we
want. The Treasury Department has simplified some tax forms, for
example.
There's some practical things we must continue to do at the Federal
level to make sure that we can compete and make sure people can find
work. Our workers must understand that if we overburden our people, our
entrepreneurs with paperwork, they're less likely to find a job. The
Government has the responsibility to have oversight but not oppressive
oversight.
In order for America to be a competitive place, the best place to do
business, in
[[Page 1075]]
order for people to be able to find work over the next years, we must
have a legal system that is fair and balanced. Today's legal system is
not fair, and it's not balanced.
I want you to remind the people on Capitol Hill, you cannot be pro-
small-business and pro-trial-lawyer at the same time.
And the Federal Government can set an example of good tort reform by
passing a class-action reform, a reform where trial lawyers can't shop
for courts all around the country and a reform that, if there ever is a
verdict, the people who benefit are those who got injured, not the
lawyers. That bill is stuck. We need to help get it unstuck, and you can
help. You can help by contacting your United States Senators.
And we also need to reform our medical liability system. Now, when I
came to Washington--when I came up here, I said, ``Well, gosh, I think
the best place to have reform on medical liability reform is at the
State level.'' And then I looked at the impact of what the frivolous
lawsuits were doing to Federal budgets. You see, if you're a doc and
you're getting sued all the time, then you're going to practice
defensive medicine. It means you practice more medicine than you need so
if you ever get into a court of law, you can say, ``I've done everything
I could possibly do''--some of which was not necessary except for legal
defense. And as a result of the lawsuits or the threat of being sued or
the settlements that happen as a result of filing lawsuits, docs'
premiums go up too. And therefore, so does your cost, and so does the
cost to the Federal Government.
So I decided medical liability reform was a Federal issue that
required a Federal solution and worked with the United States House of
Representatives to get a good bill out, which says if you're truly
harmed by a doctor, you're going to be compensated. But these outrageous
settlements and these egregious awards must cease for the sake of our
small-business owners.
I fully understand the pressure you're under when it comes to the
cost of health care. You've got employees that you want to take care of.
You have an obligation as an employer to make sure that somebody working
with you has got good health care. That's what you want more than
anything. And yet you know, like I know, the cost is going up. And one
way, a part of controlling the cost of health care, is for the United
States Congress to get rid of those frivolous and junk lawsuits that's
running up the cost of health care and pass Federal medical liability
reform.
Another way to help small businesses is to pass association health
plans. Association health plans, see, they're necessary. If you're a
small-business owner, a restaurant owner, say, and lucky enough to be in
the great State of Texas--[applause]--there you go--it seems like you
should be able to pool risk with a restaurant owner in the State of
Florida. Except in many States, you can't do so. You know what I'm
talking about. Big businesses are able to spread risk, because they've
got a lot of employees over which to spread risk. Small businesses don't
have that same purchasing power in the marketplace. It makes sense to me
to allow small businesses to bind together in order to be able to better
afford insurance for their company.
As well I want you to look into health savings accounts. This is an
innovative new product that has emerged as a result of me signing the
Medicare reform law. It's an interesting way for small businesses to
take care of their employees. Employees basically are able to contribute
tax-free into an account to help with routine medical expenses, and you
pay for catastrophic care. The combination of the two will save money.
It also makes sure that the decisionmaking process in medicine is
between the doctor and the patient, not between Federal bureaucrats and
the rest of the population. See, we must not allow the Federal
Government to run the health care system of America.
[[Page 1076]]
In order for us to be competitive, in order for America to be a
great place to do business, we need an energy policy. We need to become
less dependent on foreign sources of energy. I proposed a plan to the
United States Congress several years ago and said, ``Look, we have got
to do a better job of modernizing our electricity system, of exploring
for more energy in environmentally friendly ways in our own country, by
developing alternative sources of energy, biodiesel, ethanols.'' I mean,
listen, I would love to be able to leave behind a legacy that says,
``Gosh, the corn crop is up, and we're less dependent on oil from
overseas.'' That would be a good thing to have happen, wouldn't it?
And it's very possible. It's very possible. We must continue to push
research and development along those lines. And we've got to encourage
conservation. But we need--the Congress needs to pass this bill. I mean,
all they've got to do is go to the gas pumps and take a look at the
price of gasoline, and you begin to understand what it means to be
reliant upon foreign sources of energy. We need clean coal technology.
We need to be exploring for natural gas. We need to have--be able to
deliquefy liquefied natural gas off our shores. We need more energy in
order to be able to have our economy strong and, at the same time, make
sure we're strong from a national security perspective.
And finally, I want to talk about trade right quick. Do you know
that 97 percent of all U.S. exporters are American small businesses?
See, if you're good for--good at something, we want to encourage you to
be able to sell your product everywhere. We're really good farmers and
ranchers in America. We ought to be selling beef and corn and soybeans
everywhere there's a market. We ought not to be afraid of competition in
America. I don't like unfair competition. And so, the job of the
President, it seems like to me, is to reject economic isolationism, is
to say to countries, our markets are open for you, you open up your
markets for us.
You see, all we want is a level playing field. Just give us a chance
to compete. The chance to compete will be good for small businesses. A
level playing field will be good for you. It will open up markets. It
will give you more opportunity to sell that which you make in places
other than the U.S.
In my judgment, good trade policy means better jobs for the American
people. It's essential that we not become isolated from the world. It's
essential we be confident in our ability to compete. Give us a level
playing field, and America's entrepreneurs, small-business owners,
farmers, ranchers, and workers can compete with anybody, anyplace,
anywhere in the world.
What I'm telling you is, is that the economy's strong; it's getting
stronger. But it's important to keep thinking down the road, and it's
important to recognize that which is necessary to make sure we can
compete. You want to be not only vibrant over the next 4 or 5 years; you
want to be vibrant over the next 20 years. The role of the Government is
not to create wealth but an environment in which the entrepreneur can
flourish. And I've just laid out five or six ways to make sure that the
entrepreneur can flourish in America.
We've got other challenges as well. I want to talk about two of them
right quick. One, we will win the war on terror. [Applause] Thank you.
We will win it in the short term because our troops will protect America
from harm. We've got great troops. Sergeant, I'm glad you're here. The
chief of staff of the NFIB's son is with
us. He has served in Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. I'm honored you're
here, Sarge. Thank you for your service.
Thanks to Sarge and others like him, we're running down Al Qaida;
we've removed terror regimes who defied ultimatums; and we're doing the
hard work now of defeating terror in the long run
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by spreading freedom and democracy. It's not easy work; I understand
that.
It's hard to go to from tyranny to freedom. It's hard to be--to go
from a country which had mass graves and children being tortured in
front of their parents, guys whose hands were chopped off because the
currency was devalued. I remember the other day, seven people came to
see me, and they had had their arms--their hands cut off. They were
small-business owners, just like you, in Baghdad. And the currency had
devalued, and Saddam Hussein needed to blame
somebody. So he found these seven poor souls, and he cut off their
hands, and he marked their foreheads with a X.
Fortunately, a filmmaker captured their story.
And a guy in Houston named Marvin Zindler--
he's a TV guy--put a foundation together and--had a foundation in place
and saw the story, and he flew them over to the United States. And they
came with their new hands to see me. A guy took his hand and put the pen
in there and wrote ``God bless America'' in Arabic. That's the kind of
society that used to exist. These seven people were overjoyed with the
compassion of America and thrilled with the thought of living in a free
society.
This is hard work, but we've done hard work before. After World War
II, there were a lot of pessimists who doubted whether or not Germany
could ever rise from the rubble or whether or not Japan could ever be a
democracy. Fortunately, we had optimists in our country in those days
who refused to listen to the pessimists. Fortunately, we had people in
those days who had great faith in the values of America and great
confidence that people deep in their souls want to live in free
societies.
And that's the challenge we're faced with today. The killers and
suiciders want us to leave Iraq, Afghanistan. They want us to renege on
our word. They want us to lose confidence. They will fail. America will
not be intimidated by these killers. We understand the stakes. We
understand that our long-term security depends on the spread of free
societies in parts of the world that are desperate for freedom. We have
great confidence in our belief that freedom is the gift of the Almighty
to every man and woman in this world.
We live in historic times. We live in historic times. This economy
of ours is changing, and as it changes, it's getting stronger and
providing fantastic opportunities for people, opportunities for those
who dream the big dream and who work hard and take a risk. And we have a
chance to leave behind a legacy of peace by spreading democracy and
freedom. These are the challenges that have been placed before us. We
accept the challenges, and we know that for our great country, the best
days lie ahead.
Thank you for coming, and may God bless you.
Note: The President spoke at 1:20 p.m. at the J.W. Marriott Hotel. In
his remarks, he referred to Jack Faris, president and chief executive
officer, Thomas Musser, chairman of the board, Dan Danner, senior vice
president for public policy, and Mary Blasinsky, chief of staff,
National Federation of Independent Businesses; Mike Baldino, president
and chief executive officer, Kelly Industries, Inc.; S. Sgt. Michael
Blasinsky, USAF, son of Ms. Blasinsky; former President Saddam Hussein
of Iraq; Don North, video producer; and Marvin Zindler, member, board of
directors, Agris-Zindler Children's Fund. A portion of these remarks
could not be verified because the tape was incomplete.
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