    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [January 6, 2006]
    [Pages 13-21]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the Economic Club of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois
    January 6, 2006

        Thanks for the warm welcome. It's nice to be back. Congratulations
    to the White Sox, all you longtime White Sox fans and you recent
    converts. [Laughter] We choppered in--the Speaker said, ``There's the
    home of the Cubs.'' I said, ``Well, Mr. Speaker, maybe next year.'' [Laughter]
        I did come here 3 years ago, and I appreciate the chance to come
    back. Three years ago, I came and said that we had an economic plan to
    help this country move forward after the devastating attacks, that we
    had an idea as to how to help this economy grow. And the cornerstone of
    that speech was to tell Congress they needed to accelerate the tax
    relief we passed. And they did, and the plan is working.
        We got some new numbers today to show our economy added 108,000 jobs
    in December, and it's added more than 400,000 jobs in the last 2 months.
    The unemployment rate is down to 4.9 percent. Americans are going to
    work. This economy is strong, and we intend to keep it that way.
        I appreciate the Economic Club of Chicago inviting speakers to come
    and talk about economics. I appreciate you giving me a chance to come
    back. I want to thank Miles White.
         I'm proud to be traveling with the Speaker, Denny Hastert. He's a good, solid American. And he's doing a heck
    of a job as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. I appreciate
    being here with the senior Senator from the State of Illinois, Dick
    Durbin. I think the chairman is here--Mr.
    Chairman, Henry Hyde, thank you for being
    here, sir.
        Congressman John Shimkus is here, from
    the south part of your State. Thanks for coming all the way up here.
    Congresswoman Judy Biggert is with us.
    Judy, good to see you. Thanks for coming. Congressman Mark Kirk is with us. I appreciate you all. You do what the
    Speaker tells you to do. [Laughter]
        I appreciate Charlie Carey; he's the
    chairman of the Chicago Board of Trade. I just went there. A guy yelled
    out, in the corn pit, ``Hook 'em, Horns!'' [Laughter] So I hooked 'em--
    [laughter]--and now I own a lot of corn. [Laughter]
        I want to thank the members of the Chicago Board of Trade. I thank
    Terry Duffy, who is the chairman of the
    board of the Chicago Merc, where I had the honor of traveling in March
    of 2001. Thank you all for giving me a chance to come.
        The American economy heads into 2006 with a full head of steam. Our
    economy grew at more than 4 percent in the third quarter. We've been
    growing at nearly that rate for 2 years. The American consumer is
    confident. More Americans now own their home than at any time in our
    Nation's history. Minority homeownership is at a record high. Real
    disposable income is up. New orders for durable goods like machinery
    have risen sharply. Shipments of manufactured goods are up as well.
    Business activity in our manufacturing sector reported its 31st straight
    month of growth. Our small businesses are thriving. In 2005, the
    American economy turned in a performance that is the envy of the
    industrialized world. And we did this in spite of higher oil prices and
    natural disasters.
        We're strong, and I'm optimistic about the future of this economy.
    And one reason I am is because of the rise of American productivity.
    We're an incredibly productive nation. Our productivity has been growing
    at 3.5 percent for the last 5 years. American workers are now more than
    17 percent more productive than they were in 2001. And why is that
    important? That's important because productivity means America

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    will remain the leader in the world. Productivity is important because
    it helps people live a better life.
        From 1973 to 1995, productivity grew at 1.4 percent per year. At
    that rate, it would take 50 years to double the standard of living for
    Americans. Our economists now project that productivity will grow by 2.6
    percent over the long term. And at that rate, we can double the standard
    of living of Americans nearly twice as fast. And that's important. We
    want to be able to compete, and we want our people being able to realize
    their dreams. In short, we're productive, we're innovative, we're
    entrepreneurial, and the role of government is to keep it that way.
        Our goal in Washington has got to make sure America is the leader in
    the world when it comes to economic vitality, the best place to realize
    your dream in the world. And the best way to make sure economic
    opportunity reaches throughout our land is to make sure that we have
    economic growth. My administration has pursued and we'll continue to
    pursue progrowth economic policy. American businesses and farmers,
    workers, and entrepreneurs create the wealth in this country. Government
    does not create wealth. The role of government is to create an
    environment where the entrepreneurial spirit flourishes and where small
    businesses can grow to be big businesses and where people can dream
    about owning their own home and have it become a reality. That's the
    role of government.
        In our economy, the most precious resource is the talent and
    ingenuity of the American people. And there's no limit to what the
    American people can achieve when they have the skill sets to compete and
    the freedom to make a better life for themselves and their family.
        Our trust in the American people has brought us through some tough
    times. We've been through a lot. In the past 5 years, this economy has
    endured a stock market collapse, a recession, terrorist attacks,
    corporate scandals, high energy costs, and natural disasters. They're
    all shocks to our economy, and they deserved swift action, firm resolve,
    and clear thinking.
        Here's how I started to address--the perspective I took when it came
    time to addressing these challenges. I said, ``The American economy
    grows when the American people are allowed to keep more of their own
    money so they can save and they can invest and they can spend as they
    see fit.'' So I called on the Congress, as I mentioned to you earlier,
    to cut the taxes, and Congress responded. It's been a while since that
    happened. Let me review what took place. [Laughter]
        We lowered the taxes so Americans--so American families could
    thrive. We cut the taxes on the families by lowering the rates and by
    doubling the child credit and by reducing the marriage penalty. I can't
    imagine a Tax Code that penalizes marriage. It seems like to me we ought
    to be encouraging marriage through our Tax Code.
        We thought it was unfair to say to a farmer and a small-business
    owner, ``The Government is going to tax you twice.'' So we put the death
    tax on the road to extinction. We cut the taxes, and by doing so, we
    helped raise after-tax income for a person by 7 percent since I've been
    your President. Real after-tax income per person is up by 7 percent. And
    that's good for our families. We want our families to have more money in
    their pocket.
        These tax cuts make a real difference in the lives of those who work
    hard in this country. By cutting taxes on income, we helped create jobs.
    You see, when people are allowed to keep more of their own money, it
    means they're going to demand more goods and services. And in the
    marketplace, somebody will produce that--those goods and services to
    meet demand. And when somebody meets the increased demand in the
    marketplace, it's more likely somebody is going to be able to find a

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    job. Cutting taxes helps people find a job in the United States of
    America.
        We cut taxes on small businesses. Most small businesses pay
    individual income tax rates, sole proprietorship or a limited
    partnership or a subchapter S corporation. So when you reduce individual
    rates, you're really increasing the amount of capital available for
    small businesses to expand. And that's important because 70 percent of
    the new jobs in America are created by small businesses. And when you
    couple the tax--reduction in tax rates with incentives for small
    businesses to invest in new equipment, you can understand why this
    economy is strong. The small-business sector of the United States of
    America is flourishing. The entrepreneurial spirit is widespread, and
    more and more Americans are starting their own company.
        American families have benefited from the tax cuts on dividends and
    capital gains. Let me repeat that. American families all across this
    country have benefited from the tax cuts on dividends and capital gains.
    Half of American households--that's more than 50 million households--now
    have some investment in the stock market, either by owning shares in
    individual companies or through owning mutual funds. By cutting the
    taxes on dividends and capital gains, we have boosted confidence in our
    economy. More people have more money to invest. As a result, the stock
    market has added nearly $3 trillion in value.
        I'll never forget going to an automobile manufacturing plant in
    Mississippi. It was a very diverse group of workers. I said, ``How many
    of you own your own 401(k)?'' In other words, ``How many of you have a
    stock portfolio?'' Nearly 90 percent held their hands up. When you cut
    taxes on capital gains and you cut taxes on dividends, you're helping
    the lineworkers in the automobile plant.
        Part of making sure this economy grows is to understand who owns the
    wealth in the United States of America, and it's becoming widespread all
    throughout our society. Cutting taxes has reduced--on capital gains and
    dividends has reduced the cost of capital. If you want your economy to
    grow, you want the cost of capital down. And reducing the cost of the
    capital has made it easier for investment, and investment has increased
    the productivity of the American worker, and the productivity increases
    for the American worker increased the standard of living for the
    American worker.
        There's a mindset in Washington that says, ``You cut the taxes,
    we're going to have less money to spend.'' Well, the growth, the
    economic vitality that has been set off by the tax cuts has been good
    for our Treasury. Since we cut taxes on income, tax revenues from income
    has jumped by 17 percent. Tax revenues from dividends and capital gains
    has increased an estimated 50 percent. By cutting the taxes on the
    American people, this economy is strong, and the overall tax revenues
    have hit at record levels.
        Now, there are a lot of people in Washington that don't believe in
    tax cuts. As a matter of fact, they didn't believe the tax cuts would
    work. Critics said our economy was the worst since the Great Depression.
    The truth of the matter is, by cutting taxes when we did, we've had the
    fastest growing economy of any major industrialized nation. Critics said
    the tax cuts are ruining the economy. They're just wrong. The facts say
    otherwise.
        Since we cut the taxes, household wealth is on the rise; people are
    doing better; we're creating jobs. One Democratic critic described the day the House voted for tax relief this
    way: She said, ``Today the Congress of the United States will vote on a
    reckless, irresponsible tax plan that will undermine opportunity in our
    country.'' Since that Congresswoman had uttered those words, the economy
    has added more than 4.5 million new jobs.
        By letting people keep more of what they earn, this economy is
    strong. Unfortunately, just as we're seeing the evidence of how

    [[Page 16]]

    the tax cuts have created jobs and opportunity, some in Washington are
    saying we need to raise your taxes. See, that's either by saying,
    ``We're not going to make the tax cuts permanent''--in other words,
    they're going to expire--or, ``Why don't we repeal the tax cuts right
    now.'' When you hear somebody say, ``Let's don't make the tax cuts
    permanent,'' what they're telling the American worker and the American
    family is, ``We're going to raise taxes on you.'' If that were to
    happen, a Chicago family of four making $50,000 would see Federal income
    taxes go up by nearly 50 percent.
        Just as this economy is getting going, there are some in Washington
    who want to take the money out of your pocket. They think they can spend
    it better than you can. To keep this economy growing, to keep the
    entrepreneurial spirit alive, to make sure that the United States of
    America is the most productive nation in the world, the United States
    Congress must make the tax cuts permanent.
        There's been a lot of discussion about the budget in Washington;
    there should be. You'll hear the folks say, ``Why don't we just raise
    the taxes to balance the budget?'' Folks, that's not the way Washington
    works. They will raise your taxes and increase Federal spending. The
    best way to deal with the budget deficit is to have progrowth policies
    in place and be fiscally sound with taxpayers' money.
        Listen, we're at war. And by the way, we're going to win the war.
    And so long as we've got our kids--and so long as we've got our men and
    women in uniform in harm's way, this Government will support them with
    all the resources that are necessary to win that war. That means we've
    got to show extra discipline in other areas of the Federal budget.
        Now, our budget has two kinds of spending--it's called discretionary
    spending and mandatory spending. And thanks to working with the Speaker
    and others, we've shown real progress on being fiscally wise when it
    comes to discretionary spending. We've now cut the rate of growth in
    nonsecurity discretionary spending each year since I've been in office.
    Last February, my budget proposed an actual cut in nonsecurity
    discretionary spending. It's the most disciplined budget proposal since
    Ronald Reagan was the President.
        We ended or reduced about 90 low-priority or poorly performing
    Government programs. We cut nonsecurity discretionary spending and kept
    overall discretionary spending growth below the rate of inflation.
    That's what the American people want us to do. They want us to set
    priorities, be wise with the money. And by doing this, we are still on
    track to cut the Federal deficit in half by 2009.
        The bigger challenge to this budget is the long-term deficits driven
    by mandatory spending, or what they call entitlements. And these
    entitlements include Social Security and Medicare, both of which are
    growing faster than our ability to pay for them. The costs of these
    programs are growing faster than the economy. The cost of these programs
    are growing faster than the rate of inflation. The costs of these
    programs are growing faster than the population is growing. It's
    unsustainable growth, because a lot of people like me are getting ready
    to retire. [Laughter] In my case, I turn 60 in 2008--that's a convenient
    date for me--[laughter]--62 in 2008, 60 this year, unfortunately.
        Projected deficits of these programs when these baby boomers like me
    retire are fixing to grow and grow and grow. And we don't have enough
    people paying into the system to cover them. It's what's called unfunded
    liabilities. And they're a problem for our children and our
    grandchildren, and we can solve this problem. It just takes political
    will, political courage. We don't need to cut the programs; we need to
    slow their growth. That's what we need to do.
        Oh, I know some in Washington would like me to stop talking about
    it. I'm not going to. I believe the role of the President

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    of the United States--[applause]. I believe my role, and I believe all
    our roles in Washington is to confront problems now and not pass them on
    to future Presidents and future Congresses.
        Congress has an opportunity to show its commitment to controlling
    entitlement spending when it comes back off its recess. Before Members
    of the House and the Senate left Washington, they agreed to rein in
    future spending on entitlements by nearly $40 billion. They did this by
    reforming programs and eliminating waste and reducing the rate of
    spending growth. Now Congress needs to finish the work on this important
    bill. And, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank
    you for your leadership on this important bill.
        Listen, we got a lot of people in Washington who preach fiscal
    discipline and then they go on to vote against spending restraint. By
    passing the first reduction in the growth of entitlement spending in
    nearly a decade, Congress can send a clear signal that the people's
    Representatives can be good stewards of the people's money.
        As we work to keep taxes low and restrain spending, we've also got
    other challenges. One big challenge we face is energy. Again, I want to
    thank the Speaker and the Congress for
    putting an energy bill on my desk that I signed that encourages
    conservation, alternative forms of energy, encourages the exploration
    for natural gas in environmentally friendly ways. It's a good start. But
    the truth of the matter is, technology is going to lead this country
    away from our dependence upon hydrocarbon, and the United States
    Government can help speed up technology.
        In order to make sure this economy grows, we've got to have a
    reasonable health care system. I view the role of the Federal Government
    is to help the elderly. And we got good Medicare reforms done. And I
    believe the role of the Federal Government is to help the poor. And
    that's why we've got Medicaid. But I do not believe the role of the
    Federal Government is to tell doctors how to work and patients what to
    do. We need to make sure we connect the doc--the patient-doctor
    relationship to inventive programs like health savings accounts. This
    Congress needs to expand health savings accounts on behalf of good
    health care in America.
        To make sure this is the most competitive country in the world,
    we've got to get rid of some of these junk lawsuits that are running
    capital out of America. We've got a real challenge; the trial bar is
    tough. You need to speak up. You need to let people understand the
    consequences of all these lawsuits.
        Now, I want to thank the Speaker again, and the Senate; we got some
    legal reform done. We got a good class-action piece of legislation. We
    got good bankruptcy law. I hope that this year, we can get a good
    asbestos reform out of the United States Congress. But one thing is for
    certain: People around this country have got to understand we need a
    balanced legal system if Americans want to be able to find good-paying
    jobs.
        A growing economy means we've got to have a private pension system
    that is fully funded and one in which those who pay into the private
    pension system keep the promises they make. I'm going to talk more about
    these issues as the legislative session begins.
        I want to talk about two things real quick to make sure that this
    country remains the leader in the world when it comes to economic
    growth, and the first is education. We've got to make sure that our
    citizens have the skills they need to be able to fill the jobs which
    will be created in the 21st century. This country has a moral and an
    economic obligation, a moral and an economic interest in seeing that our
    people have the skills they need to succeed in a competitive world. You
    see, if we don't make sure our people have the skills they need in a
    competitive world, the jobs are going to go somewhere else. And that's
    what we've got to understand.

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        Making sure that people have got a good basis of education and
    capacity to fill the jobs which will actually exist really, it's
    important, particularly given the fact that our economy is one that is
    so dynamic and so vibrant that people are changing jobs all the time. Do
    you realize that if the recent pattern continues, the typical American
    worker will have held at least 10 jobs between the ages of 18 and 38?
    This job market of ours is churning. It's creating opportunity. We've
    got to have the skills to be able to fill these new jobs. And that's the
    challenge ahead of us. And having good skills begins with making sure
    our children can read and write and add and subtract. The best job
    training program begins early in life.
        We came together in Congress--with the Congress and passed what's
    called the No Child Left Behind Act. I'd like to remind you about the
    spirit and the philosophy behind that act. It basically says, ``Let's
    raise the standards, and let's measure.'' And the reason the Federal
    Government has got a right to call for measurements is because we spend
    a fair amount of money from Washington, DC, at the local level. And so
    we simply said, ``If you're taking our money''--it's actually your
    money--[laughter]--``do you mind showing us whether or not the children
    can read or write?'' I don't think that's too much to ask, is it? Unless
    you believe that certain kids can't learn to read and write.
        I remember when I was the Governor of Texas, I found some school
    systems that simply, I guess, didn't believe that certain kids could
    read and write, so they just shuffled them through. They said, ``It's
    much easier than taking on the tough task of analyzing and correcting,
    so let's just quit. Let's just say, okay, we'll just kind of socially
    promote you.'' It makes us look good on paper, but it's not treating
    American families well. And it's not setting that foundation to make
    sure our children can get the job skills necessary to fill the jobs of--
    or the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century.
        And so the No Child Left Behind Act came into being. And we're now
    measuring, and it's beginning to work. There's an achievement gap in
    America that is beginning to close. You know why I know? Because we're
    measuring. There's what's called the NAEP test. It's a standardized test
    across the country. It's called the Nation's Report Card. It gives us a
    chance to measure. It has shown that American children have made strong
    gains over the last 5 years, especially in the early grades. The results
    have showed that our fourth and eighth graders have improved math scores
    for not only Anglo students but African American students and Hispanic
    students. As a matter of fact, the math scores were the highest ever for
    African American kids and Hispanic kids. Overall scores for fourth grade
    reading matched the alltime high.
        There is an achievement gap in America that is inexcusable, and it's
    beginning to close. And I think one of the main reasons it's closing is
    because we are now measuring. We're posting scores on the Internet for
    people to see, and we're saying to school districts, ``If you've got a
    problem, correct it early, before it is too late. And if you can't
    figure out how to correct it, give parents a different option than
    keeping their child in a school which will not change and will not
    teach.''
        And tell your brother, tell your brother I appreciate his understanding of the need to challenge
    the status quo when it's failing the kids of Chicago.
        And if you hear them talking about getting rid of the accountability
    standards, say to the local school folks, ``Don't do it.'' You see,
    we've all got to challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations. We
    cannot revert to a system which quits on kids too early in life. As
    business leaders and community activists, you must stand strong for
    strong accountability systems and systems which correct problems early,
    before it is too late.

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        We've got a problem in our high schools. We're beginning to make
    progress at the elementary school level, over the 5 years, the test
    scores have risen. But we've got a problem in our high schools. Our high
    school American students rank below students from around the world when
    it comes to math and science. We measure fine in junior high grades, but
    for some reason, between junior high and high school, our kids are
    falling behind. And that's a problem. If we want to be competitive and
    if we want our children to be able to fill the jobs of the 21st century,
    we must do a better job in high school.
        I think one place to start is to bring the spirit of No Child Left
    Behind, which is K through eight, into the high schools and insist upon
    measuring early and to say, ``If you've got a problem, develop
    remediation programs today.'' Because we just can't guess anymore in
    America. If we want to be competitive, we've got to know, and we've got
    to measure.
        We've got programs to bring professionals from math and science into
    the classrooms as adjunct teachers. We're going to help teachers--
    particularly in low-income schools--have the training they need to teach
    advanced placement courses. What I'm telling you is, is that we're going
    to take that very same spirit that's beginning to work in elementary
    school and put it in the high schools.
        And then we've got to make sure our kids go to college. And that's
    one of the important programs that we've worked with both Republicans
    and Democrats alike in Congress, to increase the number of Pell grants
    available for students by a million people. And that's important.
        One of the real assets in our country is the community college
    system. I spent a lot of time going to the community college system
    because, as I tell people, they're available; they're affordable; and
    unlike some institutions of higher education, they know how to change
    their curriculum to meet the needs of society.
        In other words, what's interesting about the community college
    experience is that if you're living in an area where there's a need for
    health care workers, and you got a chancellor of the community college
    system that is any good, that person will devise a program with the
    local health care providers that will help train nurses or whatever is
    needed. I mean the health care--the community college system is a
    fabulous job training opportunity for the American people. It's a place
    to find--to match people's desire to work with the jobs that actually
    exist.
        There's an interesting story about a woman named Julie
    Duckwitz here in this area. She had been a
    bookkeeper for 11 years, and she's a single mom--which happens to be the
    hardest job in America, by the way--and she's laid off. And she doesn't
    know what to do. You can imagine being a single mother with two kids--
    two young
    kids--and you get laid off your job.
        Fortunately, she went to the job training
    counselors, and they steered her to Lake Land community college. Lake
    Land had received a Federal grant to help fund training programs, and
    she enrolled in a nursing program. Why? Because Lake Land understood
    there was a need for nurses. In other words, it's a demand-driven
    curriculum in the community college system. And they adjusted, not just
    for her, but for others. And she got a nursing degree. And she said,
    ``Now I feel I can move upward. When I lost my old job, I was as high as
    I could go with that position, but health care offers me many more
    avenues for the future.''
        Gaining additional education to enhance your chance to get a job
    means more productivity. It means you're a more productive worker, which
    means higher pay, which means better news for the American economy. This
    Government must utilize our community college system to make sure people
    have the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century. I'm
    looking forward to Congress to fully fund my request

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    for these job training grants to the community college system of our
    country.
        I want to tell you one other thing, and then I'll let you eat.
    [Laughter] I want to talk about trade. It's a pretty controversial
    subject in some people's minds. Here's how I think about it. We're home
    to 5 percent of the world's population. That means that 95 percent of
    our potential customers live abroad. I believe this country ought to do
    everything it can to open up markets for our products overseas. I know
    it's going to be necessary to make sure this economy grows, short term
    and long term, to open up markets for our manufacturers, our farmers,
    and our entrepreneurs.
        I believe that trade opens up opportunities for people here at home.
    Now, we've got some people in Washington who are what I call economic
    isolationists. They have a different point of view--good people, just a
    different philosophy. They don't believe trade is good. They believe
    that it's okay to wall ourselves off from the rest of the world. I
    disagree strongly. And that's why my administration has pursued free
    trade agreements around the globe and will continue to do that.
        Do you realize that more than 350,000 people in Illinois have jobs
    that depend on exports? In other words, there's a market overseas;
    somebody is meeting the demand for the product or the good and service
    and are manufacturing right here in Illinois, which means somebody is
    working out there, because there's a market overseas. One in every five
    manufacturing jobs in this State is supported by exports.
        Look, I know the manufacturing industry got hit hard here. All I had
    to do is listen to the Speaker every time I met him. He said, ``We got a
    problem. The manufacturing base of this State is getting hit hard.'' He
    said, ``What are you going to do about it?'' I said, one thing I'm not
    going to do about it is deny opportunities for those who are able to
    export, and second, what we're going to do about it is make sure the
    playing field is level, make sure our manufacturers are treated fairly.
    That's all we can expect. We don't expect any special treatment, we just
    want to be treated fairly.
        My view of trade is this: If we can get a level playing field,
    American workers and farmers and entrepreneurs can compete with anybody,
    anytime, anywhere in the world. And now we have a chance, through the
    World Trade Organization, the Doha round of the World Trade
    Organization, to see to it that this world trades more fairly and more
    freely.
        And that's in our interests. I'm telling you, it's in the farmers'
    interests that we're selling soybeans in China. It's in our interests
    that we have a free-trading world. If we wall ourselves off from the
    rest of the world, a bunch of other folks are going to take the--take
    advantage of the opportunity of free trade.
        This is an important issue for our country. We got to be confident
    in our ability to compete. We'll be tough when it comes to the policy to
    make sure you're treated fairly, but I refuse to allow walls to shut our
    producers and entrepreneurs off from opportunities around the world.
    Free and fair trade is an important cornerstone of strong and valid
    economic policy for the creation of jobs here in America.
        So that's what I'm going to be talking about when it comes to our
    economy. We're doing fine, but I believe we can do even better. The
    right policies out of Washington, DC--policies that encourage growth,
    not stifle growth, policies that encourage entrepreneurship, not
    diminish the entrepreneurial hopes, policies that educate our folks so
    we can fill the jobs of the 21st century--will keep the United States
    the economic leader of the world. And that's the way I want it, and
    that's the way you should want it, and that's the way Members of the
    United States Congress on both political parties should want it as well.
        I can't tell you how neat it is to travel the world and represent
    the United States of America. Ours is a land that is so unique, if you
    think about our country

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    where a person can start off with nothing except a dream, can start off
    with just a hope, and own something, own your own business, own an
    opportunity to thrive. And that's what we're about. That's what we have
    been about, and that's what we must remain about.
        We've got to still be the greatest hope for mankind on the face of
    this Earth. We are today, and with the right policies, we'll be
    tomorrow.
        Listen, thanks for letting me come back. God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:44 a.m. in the Hilton Chicago. In his
    remarks, he referred to Miles White, CEO, chairman of the board, and
    director, Abbott Laboratories.