[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 10 (Monday, March 12, 2001)]
[Pages 407-409]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in Chicago

March 6, 2001

    Well, thank you all. Thank you very much. Scott, thank you very 
much. I thought I had seen just about everything in life, until I came 
here. [Laughter] It is an honor to be in entrepreneurial heaven. What an 
exciting place. Thanks for having me. I appreciate the hospitality, and 
I appreciate you giving me a chance to come and talk a little tax policy 
with you.
    I've had quite a day here in Chicago. I got a Chicago political 
lesson for lunch. [Laughter] I dined with the mayor. It's the second 
political lesson I've had in recent weeks. [Laughter] The first lesson I 
got was in early November--[laughter]--if you know what I mean. 
[Laughter] I told the people of Illinois every time I came here, I said, 
``I wish the mayor were on my side, because he's good.'' But more 
importantly, he's a really good mayor. He's a good mayor of a big city. 
We've had our time for politics; now it's time to do what's right for 
our country and for the cities.
    The mayor and I share something in common. We're both problem 
solvers. We try to have a clear-eyed view and a commonsense approach to 
solving problems. And so we're going to have a good relationship. And 
I'm so honored the mayor was gracious in dining with me.
    I'm also honored to be here with the Speaker of the House--just 
happens to be from the State of Illinois. I like to describe the Speaker 
as a trustworthy man. He's the kind of fellow who says when he gives you 
his word, he means it. Sometimes that doesn't happen all the time in the 
political process. Sometimes they'll look you in the eye and not mean 
it. [Laughter] The Speaker means it when he tells you something. I look 
forward to working with you, Mr. Speaker.
    I'm honored to be traveling with your United States Senator 
Fitzgerald. We flew down on Air Force One today. He's a good young 
leader. Congressman Lipinski is with us. We're going to fly back from 
here to Washington. He and I will have a little quality time together. 
[Laughter] I'm looking forward to it, because he's a quality person. I 
appreciate the Lieutenant Governor coming, as well, and thank you very 
much for your hospitality.
    There's a lot of people here reminding me that they're from Texas, 
and I appreciate my fellow Texans who are here--a lot of Chicago folks 
thanking me for the Sammy Sosa trade. [Laughter] I'm reminded about the 
truth when I come to a place like this--the entrepreneurial spirit is 
what America is all about. That's what this country is about.
    The job of Government is not to try to create wealth. That's not the 
role of our Government. The role of Government is to create an 
environment in which the entrepreneur can realize his or her dreams, 
which the small business person can start a company and make it grow. So 
my job is not only to deal with problems; my job is to understand the 
philosophy that has made the country great--and never forget it, never 
forget it--and that is that we're going to have dreamers in America.
    We're facing a problem, and the problem is our economy's slowing 
down. You all know that as well as anybody does. This kind of great boom 
is beginning to sputter a little bit. And the question you need to be 
asking the President is, ``What do you intend to do about it, Mr. 
President?'' And here it is.
    One, have sound budgeting in the Federal Government. It's to say to 
the spenders in Washington, DC, ``Here are the priorities for our 
country.'' A priority is educating children. And let me--as an aside, as 
I continue to praise the mayor--he has done a good job of setting high 
standards, strong accountability in the schools of Chicago. So a 
priority of mine is public education. I believe every child--every 
child--ought to be educated and not one child left behind.
    A priority is to make sure we keep the peace by having a strong 
military. We need to pay the men and women who wear the uniform more 
money, to keep morale high. A priority is Social Security, to make sure 
the moms and dads of the World War II generation get the promises made. 
But it's also to be bold enough to reform the system, to let younger 
workers take some of your own payroll taxes and manage it for your own 
account. That's a priority of mine. Medicare and health care is a 
priority. And we double

[[Page 408]]

the Medicare budget over 10 years. We pay down $2 trillion of debt. But 
guess what? There's still money left over. If you don't spend like they 
spent the last couple of years, if you're wise and set priorities, 
there's still money. And the fundamental question is, do we grow the 
Government, or do we trust people with their own money? That's the 
fundamental question facing the United States Congress.
    I had the honor of speaking to the Congress. I reminded them that 
when the Government has a surplus, somebody is getting overcharged. And 
I'm here asking for a refund, I said. I want to reduce those taxes.
    I think it is particularly appropriate to not only cut taxes to make 
sure there's fiscal discipline in Washington, but it's necessary to make 
sure this economy doesn't continue to sputter. When you give people some 
of their own money back, or don't take it in the first place, they will 
have money in their pockets to spend.
    There's some debt, all right, at the national level, and there's 
plenty of debt on the consumers of America. I bet you've got friends, 
and maybe yourself, understand what it means to have credit card debt. 
And when you couple that with high energy bills, there are some people 
beginning to feel pinched.
    It makes sense to take some of your money and pass it back to the 
people who pay the bills. And that's exactly what my tax relief plan 
does. It drops all rates. It dropped all rates on all payers. Sometimes 
in Washington, you hear the talk, we'll have targeted tax cuts. That 
means the elected officials get to decide who's targeted in and who's 
targeted out. That's not fair, and that's not the right way to do it. If 
you're going to have tax relief, everybody who pays taxes ought to get 
tax relief.
    So we drop all the rates and simplify the code. We drop the bottom 
rate from 15 percent to 10 percent and increase the child credit from 
$500 to $1,000 to make the code more fair. The Tax Code's unfair for 
people at the bottom end of the economic ladder. The harder you 
struggle, the more--higher marginal rate you pay in America, and that's 
not right. So we make the code more fair.
    But we also drop that top rate, from 39.6 to 33 percent. And we do 
so for this reason: Much of the capital that accumulates in the private 
sector ends up being managed by small-business owners. Small business is 
the backbone of the country. Many of you all are small-business owners. 
Ninety-five percent of small-business owners pay the highest marginal 
rate in our Tax Code. They're unincorporated businesses. They're what we 
call sole proprietors.
    When we cut that top rate from 39.6 percent to 33 percent, we're 
saying a loud and clear message that the entrepreneurial spirit will be 
reinvigorated as we head into the 21st century. It's a way to pass 
capital formation in the small-business sector in America. And it's the 
right thing to do.
    It's the right thing to set priorities. It's the right thing to pay 
down $2 trillion of debt over 10 years, and it is the right thing not to 
grow the Federal Government bigger than it needs to be, and trust people 
with your own money. I like to tell people in Washington, the surplus 
isn't the Government's money; the surplus is the people's money, and we 
need to share it with the people.
    I like to move around the country. I like to get out of Washington, 
because you see a lot of interesting things and you hear a lot of wisdom 
from people who are just average, everyday people. And I want to tell 
you what a grandmother told the other day, in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She 
said, ``I have a lot of children and grandchildren go through my 
house.'' She said, ``and I know if there are cookies left on the table, 
they will be eaten.'' She said that in the context of your taxpayers--of 
tax dollars. That's what she was talking about. And her point is this: 
If we leave the money up in Washington and don't send it back to the 
people, it's, sure enough, going to be spent.
    Now is the time--now is the time for meaningful, real tax relief. 
And as we're changing the Tax Code, by the way, we need to eliminate the 
death tax, too. We need to allow it so that you don't get taxed twice 
for your assets. And we need to do something about the marriage penalty. 
It doesn't make sense to tax marriage. And so I'm here to ask for your 
help.
    See, I believe in the power of the people. I truly do. I do. I 
believe that when you e-mail a Congressman or a Senator, it makes

[[Page 409]]

a difference. It makes a difference. And so that's why I'm traveling the 
country, and that's why I came here. I'd like for you to contact your 
Congressman and contact your Senator and tell them to come on the side 
of the people, when it comes to what to do with your money. We have a 
fundamental choice, and the right choice is to stand on the side of the 
people.
    And let me conclude by telling you, the tax policy's important, and 
there will be a lot of tax policy. And of course, good health policy's 
important, and keeping the peace is important. But there's nothing more 
important than remembering that the most important job you'll ever have, 
if you happen to be a mom or a dad, is to love your children with all 
your heart and all your soul.
    I was reminded of that when I walked through and saw the pictures 
that many of the entrepreneurs here in the Merc had of their children--
it's such a refreshing sight to know that priorities are kept all across 
America.
    This is a fabulous nation we live in. It's a nation based upon great 
values. It's a nation based upon the principle that if you work hard, 
anybody, regardless of where you're from, can get ahead. But it's going 
to be made better when all of us understand that there are certain 
responsibilities in life. I have a responsibility as your President. And 
when I put my hand on the Bible, I swore to uphold that responsibility, 
and I will. And you have the responsibility to love a neighbor like 
you'd like to be loved yourself. But it all starts with loving your 
children.
    Thank you for letting me come by. God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 2:27 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
Scott Gordon, chairman, Chicago Mercantile Exchange; Mayor Richard M. 
Daley of Chicago, IL; and Lt. Gov. Corinne Wood of Illinois.