[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
[February 9, 2004]
[Pages 193-200]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks in a Discussion on the National Economy in Springfield, Missouri
February 9, 2004
The President. Jack, thanks for having me. I want to thank the good
folks who work here for allowing us to disrupt your day to talk about
our economy and how it works. And hopefully out of this discussion,
people will learn better how people make decisions, decisions with their
own money or decisions with investors' money. I hope people come away
from this discussion with this great sense of optimism about the future
for our country. It's exactly what I believe. I believe we ought to be--
[applause]. So this ought to be a lot of fun.
I am thrilled to be here with the two United States Senators from
Missouri, Kit Bond and Jim
Talent. I appreciate their friendship and
thank them for coming. Congressman Roy Blunt, who
you know well, is with us today. He's a man who knows a good deal. I
said, ``Would you like to fly down to your hometown on Air Force One?''
[Laughter] Guess what his answer was? [Laughter]
I appreciate the mayor coming, Tom Carlson. Mr. Mayor, thank you for being here. Fill the potholes.
[Laughter] Sorry, Mr. Mayor, you didn't ask for any advice. [Laughter]
I also want to thank the other State and local officials and
community and business leaders for coming here. Thank you all for coming
as well.
Before I begin to talk a little bit about the economy and then of
course have our panelists talk about what they think and some of the
decisionmaking they made, I want to introduce a fellow who you may or
may not know. His name is Travis Morrison.
Travis, why don't you stand up right quick. [Applause] I guess you know
Travis. [Laughter] I didn't until I arrived, but I know a lot of people
like Travis.
See, Travis is a person who takes time
out of his life to volunteer in your community. When the tornadoes hit
here, he went up to help those who suffered. When people are looking for
food, particularly children, he's willing to take time out of his life
to fill the knapsacks full of food for the kids. He walks for the March
of Dimes. He works for the United Way. He's a soldier in the army of
compassion.
A lot of times, this country talks about our strengths, and we
should. We talk about the military strength of America, and that's
important, and we're going to keep us strong. We talk about how fat our
wallets may be, and that's important too. But the true strength of
America is found in the hearts and souls of people like
Travis, people who are willing to love their
neighbor just like they'd like to love themselves.
I like to talk about the Travis Morrisons of the world because
everybody can be an army--a soldier in the army of compassion. Everybody
can make a difference. This country's strength is found in the faith
centers and neighborhoods and community centers, where people help
somebody who hurts. And one of my jobs is to lift that spirit of America
and invigorate it and to call people to action. One of the best ways
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to do so is to remind people that in Springfield, Missouri, there are
thousands of people like Travis, and if you
want to help your community, help make somebody's life a little
brighter. Travis, thanks for what you do. Thanks for being a solid,
sound American by volunteering to help somebody who hurts.
Speaking about strengths, our country has been through a lot over
the last 3 years. I just want you to think about what the economy has
been through. In March of 2000, the stock market started to decline. And
that matters if you own stocks, and a lot of you do. You own them
through your retirement accounts, for example. It's the indication of
the rough times ahead. See, when a stock market sometimes indicates--is
a predictor of the future, and sure enough, in the first quarter of
2001, the country was in a recession. And when you're in a recession, it
means somebody is not going to be able to work. Things are going
backwards. The economy is in decline. People are starting to get laid
off. There's a lot of uncertainty out there. People just aren't sure
what their future looks like. It's tough times when the country is in a
recession.
We started to recover from the recession, and then we got attacked
on September the 11th, 2001. In other words, we had tough economic times
to begin with, and then the enemy hit us. And that changed us. It really
did. It hurt us economically. It changed our whole outlook about the
world. Perhaps by now, you're beginning to get an impression of how it
changed my outlook. It changed the way I look at the threats to America.
It reminded me that my most important duty, my most solemn obligation,
is to protect our country and the people. I'll never forget the lessons
of September the 11th, and when I see a grave and gathering threat to
the United States, we will deal with it. We will deal with it for the
good of our country.
The war on terror goes on, unfortunately, but we're going to win.
We're going to win because America is tough and strong and disciplined
and patient. We'll win because we've got fabulous men and women in the
United States military who are willing to sacrifice for our own security
and for the freedom.
And then, after we settled in with the new reality of the world, we
discovered that some of the corporate citizens in America forgot what it
meant to be a responsible citizen. See, when you're a CEO of a
corporation, you have a responsibility. Jack knows that, and I suspect
he might talk about--at least when he talks, you'll hear he recognizes
that. But we had some people in this country who didn't tell the truth
to their shareholders and their employees.
By the way, we passed laws--and I want to thank the Senators and the
Congressmen who are here--we passed laws, and now they know there will
be a consequence in America for not telling the truth. We expect people
in positions of responsibility, in CEO America, in corporate America, to
be honest to their shareholders and their employees. That affected the
people's confidence. Make no mistake about it. When we started reading
that some of these CEOs of publicly held companies lied with the
numbers, it affected people's confidence.
And then, of course, as you know, I made the tough decision to
secure America by--after having gone to the United Nations and after
having worked to--given Mr. Saddam Hussein a
chance to disarm himself, to do what the world had demanded, we went and
disarmed him.
The march to war affected the people's confidence. It's hard to make
investment. See, if you're a small-business owner or a large-business
owner and you're thinking about investing, you've got to be optimistic
when you invest. Except when you're marching to war, it's not a very
optimistic thought, is it? In other words, it's the opposite of
optimistic when you're thinking you're going to war. War is not
conducive to--for investment.
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And so we've overcome a lot. And I say we've overcome a lot because
we're growing. The growth is good. New jobs are being created. Interest
rates are low. Homeownership in America is at one of the highest levels
ever, and that's positive. People are owning their own home.
A lot of it had to do with the fact that we cut your taxes, a lot of
the reasons why this economy is growing. Make no mistake about it, the
main reason the economy is growing is because the entrepreneurial spirit
of America is strong and we've got the greatest workers in the world.
But it helps when those workers have got more money in their pocket, and
it helps when the small-business owners have got more money in their
coffers. And that's what tax relief does. See, when you cut the taxes
for the people, you let them keep more of their own money. It means
somebody is going to demand an additional good or a service, and when
they demand an additional good or a service in our economy, somebody is
going to produce that good or a service. And when somebody produces it,
somebody is more likely to find work.
And secondly, we did some smart things with the tax relief. We said,
``If you have a child, you ought to get help with raising that child,''
so we increased the child credit to $1,000 per child. It says that we
want the Tax Code to work the right way. We used to penalize marriage.
That doesn't make any sense. We ought to be rewarding marriage in the
Tax Code, and so--there was a marriage penalty.
We helped small businesses by encouraging them to invest. We cut the
taxes on everybody. Sometimes in Washington you see them play
favorites--so-and-so gets a tax relief, so-and-so doesn't. My attitude
is, if you're going to give tax relief, you ought to give it to
everybody who pays taxes. And we did that, and it's helping. People got
more money in their pocket to spend. You know what I'm talking about.
Small businesses are feeling pretty good about their future, because
there's incentives for them to invest. And by the way, it's very
essential for you to understand that when you say cutting taxes on
everybody who pays taxes--in other words, you're reducing individual
income-tax rates--that affects small business. Most small-business
owners are sole proprietorships or Subchapter S corporations, which
means they pay tax at the individual income-tax rate. So when you hear
us talking about cutting individual income taxes, think small business
as well.
And most new jobs in America are created by small businesses. It
makes sense to invigorate the small-business sector of this country. If
you're worried about job creation, if you're worried about somebody
finding work, it makes sense to stimulate the small-business sector of
this economy. And that's what we did.
Now, I want to--before we let Jack talk--he's
probably wondering whether or not I'm filibustering. [Laughter] I think
that's what you call it in the Senate, isn't it? Yes. Anyway, I do want
to talk to you real quick that--this is one of the real challenges we
face--a couple of challenges. One, my attitude is, in order to make sure
people can find work, that we need to open up markets for U.S. products.
I believe we need to have tort reform so that these frivolous and
junk lawsuits--[applause]. I know we need tort reform particularly when
it comes to health care. The costs of health care are going up
dramatically. And that affects small-business owners; it affects
employees. One cause of increasing health care costs is the frivolous
lawsuits that are running these docs out of business, that are causing
people to have to practice defensive medicine. We need medical liability
reform now in Washington, DC.
We need association health plans so small businesses can pool risk
so they can better provide health insurance for their employees. We need
health savings accounts. We've expanded them in the Medicare law, but I
want people to understand
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they're available now. And it's a really good way for people to buy
insurance, whether you're a small-business owner and/or an employee.
People ought to look into health savings accounts.
We want less regulation. We need an energy plan. We need to be less
dependent on foreign sources of energy. If you're a business, you need
to have reliable sources of energy available.
But I don't know if you know this or not, but the tax relief we
passed is set to expire, parts of it. And some of it's going to expire
next year, in 2005. In other words, the child credit is going down in
2005 unless Congress acts. The marriage penalty is going back up in 2005
unless Congress acts. And that's going to be an interesting part of the
national dialog. I believe we need to make the tax cuts permanent.
There are some in Washington--and they're going to say, ``Let's not
make the tax cuts permanent.'' That means it's going to raise your
taxes. When you hear people say, ``We're not going to make this
permanent,'' that means tax increase. Now is not the time to raise taxes
on the American people. This economy is getting better. We're showing
good growth, good, strong growth. Yet, some in Washington want to raise
your taxes. Make no mistake about it--let me tell you what's going to
happen when they raise them. They're going to say, ``Oh, we've got to
raise it so we can pay down the deficit.'' No. They're going to raise
the taxes and increase the size of the Federal Government, which would
be bad for the United States economy. People have got to understand and
listen to the rhetoric carefully. When they say, ``We're going to repeal
Bush's tax cuts,'' that means they're going to raise your taxes. And
that's wrong, and that's bad economics.
Anyway, that's enough from me. [Laughter]
Jack Stack. I'm stimulated, stimulated.
The President. I'm not interested in you being stimulated; I'm
interested in the economy being stimulated. [Laughter] And since you're
an entrepreneur--[laughter]. See, one of the things that's fabulous
about this country is people can start their own business. We want
people owning something in America. We want you owning your home. We
want you owning your own business. We want you owning your retirement
account or your health care plan. We want you managing your affairs.
And Jack understands what it means
to own something. He's an entrepreneur. He's a risktaker. And as a
result of being an entrepreneur and a risktaker and somebody who has
actually made it happen in a positive way, he's also an employer. He's
hiring people.
So, Jack, thanks for your--letting
me come by.
Mr. Stack. It's nice to have you
here. You are definitely the toughest act to follow I've ever had in my
entire life. [Laughter]
The President. I think you can handle it.
[At this point, Mr. Stack, chief executive officer, Springfield
ReManufacturing Corp., made brief remarks.]
The President. Thanks for your vision.
Mr. Stack. Thank you.
The President. He said ``bonus
depreciation.'' That means that it was the tax relief passed by Congress
encouraged him to invest. When he buys a piece of equipment, somebody
has to make the equipment, which means somebody is more likely to find a
job. So when Jack makes a decision to buy a piece of equipment, based
upon the tax relief, he really says, ``I'm going to not only help my
workers become more productive--which means better pay over time--but it
means somebody is going to have to make the equipment.'' And that's how
the economy works. It's an economy that responds to the decisionmaking
processes of a lot of people around the world like Jack.
He said he's going to add
employees. That's great. That's what I'm hearing all
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over the country. You know, 10 people here, 15 people there, but it adds
up in America. It adds up because there's a lot of entrepreneurs and a
lot of small businesses. In order to figure out how this economy is
going to do and whether or not to be upbeat about it, just listen to the
businessowners, the small-business owners who are on the leading edge of
hiring folks.
We've got a fellow here named Mike Sadler.
Mike is the president of Custom Manufacturing and Polishing. Why don't
you tell us what you do.
[Mike Sadler made brief remarks.]
The President. Mike's company is a
Subchapter S. That's a legal term for they pay tax at the individual
income-tax rate. So when you hear people talking about reducing the
individual income-tax rates, you're really cutting taxes on his business
as well. That's important if you're interested in job growth because he
has got more money in his coffers, money that will enable him to more
likely hire somebody as the demand for his products stays strong, money
that will enable him to pay for health care benefits for employees.
In other words, money available in the private sector and
particularly in the small-business coffers is money that's going to be
put to good use. It's money that's going to make it easier for somebody
to find a job. And I'm telling you, Congress should not raise the taxes
on people that are creating jobs and of people that are spending this
money wisely.
So I want to thank you, Mike, for coming. I
appreciate your entrepreneurial spirit. You hiring anybody this year?
Mr. Sadler. We're probably going to get two
or three, yet, this year.
The President. Two here or three there, all of a sudden, it starts
adding up all across the country.
Tricia is with us. Tricia Derges is the
president and CEO of Mostly Memories. It's an interesting name.
Tricia Derges. It's an interesting
company.
The President. All right, well, tell us about it.
[Ms. Derges made brief remarks.]
The President. Good. Let me just pick up a couple of things
she said. One, she is going to invest. I don't
want to get repetitive, but I'm going to--somebody has got to make the
conveyor belt. That's how the economy works. When your people talk about
stimulating the economy, tax relief encourages her to make a decision,
and that decision then affects somebody's ability to find work.
Secondly, she talked about people who have
been laid off. One of the most important things our society must do is
to train people for jobs which exist. And I hope that the State of
Missouri uses the community college system here in a way that says,
``Let's devise curriculum based upon the needs of the employers, so that
people can find work.'' We've constantly got to upgrade the skills of
our fellow citizens. As this economy changes, people need to get--learn
new skills. And the best place to do that is a place like the community
college. That's why I've called on Congress to provide money for job
training.
And I'm sure you had to help these people learn their jobs. But it's
amazing what happens when people are able to gain new skills and a new
lease on life, be more productive as a worker. Higher productivity means
better pay.
I'll never forget meeting a lady in Arizona, where she told me that
she had worked 15 years as a graphic artist, went to community college,
took some courses, then got employed by a high-tech company and makes
more in her first year in her new job as she did after 15 years in her
old job. And so education provides ample opportunity for new workers if
it's done right. And the best way to do it is to trust the local people
to put a curriculum in
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place to train people for jobs which actually exist.
Mr. Mayor, this is a good way to
recruit business, by the way, is if you've got a good worker training
program so that the employers know that they can find somebody who can
do the job.
Speaking about people doing the job, Gary Brown is with us. He's a warehouse supervisor here at SRC
Automotive. Thanks for being with us. You've got kids. You've got----
Gary Brown. Yes, a lot of kids.
The President. How many have you got?
Mr. Brown. I have four kids.
The President. That is a lot. [Laughter]
[Mr. Brown made brief remarks.]
The President. He got tax relief. See, everybody who pays taxes got
tax relief. They told me about $3,000.
Mr. Brown. That's right.
The President. That may not sound like a lot--might not sound a lot
to somebody. It's a lot to him.
Mr. Brown. Yes, it is.
The President. Sounds like a lot to me.
Mr. Brown. Yes, and if we continue going down
that road, it's only going to help us to--my wife is a stay-at-home mom.
We home-school all our kids, and we'd like to continue that----
The President. Congratulations.
Mr. Brown. ----and hopefully keep them home-
schooled and with a good education.
The President. Yes, that's a--first of all, Mom, you're doing--
that's tough. [Laughter] But it's--I appreciate that. I appreciate the
idea of you wanting to give your children the education from you and the
mom. Tax relief helps; $3,000 makes it a little easier for mom to stay
at home, to help them meet their dreams and aspirations.
I'm going to tell you what's going to happen if Congress doesn't
make this permanent. When the child credit goes back down, this man and
his family are going to pay $1,500 more--let me rephrase that--instead
of $3,000 a year, they're only going to receive $1,500 a year from the
Government. That's like a $1,500 tax increase. Now is not the time for
Congress to be raising taxes on the people.
Mr. Brown. To put some--talk about my wife a
little bit. One thing she also does is she also takes care of my nephew,
whose mom is right now serving in the 203d Engineer Battalion in Iraq.
The President. Fabulous. Yes, thanks. I appreciate that. Pass the
word, the Commander in Chief is incredibly proud.
Mr. Brown. I will. Thank you.
The President. Thank her for her service. And you might remind her,
when Iraq is free and democratic and peaceful, it will change the world.
These are historic times. These are times where we have a chance to
define a more peaceful world for our children. I mean, we'll keep
America secure by taking--making the tough decisions, by speaking
clearly, and by being strong. But it's also important for our fellow
citizens--and people who wear our uniform can attest to this--that a
free Iraq in the midst of a part of the world where there's such hatred,
such despondency and hopelessness, will be an historic moment for world
peace. See, free societies are peaceful societies. People need to see
what can happen when there's a free society.
And you tell your relative----
Mr. Brown. Sister.
The President. Sister. You tell your sister, thanks a lot, and it's
a meaningful sacrifice she is making.
Mr. Brown. Thank you.
The President. Teresa, thanks for coming.
Teresa Noblitt. It's an honor to be here
with you.
The President. You don't have a big family, do you?
Ms. Noblitt. Yes.
The President. How many kids?
Ms. Noblitt. Four. [Laughter]
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The President. It seems to be running here--is this company policy?
[Laughter] You've got five--six--three.
Tell us about yourself. You're an accountant?
[Ms. Noblitt, accountant, SRC Automotive, made brief remarks.]
The President. Yes, that's good. See, one of the things
she's saying is that with the tax relief,
means she can save more money and put it aside for her kids' education.
That's noble and important.
See, tax relief can be used to spend, and that's good, because it
increases consumer demand, but tax relief also is being saved by a lot
of our families, and that savings are really important in a society that
rests upon the flow of capital. Savings actually is capital to be
invested so people can find work. Tax relief is vital.
This family received $2,700 in tax relief this year, every year,
unless Congress, of course, doesn't act. When the child credit goes down
and the marriage penalty goes up, which is going to happen in '05 unless
this Congress acts, makes a decision, does what is right, this good
family will pay $1,300--have $1,300 less in money to spend. And it means
people in Congress will be spending it.
Now, we've got plenty of money in Washington. I would rather have
Teresa making the decision with that $1,300
than the people in Congress. She makes wise decisions with her money.
I hope you've enjoyed the conversation. I have. One of the things
that you hear if you listen carefully to what these folks are saying is
that Government policies can make a difference in people's lives in a
positive way. The entrepreneurial spirit in this country is strong.
You've got people who started businesses out of garages and had people
delivering goods in the streets, and they had to kick them out and make
them go get a warehouse. [Laughter] A guy takes a huge risk on a giant
debt-to-equity ratio and has succeeded. People buy the company. A man
over here buys a company. This is--I love the entrepreneurial spirit in
the country, and tax policy has got to encourage it, and we're going to
keep it strong here in America.
The other thing you hear, mothers and dads doing their duty, being
responsible citizens by loving their children. Government needs to stand
with the moms and dads. We need to be squarely on their side, whether it
be sending signals to professional sports teams, we're not going to put
up with any--you ought not to be putting up with any steroid use amongst
your players. We ought to be supporting the moms and dads who are trying
to teach their children the right lessons in life. We also ought to be
supporting them, helping them raise their kids, and tax relief helps
people raise their children.
I'm glad you all came. I'm thrilled to be back in this part of our
country, the great Springfield, Missouri. It's got good folks here,
good, honest, down-to-earth, hard-working people that really represent
the backbone of America. I'm proud that you all sat up here today and
shared your stories with us. I hope the people listening have a better
sense of how this economy works. I hope the people listening come away
with a great sense of optimism about the future of America, primarily
because the great strength of America is the people of this country. And
you just heard five good people talk about America and where we're
headed.
May God bless you all, and may God continue to bless this country.
Note: The President spoke at 12:25 p.m. at SRC Automotive, Inc. In his
remarks, he referred to Mayor Thomas J. Carlson of Springfield, MO; and
former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.
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