[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
[February 16, 2004]
[Pages 221-229]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks in a Discussion on the National Economy in Tampa, Florida
February 16, 2004

    Connie Horner. Welcome, President Bush and 
the First Lady. It is a tremendous honor for all of us to be here with 
you on President's Day.
    The President. Thank you.
    Ms. Horner. We're all wondering how you 
enjoyed the race yesterday?
    The President. A lot. [Laughter] I had the honor of calling Dale 
Earnhardt, Jr., after the race to 
congratulate him. I said, ``There's nothing wrong with a fellow 
following in his father's footsteps.'' 
[Laughter] We had a great time, really a good time.
    And it's such an honor to be here in Tampa. It's a beautiful part of 
our country. Thanks for having me.

[At this point, Ms. Horner, president, NuAir Manufacturing, made brief 
remarks.]

    The President. You're probably wondering why we're here. It's 
because we're going to herald the entrepreneurial spirit of America and 
talk about small-business ownership and job creation. And we're going to 
talk to some people who are working hard to do their duty as a parent, 
what it means to try to make a living in this environment.
    Our country has been through a lot recently. We really have, I know. 
I want to remind people that--during the course of this conversation--
there's nothing we can't overcome as a nation, because of the people.
    So we're going to--we'll have a discussion here about the economy. 
But before we do, obviously you saw that Laura is 
here, and I'm really, really pleased she's traveling with me.
    I want to thank the Horners for having us here. Mr. Horner, thank you very much for your hospitality, and Ms. 
Horner.
    I also want to thank members of the congressional delegation who 
have come to say hello and to listen. I appreciate their friendship. 
Congressman Mike Bilirakis, Congressman 
Adam Putnam--good to see Adam--Ginny Brown-
Waite, Congresswoman Waite, good to see 
you. Congresswoman Katherine Harris is with 
us. Thank you all. I appreciate you all being here.
    I know the Lieutenant Governor is here, Toni Jennings. By the way, you might tell the Governor I was looking for him. [Laughter] He's----
    Audience member. He's working.
    The President. Yes, I know he's working. He's 
in Costa Rica. [Laughter] He is--I'm really proud of that man. He is a 
fabulous brother and a great Governor. Give him my best. The attorney 
general is with us. General, good to see you, Charlie Crist.
    I know we've got some mayors here, the mayor of St. Pete, the mayor of Seminole, and the mayor of Clearwater. 
Thank you all for coming. I'm honored you're here. My only advice is, 
fill the potholes--[laughter]--a lot of citizens and local officials.
    Last night when I arrived from Daytona Beach, I met a fellow named 
Candy Corona. I don't know if Candy is here. 
He thought he might be able to get here. There he is. Candy, good to see 
you. Thank you for coming. So you're wondering why I would introduce 
Candy. I'll tell you why, because the strength of this country is not 
our military, even though we will keep it strong. The strength of this 
country isn't the fact that we've got wealth--and the good news is we're 
generating more for our people. The strength of this country is the fact 
we've got people who are willing to volunteer to serve a neighbor in 
need. That's the strength. The strength of the country is the hearts and 
souls of our fellow citizens. That's the true strength of America.
    Candy is a volunteer. He takes time out 
of his life to paint houses for senior citizens. That means a lot to the 
senior citizen

[[Page 222]]

who he is helping. You see, ours is a country where citizens--not 
because of government, by the way--decide to help somebody in need, and 
they change America one heart and one soul at a time.
    And the reason Candy is here--I've asked 
him to come--is so we can herald that great aspect of the country. 
People want to serve our Nation. You can do so in a lot of ways. You can 
mentor a child. You can feed the hungry. You can help the housing of 
those who can't help themselves. There are all kinds of ways you can 
serve America by loving your neighbor just like you would like to be 
loved yourself. Candy, thank you for the example you set, and we're 
proud you're here. Thank you.
    We have a lot of reasons to be optimistic in America. I want to 
remind you what this country has been through right quick. First of all, 
in the year 2000, the economy began to slow down, and a recession came 
our way in early 2001. Now, when you have a recession, it means the 
economy is going backwards and people can't find work. You might 
remember the times of uncertainty during a recession--you know, you're 
wondering whether or not there's another window to make, or you're 
wondering whether or not there's another product to sell. And when 
you're having trouble selling product, the labor market becomes soft and 
negative. People can't do their jobs, which is to put food on the table 
for their families. And so the recession really affected us.
    And we started to come out of the recession, and then the enemy hit 
us. And that hurt. It hurt a lot. It hurt our economy, of course, but it 
also hurt our national psychology, because we thought oceans could 
protect us from harm. It caused me to look at the world in different 
ways. It meant I couldn't look at a threat and hope it would go away 
and, when I saw a threat, that we couldn't take the good will of madmen 
and dictators, that my most solemn duty is to protect the American 
people. So when we saw gathering threats, we had to deal with them. 
That's what September the 11th said. And we did deal with them. And the 
world is safer and America is more secure as a result of dealing with 
threats.
    And then it turned out some of our citizens forgot to tell the 
truth. Corporate CEOs didn't tell the truth to their shareholders and 
their investors, and that affected the psychology of the country. We had 
a recession, and then we were attacked by a hateful enemy. And then some 
of our own citizens let us down, didn't they? And people began to wonder 
about the capitalist system; how could they trust the word of corporate 
America if CEOs weren't willing to tell the truth.
    We passed laws, by the way, to hold them to account. And if you 
notice, slowly but surely, justice is being delivered. I mean, the 
message is clear: If you lie, cheat, or steal, there will be a 
consequence here in America.
    Then, as I mentioned, I made the tough decision to go to war. 
Laura reminded me that early in the summer of 
2002 on our TV screens it started to say, ``March to War,'' a prediction 
of war. It's not a good environment to invest capital when you see on 
your TV screens ``March to War.'' It's hard to be optimistic about the 
future when you think you're marching to war. Now we're marching to 
peace. Now the world is more peaceful.
    But we've overcome a lot, when you think about what this country has 
been through. Those were a lot of obstacles and hurdles for this Nation 
to handle. And yet, our economy is strong. I will argue vociferously 
that one of the reasons it's strong is because the Congress wisely 
heeded my call and let people keep more of their own money. You see, 
when people have more money in their pocket, they're more likely to 
demand a good or a service. And in our economy, when somebody demands an 
additional good or a service, somebody is likely to produce it. And when 
somebody produces a good or a service, somebody is more likely to find 
work.

[[Page 223]]

    The tax relief was a vital part of this economic recovery. I say 
``recovery''--the facts bear me out. The last 6 months of growth have 
been tremendous. Housing starts are way up. Inflation is low. Interest 
is low. New jobs are being created. Reports for manufacturing activity 
is up. Things are looking better for America.
    We increased the child credit to help people raise their families, 
and we'll talk about that here in a little bit. We reduced the effects 
of what they call a marriage penalty. I can't imagine a Tax Code that 
penalizes marriage. It seems like we want a society that encourages 
marriage, not penalizes marriage.
    We helped our senior citizens with relief on dividends and capital 
gains. But one of the vital aspects of the tax relief plan was the help 
it provided to small business. You see, most small businesses pay tax at 
the individual income-tax level. A lot of Americans don't understand 
that, but it's true. A lot of small businesses are sole proprietorships. 
When you're a sole proprietorship, it means you pay tax at the 
individual income-tax level. A lot of small business are what they call 
Subchapter S corporations, which means that they pay tax at the 
individual income-tax level.
    So I went to Congress and said, ``Let's reduce all taxes on people 
who pay tax.'' I mean, if you pay tax, you ought to get tax relief. We 
ought not to try to pick and choose who the winners and losers are when 
it comes to tax relief. Part of that is just out of simple fairness, and 
part of it is because I understand the importance of small businesses. 
See, if you're worried about people working and you realize most new 
jobs are created by small businesses, it makes sense to have policies 
that encourage small businesses to grow.
    So the tax relief plan you hear some people maligning around our 
country helps small-business growth. It put money in the coffers of 
small businesses. It helped invigorate the entrepreneurial spirit here 
in America, which is important. Plus we had additional tax relief to 
encourage investment, and you'll hear some talk about that today. No, 
the tax relief came at the right time. It is making an enormous 
difference.
    And now what the United States Congress must do is to make the tax 
relief permanent. The tax relief is set to expire. It was good policy, 
but it's going to expire. The child credit goes down next year, unless 
Congress acts. The penalty on marriage goes up, unless Congress acts. A 
family of four--a married couple with two children making $40,000 a year 
will see a $915 tax increase, unless Congress acts. You hear people in 
Washington saying, ``Oh, let's not make the tax cuts permanent.'' When 
you hear somebody say that, they're saying, ``We're going to tax you. 
We're going to raise your taxes.'' You'll hear some discussion about 
what that means for a family when their taxes go up, but from an 
economic perspective, I'm telling you, now is not the time to raise the 
taxes on the American people.
    There's some other things we need to do here in this country. We 
need to make sure that other people open their markets to U.S. products. 
Our markets are open to other countries. Let's open theirs. We're good 
at things. Just give our people a chance to sell them overseas, and 
we'll compete.
    We've got to make sure we've got energy here in this country. We 
need to make sure we've got reliable electricity. Congress needs to get 
me an energy bill this year. We need to make sure that--these small-
business owners will tell you, too much paperwork can stifle innovation 
and the entrepreneurial spirit. The Federal Government, the State 
government, Lieutenant Governor, and the local governments must do 
everything they can to make the paperwork burden less on small 
businesses, not more. We need less regulation when it comes to 
overburdening the people who are creating jobs here in America.
    Health costs are a real problem here in this country. They're on the 
rise. I put forth

[[Page 224]]

some plans to help deal with the rising cost of health care, such as 
health savings accounts. These are innovative new approaches. I urge 
people to contact your health care providers to understand the power of 
health savings accounts. We've got association health plans, a plan that 
stalled in Congress, that allows small business to pool risk. You see, 
small businesses can't associate now in order to buy insurance like big 
businesses can, and small businesses ought to be allowed to try to 
contain costs by pooling risk.
    But I tell you one thing we need to do in this country in order to 
control the cost of rising medical care, we need to get rid of the junk 
and frivolous lawsuits that are driving good doctors out of business. 
There's some powerful interests in Washington that don't want to see 
this happen. But if you talk to small-business owners all across the 
country, they will tell you, rising health care cost is a problem. And 
if you talk to doctors and medical care providers, they'll tell you 
frivolous lawsuits are driving them out of business. If you talk to 
people about defensive medicine, they'll tell you frivolous lawsuits are 
driving up the cost to taxpayers.
    It's estimated that the Federal Government spends over $20 billion a 
year because of the practice of defensive medicine because of frivolous 
and junk lawsuits. We need to do something about it. The House passed a 
good bill, but the special interests have got it bottled up in the 
United States Senate. These Senators, like the two from your State, have 
got to understand that medical liability reform is good for job 
creation. It's good for small businesses, and it's good for America, and 
we need it now.
    Anyway, you can understand why I'm optimistic about this country. 
I've seen what we have overcome. But I'm really optimistic because the 
thing that really makes America work are the people in this country, the 
spirit of the American people, the incredible workers we have in this 
country. Our Nation has got the best workers in the world by far, right 
here.
    And the other thing about America is the great entrepreneurial 
spirit. It is strong. It is alive. It is well. It is one of the great 
success stories of our country, in which somebody can come with a good 
idea and dream big and start their own business. That's what I love 
about the country. One of the vital roles of Government is to create an 
environment in which the entrepreneurial spirit flourishes. That's one 
of the most important roles of Government. I believe this administration 
is doing so. I believe we set the stage for further growth of small 
businesses, so people can own something. We want people owning something 
in America. We want you owning your own home. We want you owning and 
managing your own retirement accounts and health care plans, and if 
you're so inclined, we want you owning and running your own small 
business.
    Connie Horner has the great opportunity 
here in America to run her own business. She's a CEO of a thriving, 
vibrant business. And if you've got a business inclination, there's 
nothing more exciting than running your own small business. And I can 
just tell she feels that way when I first met her. She's enthusiastic. 
One of the things she told me right off the bat is, ``We're successful 
because we've got a great workforce here, people who care about what 
they're doing.'' So Connie, thank you for having me. Why don't you share 
with the people your story. Tell them about your plans this year. If 
you're thinking about adding a job, you might mention that. If you're 
not, that's okay; you can mention that too. [Laughter]

[Ms. Horner made further remarks.]

    The President. There's a couple of things she said. She said the Tax Code encouraged her to make an 
investment. Well, when she invests in a piece of equipment, somebody has 
to manufacture the equipment. In other words, the Tax Code caused this 
company

[[Page 225]]

to make a decision, an economic decision. In other words, demand 
increased for a product in this case. Somebody has to make that. There's 
a ripple effect. Good tax policy creates a ripple effect throughout the 
economy. So not only does the increased equipment help this company, 
particularly help the workers become more productive--and by the way, 
productivity increases for American workers means better pay. That's 
what that means. It means our workers become the best in the world, 
which will yield better pay.
    Part of the decisionmaking was because we allowed for the expense of 
certain capital expenditures. And we allowed for accelerated 
depreciation. It's important for small businesses to have consistent tax 
laws. In other words, you don't want planners and thinkers to be saying, 
``Gosh, the tax law may or may not be the same next year.'' That creates 
confusion in the decisionmaking process. We need constancy here, and so 
I appreciate you bringing that up. I also want you to know, she said, ``We may add 40 workers this year.'' That's 
really good news for two groups of people. One, the workers here, it 
means that there's reliable jobs. She wouldn't be adding 40 workers if 
people's jobs weren't secure who already have them here. But the other 
good news is for the 40 that could find work here.
    But plus, there are thousands of entrepreneurs in America, all over 
the country, making the same kind of decisions--40 workers here, 5 
workers there begin to add up to excitement and new jobs. And that's 
what we're interested in, and that's what we're talking about, how to 
create an environment where people are willing to take risk so that 
somebody can find work.

[Ms. Horner made further remarks, concluding as follows.]

    Ms. Horner. And we are just incredibly 
optimistic about our future, and we have you to thank for that.
    The President. Actually, you've got yourself to thank for it, see? 
You've got yourself to thank for it. People--all governments can do is 
create an environment. It's up to our fellow citizens to seize the 
opportunity. We can't make you be bold. We can't make you be smart. We 
can't make you make the right decisions. That's up to you. I mean, the 
truth of the matter is, this economy is good because of the people in 
America. But thank you for the credit. Of course, I'll take it any time 
you give it. [Laughter]
    Again, I want the people who might be listening in to see the 
connection between investment and jobs. Connie 
says that, ``We're going to invest a million dollars this year.'' 
Investment means purchasing, in this case, equipment. And somebody has 
got to make the equipment. So when you hear policies that encourage 
investment, I hope you make the connection between the word 
``investment'' and the creation of jobs. And that's why so much talk 
with the economists are about--are people investing, because that 
investment cycle will lead to the increase of employment. So when you 
hear Connie say, ``We're thinking about investing a million dollars,'' 
that's positive news for somebody who is wondering whether or not they 
can find a job.
    Now, speaking about investing--good job, by the way. Sam Leto is with us. Sam is the chairman of Tampa Brass & Aluminum 
Corporation. He's about to tell you what that company does. I'm about to 
tell you, however, that Sam's company is organized as a Subchapter S 
corporation, which means that when you reduce taxes on the individual 
taxpayer, you're really reducing taxes on his business. And one of the 
fundamental questions that you must ask during an economic slowdown is, 
``Who do you want spending the people's money?'' I obviously made the 
decision that I think it's best that the small-business owners spend 
money on their employees and on making sure their companies are modern

[[Page 226]]

and in good shape. I'd rather--in an economic recession, I'd rather 
that, in order to get out of this recession, that the people be spending 
their money, not the Government trying to figure out how to spend the 
people's money.
    And so Sam is a person who--Sam has got him a 
small business. Sam, tell us about it.

[Sam Leto, chairman of the board, Tampa Brass & Aluminum Corp., made 
brief remarks.]

    The President. Yes, one thing--I'm going to interrupt you for a 
quick second, Sam--another piece of bad legislation 
that I think we corrected, at least corrected temporarily--it's going to 
come back unless Congress acts--is to get rid of the death tax. Let me 
tell you what the death tax does.
    Here's a fellow who has worked hard to build his business up, and 
he has made the decision to, obviously, to leave it 
to your family, unless, of course, they misbehave, in which case he may 
change his mind. [Laughter] The Government is now taxing his company's 
earnings. When he goes on and leaves his business to his sons and 
daughter, they'll tax it again. That doesn't make any sense, does it, to 
get taxed twice. It's not good for farmers to have the death tax. It's 
not good for the ranchers of America. It's not good for the small-
business owners. Congress got rid of the death tax, except it comes back 
to life in 2011. We need to get rid of it forever for the sake of 
entrepreneurs.

[Mr. Leto made further remarks, concluding as follows.]

    Mr. Leto. Mr. President, we have to keep this 
tax cut.
    The President. Thank you, sir. I agree. Good job, Sam. Sam's feeling pretty upbeat about life, it sounds like to 
me. That's good. You see, a lot of the--a lot of economic growth depends 
upon the psychology of the people making decisions all throughout our 
economy, whether it be the consumers wanting to buy more or whether it 
be employers willing to invest more. And so far the entrepreneurs have 
been upbeat. And it's--but you're going to say, ``Well, of course, they 
just pick the upbeat people.'' Well, the truth of the matter is, people 
are pretty upbeat all over the country. That's what I'm here to report 
to you. There's an optimism in our country that is undeniable. And we've 
got growth. And the key question is are we wise enough to continue the 
policies but to keep the policies in place that encourage growth.
    We've got with us Kevin Govin. He's the COO 
of MarkMaster, Inc. Tell us what MarkMaster, Inc., does.

[Kevin Govin, chief operating officer, MarkMaster, Inc., made brief 
remarks.]

    The President. Kevin, thanks. I want to pick 
up on two things he said. Both of them have to do with education. He 
said his son goes to a community college. It's essential that State 
governments take advantage of the community college system here to make 
sure people are trained for the jobs which will exist as we head into 
the 21st century.
    Technology races through our economies, as you know. Oftentimes the 
labor market is lagging behind in the change necessary to make sure the 
workers have got the skills necessary. I strongly believe the community 
college system is a place to make sure workers gain the skills necessary 
to be able to hold the jobs of the future. I think it's very--I 
appreciate you mentioning community college systems. There's a lot of 
fantastic community college systems here in Florida and around the 
country. I've asked Congress to put money forth for grantmaking to 
community colleges so we can train people.
    We've got a lot of good people. But as the economy changes, as these 
new machines come into be, people need to learn how to use them. As the 
health care industry changes, people need to be able to know what it 
means to be a nurse in the

[[Page 227]]

modern era. And so we've got to train people and train them well.
    I also know that one of the great things about our country and 
having a vibrant small-business sector is that oftentimes some of the 
best and hopeful programs are instigated by CEOs, programs to help 
workers embetter themselves, education programs, training programs. 
People have got to understand here in this country that there are a lot 
of people who look to America and say, ``Gosh, I want to be able to 
provide for my family here.''
    And therefore we need a work system that is--promotes legal 
activity, not illegal activity; a work system that says if you can't--if 
an employer can't find an American worker and yet there's somebody else 
willing to do the job, there ought to be a card, a worker card--not a 
citizenship card but a card to allow people to work, so that we can 
recognize what is taking place illegally here, an underground economy. 
That's not the American way. The American way is rule of law. The 
American way is understanding people come here to put food on the table 
for their children. And again, I repeat to you, I don't believe we ought 
to be promoting blanket amnesty for people who are working here, but I 
do believe we ought to have an orderly system that allows people to 
legally apply to work when they can't find an American worker. This will 
help our homeland security issues, and it will make sure employers can 
find willing workers, which is an important part of making sure this 
economy continues to grow.
    Speaking about willing workers, I'm sitting next to one, Noemi 
Gonzalez. She is an accounting clerk here at 
NuAir Manufacturing. She is excited to be here.
    Noemi Gonzalez. Yes, I am.
    The President. Would you tell us your story? We spent time talking 
about small-business growth, the entrepreneurial spirit. But every 
small-business owner will tell you, their businesses cannot survive 
without really good workers, good, hard-working, decent, honorable 
Americans. We've got two here with us today, a representative sample, I 
might add. Noemi.
    Ms. Gonzalez. Okay, I don't have--I have 
a big business, my family.
    The President. Si.
    Ms. Gonzalez. And my three children.
    The President. Adonde? Ahi.
    Ms. Gonzalez. And my granddaughter. 
That's my big business.
    The President. That is your most important job, by the way. 
Accounting is important, but not nearly as important as being a mother.
    Ms. Gonzalez. And a grandmother.
    The President. And a grandmother. Well, you don't look old enough to 
be a grandmother. [Laughter]
    Ms. Gonzalez. I'm really glad to work 
here at NuAir, thanks to Connie. I've been her 
employee for 2 years, and I'm really glad of the tax relief, because now 
I can think ahead, to send my daughter to college.
    The President. Yes, she got $2,400 in tax relief last year.
    Ms. Gonzalez. And I know there's a lot of 
people like me; they're glad to receive the tax relief.
    The President. You know, that may not sound a lot to some people in 
Washington, $2,400. They throw a lot of numbers around in Washington. 
That's a lot to her. That's a lot of money to a lot of people. When you 
got people who are working hard to maintain their family--
she's looking after her granddaughter as 
well--$2,400 is a lot. It's a lot of money. It's a lot of security. It's 
a lot of hope, and this Congress must understand that. They understand 
2,400. And if we don't make the tax relief permanent, she pays an 
additional $1,200 next year. And that's not right. And that's not right. 
And she said--I'm putting words in your mouth. What are you going to do 
with money? You said you're going to save? [Laughter]
    Ms. Gonzalez. Well, we're planning a 
vacation to go to Texas.

[[Page 228]]

    The President. That's good. Yes. [Laughter]
    Ms. Gonzalez. Family vacation. Texas.
    The President. Yes. Que inteligente.
    Ms. Gonzalez. Viva la gente. We're 
planning a family vacation with my family. We're going to see my nephew. 
He's coming from Iraq. He has been there for a year.
    The President. Oh, fantastic. Where are you going? Adonde?
    Ms. Gonzalez. San Antonio.
    The President. San Antonio?
    Ms. Gonzalez. San Antonio, Texas.
    The President. You tell your nephew, ``On behalf of a grateful 
Commander in Chief and a grateful country, thank you for your service.''
    Ms. Gonzalez. Thank you. He's so glad to 
do it. He's so happy to do it, and we're a really proud family. Thank 
you very much. Thank you.
    The President. Okay, Noemi, thanks. What 
a fantastic American story, isn't it? You know, the nephew serving for a 
cause greater than himself, Noemi working hard to support her family. 
The word you heard was, ``I'm going to take some of the tax relief and 
save it for my child's education.'' The best education programs start at 
home. A child's first teacher is a mom or a dad. A mom or dad must 
understand that education is the gateway to success in this country. 
We've got to make sure our public schools, by the way, function well. 
But we've also got to make sure--but personal responsibility, being 
responsible for your families, also an important part of making sure 
people get educated here. Good job.
    I was looking for you yesterday on the racetrack, Steve. I was--I heard I was coming here to meet you. And I 
said--well, they said, ``He's a race car driver.'' So I was looking--
[laughter]--but I didn't see you.
    Steve Martin. Thank you, Mr. President.
    The President. The fact that you're willing to get in there and race 
those kind of cars on those steep banks says a lot about you, though--
positive, I might add. [Laughter] But thank you. Tell us about yourself. 
Thanks for being here today.

[Mr. Martin, installation manager, NuAir Manufacturing, made brief 
remarks.]

    The President. I appreciate it. Thank you. I just want to remind 
everybody that tax--the child credit is going down next year. And if you 
listen to some of them talking out of Washington these days, that's fine 
with them. They're going to repeal--when you hear them say, ``Repeal the 
Bush tax cuts,'' don't be thinking about Bush. Be thinking about people 
like Steve and Noemi. That's what you need to be thinking about when you hear 
that talk. Because when the child credit goes down, it means everybody 
who has got a child, in essence, pays increased taxes. That doesn't seem 
to be good policy to me. You've heard the effects of what tax relief 
means to individual Americans. It means they've got more money to make 
decisions, whether it's to save or go on a vacation to Texas or to have 
a quality of life issue at home. These are important issues. These are 
issues made by individual Americans, with their own money, by the way.
    And that's what the tax relief says to me. It says that we've got a 
proper perspective on who ought to be making decisions with your money. 
Listen, we've got money in Government. You don't have to worry about 
that. But the fact that there's more money in your pockets have made 
this economy strong, and that's where we need to keep it. And it's a 
fundamental debate going on in this country. It's pretty clear where I 
stand. I stand squarely with the people in this debate. I want them to 
have more of their own money.
    I hope you've enjoyed this conversation as much as I have. It's a--
it is a way for six people to have a conversation about the economy and 
in an unusual way, isn't it? [Laughter] Yes, well--but there has been 
some pretty interesting points that have come out of it. One, there's a 
sense of

[[Page 229]]

optimism, at least amongst the employers who are here. The tax relief 
has made a difference in small-business people's lives. You've heard 
plans for 5, 6 employees or 60 employees or 20 employees, whatever it 
may be.
    But this is happening all over the country. Small businesses are 
alive and well. Good policy recognizes that most new jobs in America are 
created by small-business owners. And therefore, tax policy and fiscal 
policy and public policy all ought to be aimed at strengthening the 
small-business sector of America. And then, of course, there's the 
individual stories about hard-working, decent Americans worried about 
their families, and what they do with the more money in their pocket.
    And that's what tax relief is all about, and it's important for 
people in Washington, DC, to hear the voices of the people, to hear what 
people are saying about this economy. No, I'm optimistic for this 
country. I've seen what we've been through, and I know the character of 
the people of this country. There's nothing that we can't overcome in 
America.
    I want to thank you all for coming. May God bless you, and God bless 
this country.

Note: The discussion began at 9:03 a.m. at NuAir Manufacturing. In his 
remarks, the President referred to NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr.; 
Gov. Jeb Bush, Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings, and State Attorney General 
Charlie Crist of Florida; Mayor Richard M. Baker of St. Petersburg, FL; 
Mayor Dottie K. Reeder of Seminole, FL; and Mayor Brian Aungst, Sr., of 
Clearwater, FL.