[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book II)]
[July 2, 2004]
[Pages 1224-1233]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks Following a Discussion With Small-Business Entrepreneurs
July 2, 2004
The President. Thank you all very much. Please be seated. Thanks for
coming. I am glad you're here. We're here today to talk about the
economic security of our fellow citizens. One of my most important jobs
is to help create an environment in which the entrepreneurial spirit
flourishes, because I believe that the fact that America is a heaven for
the entrepreneur is one of the real strengths of our country. I know
that when the entrepreneur feels confident, when the small-business
owner invests, it's more likely people will be able to find a job.
I'm interested in people working. I want people being able to go to
work and coming home, saying, ``I'm doing my duty as a mom or a dad to
put food on the table,'' or ``I've got an opportunity to set aside hard-
earned money for my child's education.'' That's what I'm interested in.
And one way to do that is to make sure the small-business part of our
economy is vibrant, strong, energized, and confident. And I think it is.
The economy of the United States has been through a lot. If you
really think about it, it's pretty remarkable to be able to stand up and
say to you that our economy is strong and getting stronger, that we're
witnessing steady, consistent growth. After all, we've been through a
recession, a national emergency, a war, corporate scandals. We've got an
economy which is changing. The nature of the job base is changing. And
all that means it's been a difficult period of time. Yet we're strong.
We're getting stronger. We're witnessing steady growth--steady growth.
And that's important. We don't need boom- or bust-type growth, we want
just steady, consistent growth so that our fellow citizens will be able
to find a job and so that the small-business sector will feel confident
about expanding.
[[Page 1225]]
I was pleased to see that consumer confidence is at a 2-year high.
That's an indication that the economy is strong and getting better. When
people are confident, they tend to be a part of the decisionmaking
process amongst millions of deciders that say the future is going to be
better.
I've just met with some small-business owners. I'm going to
introduce them here in a second. They're confident. The first thing I
listened for was, do they have confidence in their voices? Were they
saying to me, ``Gosh, I'm confident enough to make investment''? That's
what you listen for if you're somebody trying to be able to report to
the economy about the nature of our economy. To a person, to a business,
they were saying, ``You bet; I'm confident about the future of the
country. Therefore I'm going to invest more,'' which I'm going to talk a
little bit about here in a second.
Real after-tax incomes are up 11 percent since December of 2000. To
me, that's a vital statistic. Real after-tax incomes--that means that
the amount of money in somebody's wallet is increasing. That's what we
want to hear, isn't it, particularly if you're somebody who has got a
wallet. [Laughter] It's a good sign when people are working and keeping
more of their own money. That's what we want.
Homeownership rates are at an alltime high. That's an important
statistic, particularly if you believe the more people that own
something, the better off our society is. That's what I believe. We want
more people owning their own small business. We want more people owning
their own home. See, when somebody owns their own home, they can say,
``This is my property. Welcome to my home.'' They don't say, ``Welcome
to the Government's home.'' They say, ``Welcome to my home,'' which is
an important part of not only consumer confidence but it's an important
part of making sure people have a interest in the future of our country.
If you own something, you want to make sure Government makes the right
decision so you can continue to own it.
And we've got--homeownership rate is at an alltime high. And a
particularly important part of that statistic is minority homeownership
rates are at an alltime high. See, we not only want--when I'm talking
about ownership, I'm talking about ownership for all people, not just a
certain type of person. We want ownership to be a part of every
neighborhood. And it's happening in America. It's really what makes us
such a wonderful country, isn't it, when people from all walks of life
can say, ``I own something.'' And this administration will continue to
make sure the ownership society, or the ability for people to own their
own business or home, remains strong and vibrant.
Manufacturers are reporting increased activity more than any time in
20 years. We've had concern in the country about whether or not the
manufacturing sector would remain vibrant and strong, and the reports
are that the activity is as good as it's been over the past 20 years.
That's a pretty good sign, isn't it? I was told today--reminded today
that the Purchasing Managers Index is now above 60 for its 8th straight
month. That doesn't mean anything unless you're somebody who follows all
the numbers that comes out of Washington. But what it does mean is it
confirms the notion that manufacturing activity is as good as it's been
in 20 years. And that's very positive.
Today we got a new jobs report out. The jobs increased by 112,000 in
June, which means we've had a total of 1.5 million new jobs since last
August. To me, that shows the steady growth. It's one thing to be
reporting the GDP numbers are up; it's another thing to be able to say
more Americans are working. And that's what we want. We want people
going to work. We want people to be able to come home and say, ``Boy,
how was work--it was great.'' [Laughter] ``I enjoy working.''
[[Page 1226]]
I met two good workers from North Carolina here today. I'm about to
introduce the owners of their company. But they were here. They said,
``We're working and feeling good about it.'' And that's really good news
for our economy.
I want to thank you all for coming. I appreciate--I can see a lot of
members of my administration here. I don't want to try to go through
them all except for Secretary Evans, the
Secretary of Commerce. He's doing a fantastic job of running a very
important Cabinet office of my Government.
But thank you all for being here. I see a lot of familiar faces. I
see a lot of entrepreneurs. I see a lot of people who represent
entrepreneurs here in Washington. You're doing a fine job of helping the
United States Congress understand the proper role of Government is to
encourage investment, encourage business formation. And that's why the
tax relief package we passed was so important, particularly in the face
of a recession and in the face of an emergency. It came at the right
time. And I want to thank the people here who worked with us to convince
Congress to trust the people with their own money. That's really what
the debate was about, wasn't it: Who do you want to spend your money?
Obviously, the Government needs to spend some of it to make sure we've
got a military and make sure we fulfill certain functions. But at this
point in our economic history, it made sense to let you have your own
money to spend so that the economy would grow.
We based a lot of our decisionmaking on the knowledge that if you
have more money in your pocket, if there's more after-tax pay in your
pocket, you'll demand additional goods and services. And when you do so,
in a market economy, if it's functioning properly, somebody will produce
the goods or services. And when that happens, it kind of stabilizes the
job base and then, eventually, allows for more people to go back to
work. And that's what we're seeing--and that's what we're seeing.
Much of the job growth--the stimulus package was aimed at small
businesses, because we knew that 70 percent of new jobs are created by
small businesses. We were aware of that. And so therefore, when we went
to Congress, we said, ``As you reduce the tax burden on the American
people, make sure you understand the effect that tax reductions can have
on the decisionmakers who hire most of the new people--that would be
your small-business owner.'' A vital part of our package was to
encourage investment in the small-business sector of our country, and
it's paying off.
See, when the small-business owners of America feel confident and
feel comfortable in investing in plant and equipment or in new services,
it stimulates a vibrant part of our economy. That's what happens. The
cornerstone of our policy, if the truth be known, was to trust
individuals with their own money and to encourage the small-business
sector to grow so people could find work.
And we did so in two specific ways. One, we encouraged investment by
allowing for accelerated depreciation. That basically is a fancy word
for saying if you buy a plant or equipment or new computer programs, it
will really cost you less because you're able to deduct it faster from
your income. That's an important part of encouraging people to make
investment decisions.
The other thing was, is that we reduced all taxes. You see, our
theory was if you pay taxes, you ought to get a tax relief, not if
you're a certain--in a certain bracket you get tax relief. If you're
going to have tax relief, the best, most fairest way to have tax relief
is to say everybody gets tax relief, not just a few people. And that's
what we did. Here in Washington, you know, there tends to be class
warfare. It says only certain people get tax relief, or if you're
labeled ``the rich'' you don't get tax relief. Our view was, all tax
relief was the fairest way to do it.
[[Page 1227]]
And all tax relief, the theory of giving everybody tax relief who
paid taxes, was especially beneficial to the small-business owners,
because most small businesses pay tax at the individual income-tax rate.
See, most small businesses structure their companies as what they call
Subchapter S companies--you work for a Subchapter S company--or sole
proprietorships. And therefore, when you reduce individual income taxes,
you're reducing income taxes on small businesses as well. And the more
money a small business has in their treasury, the more likely it is
they're going to be able to expand and hire, presuming they've got a
good product.
Now, Government can't make you have a good product. [Laughter] We
can't say to you, ``Gosh, we'll help you align what you supply with
demand.'' You've got to figure that out yourself. That's not the role of
Government. But once you figure it out, once you've figured out how to
meet demand in the marketplace, we can provide incentives to encourage
you to expand. And that's what we've done. And that's why the economy is
steady and strong. I'm telling you, people are going back to work
because the small-businesses sector of America is strong and vibrant and
confident.
Ed Kostenski is with us. There he is. Ed,
stand up and be recognized. Thank you. He is from Jacksonville, Florida.
I said--and by the way, he's got a business called Nationwide Equipment.
I said, ``Did you start this business?'' He said, ``Yes, at my kitchen
table.'' It sounds pretty American to me, doesn't it? [Laughter] You
know how many small businesses have been started at their kitchen table
or in their garage? Thousands by, by the way, people from all walks of
life too. Ed is one who did that. He's got an S corporation--S corp,
which means that when he sees the--all rates get reduced, he's really
saying, ``The Congress wisely reduced the taxes on my business.'' That's
an important part of encouraging Ed to move on. By the way, he said that
his--the tax relief we passed in '01 helped him stay in business. And he
is--not only is he in business, he's adding employees this year. He's
added 14 this year. He'll hire another six before the year is out.
He's excited about his business. If you
don't believe me, just go ask him after the meeting. [Laughter] He's
moving used Caterpillars overseas. He buys them, refurbishes them, and
finds a market and sells them, which means we'd better not have trade
barriers. I mean, when you hear people talk about open trade, fair
trade, and free trade, think about Ed. He's able to sell machines.
There's a need for them. He's able to compete globally, even though he
is a small-business owner. A lot of small businesses benefit because our
Government has decided to open markets as opposed to close markets. It's
an important part, by the way, of making sure America is a good place to
do business, is to be confident in our ability to compete, so long as
the playing fields are fair across the world, which we'll make them
fair. That's part of my job. Ed's job is to meet demand. My job is to
make sure he's got the ability to do so with free and fair trade.
He will invest $300,000 this year. That's a
lot of money for a small business. One of the reasons he says he'll do
so is because the tax savings on that investment will be about $50,000.
See, that's what--when you hear me talk about incentives, that's what
the tax relief plan does. It says, ``Ed, invest 300,000 and you'll save
50,000 from what you normally would have.'' It's called an incentive.
And our American citizens have got to understand the connection
between investment and jobs. When Ed invests
$300,000 to build a warehouse and a painting facility, somebody has got
to come and build the warehouse. Somebody has got to manufacture the
material for the warehouse. Somebody is going to provide the new
painting equipment for the painting facility. Investment equals jobs.
When somebody invests, like Ed, somebody has to provide the goods
[[Page 1228]]
that he needs. And when somebody provides the goods he needs, somebody
is working to provide the good he needs. And that's how this economy
works. He says, ``With that money I don't send back to the IRS, I can
expand right here.'' [Laughter] Those are his words.
What Ed is saying is what a lot of people
around the country tell me, is, ``I can spend my money far wiser than
the Federal Government can.'' And I appreciate that spirit and that
attitude. That's why the tax relief we passed was so important.
The Maxwells are here--Joan and Owen
Maxwell. You two know them. See, they're their
boss. No, those aren't the Maxwells. The Maxwells are over here. There
they are. Thanks for coming. They're from Edenton, North Carolina.
They've got their own boat manufacturing company. I asked them how the
fishing was off the coast of North Carolina. [Laughter] They manufacture
center console boats. That's a pretty neat little business, isn't it?
And they said their business is good. As a matter of fact, they're
wisely trying to pre-sell their inventories. That's a smart idea.
Demand is up for their boats, I suspect because they produce a good-quality
boat at a reasonable price. If you make a lousy-quality boat at a high
price, no one's going to buy them. [Laughter] So they're good
businesspeople. They've added 20 workers in the last 6 months. They're
expanding their business. They're going to invest $750,000 this year in
molds for their boat-building business. Somebody has got to make the
molds. There's some worker making the molds that they're buying. And the
tax relief plan we passed will save them $100,000 on that investment.
You see, there's a connection between good tax policy and
decisionmaking. They're more likely to purchase $750,000 worth of molds
when they realize they
have $100,000 worth of savings in so doing. And that's why it's
important for our citizens to be able to draw the connection between tax
relief and decisionmaking that leads to more jobs.
One of the interesting things the
Maxwells have done--and I really appreciate
this--is that they have teamed up with a local community college to
devise a course to train them for people coming into their industry, the
boat-manufacturing industry. That's a wise, wise use of a very important
community asset, which is the community colleges.
I've met some people in North Carolina who, because of the changing
economy, had to go from the textile industry to the health care
industry. A lot of people in North Carolina used to work for textiles
and are looking for new work. And, wisely, the health care industry has
used the community college system to train people--for really good jobs,
by the way.
Now, the person is going to have to want to be trained. But the
community college and the local businesses have to provide the
curriculum. Government, by the way, helps pay the salary in a lot of
cases. And it's a wise use of taxpayers' money, and it's a wise use of
local taxpayers' money, to provide training for people so they can find
work.
One of the real bottlenecks we're going to have in America as our
economy changes and continues to grow is whether or not the worker is
going to have the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century.
One of the real challenges to make sure that America is the best place
to do business in the world, so people will be able to continue to find
work, is to make sure our education system functions well. And one way
to make it function well is for the Federal Government to work with
community colleges and local businesses to devise curriculum to train
people for the jobs which actually exist. And I want to thank
the Maxwells for being
a part of this kind of practical move in education all across the
country.
Joan says, ``There are a lot of
opportunities where people can use these skills.
[[Page 1229]]
We're literally building our workforce for the future here.'' That's the
way we think in the administration. We're thinking about the future.
We're thinking about how to make sure that the momentum that we have
developed in the economy not only stays strong in the immediate years,
but how is it going to look 10 years from now. So we've got to start
planning for the future. We've got to understand the decisions we're
making today are going to make it more likely that the small-business
sector, the entrepreneurial spirit of America will remain very strong
tomorrow.
And part of that is to make sure the education system not only
teaches our youngsters how to read, write and add and subtract now,
before it is too late, but it's also to make sure that our community
colleges are able to put curriculum in place to train people for jobs
which will exist.
So I want to thank the Maxwells for being here. I appreciate your spirit, and thank you
for hiring people.
We've got--John Biagas is with us. John,
thank you for coming--Newport News, Virginia. Newport News, Virginia--
John purchased his business in 1997. He took a gamble and said, ``I'm
going to buy the business from the previous owner.'' I think he said
they might have had a million dollars' worth of sales in 1997. They're
over 14 now. That's pretty good growth, isn't it, in a 5-year period of
time. This entrepreneur has taken a business that had a pretty good
sales base, but he's expanded it 15 times in 5 years. I can't wait to
see what you look like 5 years from now, John. [Laughter] By the way, it
won't be very good if they raise taxes on you. See, one of the things--
if John is thinking about what his business will look like 5 years from
now, I can predict to him if we run up the taxes on Subchapter S
corporations by raising, for example, the top rate, his business isn't
going to look quite as good as it would if--when we keep taxes low.
John is an S corp. In other words, all the
talk about running up the top rate affects his business. When you hear
them in Washington saying, ``We're going to run up the top rate,'' just
remember this is a tax on small businesses. And you don't want to tax
small businesses, because small businesses are providing the economic
momentum necessary for us to have created 1.5 million jobs since August.
We want that job creation to continue to go on.
Raising taxes will make it more likely somebody won't be able to
find a job. You know why? Because it affects businesses like
John's, that's why. When you start taking money
out of John's coffers, it means he's less likely to expand. He is a
full-service electrical and general contractor. That's his job. He hired
8 people in the last 2 months. He wants to hire 8 to 10 more this year.
That's positive.
I think we're beginning to see a trend here. [Laughter] Small
businesses are hiring--8 people here, 10 people there--but it adds up,
because there's millions of small businesses all across America. Small
business is the cornerstone of the great American enterprise system. Not
only that, it's the cornerstone of a hopeful country, isn't it, the kind
of country you have where John, who was one of
14 raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana--the youngest of 14, I might add--
can go to the family reunion, which I suspect is quite large--
[laughter]--and says, ``By the way, my business is doing pretty darn
good.'' It's a great American story, isn't it, where somebody who has a
dream and is willing to work to realize a dream is able to do so. Our
job is to make sure those dreams stay alive--the dreams stay alive.
He'll save $60,000 in taxes this year on
$350,000 of investment in new trucks. When you hear the investment
numbers in small businesses, it is heartening, because, I repeat, when
people invest, they create jobs. That's how jobs are created. John says,
``The cash we're able to keep in the business helps a lot. It helps us
look forward to the future.'' That's what he said. That's what you want
to hear. You
[[Page 1230]]
want to hear your CEO of a small business saying, ``It helps me look
forward to the future.'' You don't want people saying, ``Oh, gosh, life
is going to be miserable because when we've been able to come through
tough times.'' You want to say, ``I'm looking forward.'' Good policy in
Washington always looks forward, not backwards.
I'm going to talk about some things we can do to make sure, as
John and others look forward, the environment is
encouraging and conducive to economic investment. I just told you one,
and that is to make sure the education system functions well. If you're
a--somebody trying to hire people and you see that the education system
is working well, you'll be able to look forward with confidence, because
you'll know you'll be able to fulfill your workers' needs. You can't
look forward if you're worried about finding somebody to meet a skill
that you need.
Joan Thompson is with us. She was
talking about the level of worker--the skill level of the worker she
needs. She's an owner in a--thank you, Joan--she's an owner in a--part-
owner of the Minnesota Wire and Cable Company in St. Paul, Minnesota. I
say ``part-owner''--she's got nine other family members who own a piece
of the business?
Joan Thompson. Nine children and both
parents----
The President. Yes, 11 people, 11 owners. [Laughter] Family-owned
business--it's got a nice ring to it, doesn't it, and it's got an
American ring to it. There's a lot of family-owned businesses around our
country. And one of the real difficulties for family-owned businesses is
the fact that we tax a family's assets twice because of the death tax.
It's important that Congress understand what the death tax does to
capital formation and the ability for the small-business sector to
invest.
The--and I say ``you tax it twice''--when the Minnesota Wire and
Cable Company makes a profit, it gets taxed. And I suspect you pay
property taxes at the local level as well, and State taxes. And then
when the--mom and dad move on, in many cases, that asset will be taxed
again. And therefore, if the asset is illiquid, some people have to sell
their business. You can't pass it on. I believe you ought to be able to
pass your business on to whomever you choose without the Federal
Government being in between you and the--and those who you designate to
own the company.
And so Congress, by the way, needs to hear from small-business
owners and farmers and ranchers and--to tell Congress to complete the
task we started. We put the death tax on the way to extinction;
unfortunately--I think it's 2011--it pops up again. That's going to make
the year 2010 an interesting year for estate planners. [Laughter] ``How
do you want to handle this one,'' you know? [Laughter] ``I think I'll go
ahead and keep on living.'' [Laughter] They just need to make the repeal
of the death tax a permanent part of the Tax Code. It will be a major
part of the simplification of the Tax Code too. I understand it takes up
about 30 percent of the Tax Code, which is a real thick book. And it
just doesn't--to me, it's bad policy. And it's bad policy for the
Thompson family and a lot of other small-business owners around America.
Joan's business is a custom design--
custom wire and cable assembly business. They've got customers with
defense contractors and, particularly, health care. She likes to say,
``We're a part of the armies of healers that are all across the country.
We're helping people save lives.'' That's kind of a neat way to frame
your business, isn't it?
And it's going well. They've added 14 workers this year, tax savings
of about $80,000 on $600,000 worth of investment. I said, ``What are you
going to invest in?'' She said, ``Robotics.'' It's pretty interesting to
hear a small business say, ``Robotics.'' I don't know whether small
businesses were saying they were investing in robotics 20 years ago or
not, but I bet they are over
[[Page 1231]]
the next 20 years if the incentives are properly structured, if small
businesses are encouraged to invest, if the tax structure is such that
it will make it easier for them to survive by making sure Government
doesn't take too much of their money.
She also invests in C&C machines.
Everybody knows what they are. [Laughter] Somebody is making it.
[Laughter] Somebody is a part of the manufacturing process that is
making the C&C machine. In other words, there is a C&C machine maker--
[laughter]--that is employing people.
And that's how it works. That's how the economy works. I've asked
these four small-business owners to come and see us, because I want to
share with you a couple of things. Let me tell you what she said. She
said, ``The savings on the tax side gave us the confidence to launch
another division in our small business.'' We're talking about investment
in America. Investment equals jobs, and people are now confident to make
investment because of good tax policy.
The role of the Government is to create a sense of confidence by
doing some smart things. In other words, the more money people have of
their own money the more confident they'll be, particularly as this
economy picks up steam.
These are great stories, and I appreciate you all coming and letting
us talk about your stories. They're uniquely American stories.
And as we look forward with confidence, we want to make sure that we
make good decisions. There's a couple of good decisions we need to make.
One is--a bad decision would be to raise taxes on the American people.
And some of the tax relief is set to expire. And if Congress doesn't
make it permanent, that's called a tax increase. And they will be tagged
with raising taxes on the American people. They should not raise taxes.
We need good, consistent tax policy.
If you're a small-business owner, you want there to be a constant in
your life when it comes to planning. You've got too much to worry
about--markets, your customer base--and you need to have certainty in
the Tax Code. And the Congress needs to know that. And raising taxes
creates uncertainty and will make it difficult for small-business owners
to plan and invest.
Secondly, health care costs are on the rise, and that makes it
difficult for employer and employee. We must not allow the Federal
Government to run our health care system in America. What we must do is
to put good policy and plan in place, which will connect the patient-
doctor relationship and give people choices and decisionmaking powers in
the marketplace. That's why I'm such a strong backer of health savings
accounts. These can be tailored for small businesses. I would urge every
small business in America to look at a health savings account. It's a
good way to help control costs, and it's a good way to provide benefits
for your workers.
We need association health plans, which allows--small businesses
will be able to share risk. And big business are able to get pretty good
buys in health care because they're got a lot of employees. They can
spread risk across a large number of employees. Small businesses don't
have that same ability, unless Government allows them to share risk
across jurisdictional boundaries. And that's what association health
plans do.
We need tort reform in America. Small businesses are threatened by--
if you ask people what affects their confidence in the future, they'll
tell you, when they see junk lawsuits or have junk lawsuits filed
against them. It threatens their existence. It makes it very difficult
for people to plan with confidence. And let's face it, our society is
too litigious. There's too many lawsuits, a lot of them frivolous and
junk lawsuits. And there is a role for the Federal Government in this.
We need to have class action reform. We need to have asbestos reform.
[[Page 1232]]
Congress needs to get these bills passed and to my desk.
We need medical liability reform as well at the Federal level. You
see, junk and frivolous lawsuits cause docs to practice defensive
medicine. And defensive medicine basically means, ``I'm going to
prescribe more procedure than needed, so that when I get in a court of
law, I'll be able to defend myself.'' And that runs up the cost of
medicine, which hurts the patients, and it hurts the Federal Government
because the Federal Government pays a lot of money for health care in
Medicare and Medicaid and our veterans' benefits. And our budgets are
affected by frivolous and junk lawsuits here at the Federal level.
Therefore, I think it is a Federal problem that does require a Federal
solution. And we proposed such a solution. The House of Representatives
passed it. It got stuck in the Senate, because the trial lawyers are
powerful in the Senate; that's why. And for the sake of small-business
growth and for the sake of having a good economy in the future, we need
to convince the United States Senate to pass meaningful and real tort
reform. It's an important part--[applause].
And finally, if you're a small-business owner, you need to know that
you're going to have reliable and affordable sources of energy. There's
a lot of concern about the manufacturing sector in America, and there
should be. But a manufacturing sector has got a real problem if there
are disruptions of energy supply, spikes in energy prices, and doesn't
have reliable electricity.
And so my administration recognized this early on. And we knew that
if we were dependent upon foreign sources of energy it would create not
only an economic security risk but a national security risk. And so we
proposed ways to increase conservation. We promoted new technologies
that will come into play in the out-years that will make us less
reliable upon foreign sources of energy. We recognized that we can
explore for energy in environmentally-friendly ways that we couldn't 20
years ago. We promoted new electricity reliability standards. We've done
a lot of things. And we proposed it to the United States Congress, and,
of course, it's stuck. They're playing politics with the national energy
policy.
But if we're interested in making sure people can find work in
America, if we want to be the best place to do business, if we want the
entrepreneurial spirit to remain strong, we've got to develop an energy
policy that makes us less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
I've told you Ed relies upon trade. He's
moving used Cats, used John Deere, and used Case equipment overseas. He
said when you look at it, you can't tell it's used, though, because he's
got such good workers. [Laughter] They take a used piece of equipment
and redo it, make it look like new, make it run like new, and sell it
like old. [Laughter] And as he said, ``I am a small-business guy
utilizing free trade.''
America must reject economic isolationism if we're going to be a
confident, growing nation. Listen, we're good at things. Look at old
Ed; he's good at something. [Laughter] All he
needs is a chance to sell it. And if we fall into trade wars because of
politics, we will be doing a disservice to the entrepreneur in America.
We're good at growing things. Our farmers ought to be selling soybeans
everywhere in the world. And that's what we're trying to make sure other
countries hear this--hear the philosophy of this administration. ``We're
opening up our markets. Open up yours.'' That's what we're telling them.
See, we know what's good for consumers: when people have more
choice. If you're a consumer in America and you've got more goods to
choose from, you're going to get better quality at a better price.
That's how it works. And so we've said--not only have I said but other
Presidents have said--Presidents before me have said, ``For the good of
the American consumer, sell
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us your goods and services here in America.''
And now you've got an administration who is saying, ``Since we do
that for you, you open up your markets.'' I told Evans and Zoellick, ``When we
need to get tough with foreign nations that shut us out, get tough,
because all we're interested in is a level playing field.'' That's what
we want. We want our people treated fairly.
You'll hear people say, ``Well, the best way to deal with this is to
find out ways not to trade fairly, is to isolate us.'' That would be
terrible for small businesses. And so this administration is confident
in America because we're confident in Americans. We know we can--we're
really good. We're really good at building things and growing things and
selling things. And I intend to make sure that they have a good chance
to do so, for the sake of American workers.
This economy of ours is steady and strong--it's steady and strong.
It's steady and strong, which means people are going back to work--1.5
million jobs since last August. That is steady growth. And it's steady
and strong because the American entrepreneur is strong and capable and
willing to take risk. The entrepreneur is employing more people. The
entrepreneur is investing. And the role of Government is to promote good
policy that encourages the American entrepreneur.
And the other thing about the entrepreneurial spirit that is so
wonderful about our country is it doesn't matter whether you're the
fourth generation to own your business or you're a first-generation
American. Either way, you've got the opportunity to say, ``This is my
business. I own it. I'm going to nurture it and grow it and, therefore,
help others to find work.'' That's the cornerstone of the Bush economic
policy. And it's working.
I'm glad you all are here. God bless your efforts, and may God
continue to bless our country.
Note: The President spoke at 11:08 a.m. in the East Room at the White
House.