[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 46 (Monday, November 17, 2003)]
[Pages 1571-1576]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in a Discussion With Employers and Employees at BMW 
Manufacturing Corporation in Greer, South Carolina

November 10, 2003

    The President. Well, Carl, thanks. Yes, I'm delighted to be here. I 
appreciate so very much you all letting me come by to say a few words. 
We're going to have kind of a discussion about jobs. When I hear 
somebody in our country wants to work and can't find a job, it says to 
me we've got a problem, we've got to keep working to make sure people 
are able to work. So we're here to really talk about jobs.
    Before we do, I do want to say something, though, about this 
company. I understand 26 of your employees, your fellow employees, are 
in Iraq. I know a lot of you have got

[[Page 1572]]

relatives who serve in the United States military. I want to thank you. 
I want you to tell them thank you on behalf of a grateful nation for 
working to see to it that this Nation is secure. You've got to 
understand that free nations are peaceful nations. The more freedom 
there is in the world, the more secure America becomes. We must never 
forget the lessons of September the 11th, 2001. And I want you to pass 
on to your fellow employees and loved ones, this Commander in Chief is 
grateful for the sacrifice and service.
    Before we get kind of this discussion going on, I want to say a 
couple of things. I want to thank the Governor for being here. Governor 
Sanford is here. Senator Lindsey Graham is with us. Congressmen DeMint, 
Brown, Wilson, and Barrett are with us as well. Speaker Wilkins. When 
the President shows up, you know, all kinds of people show up. 
[Laughter] But I'm glad to be in their company. They're good folks. 
They're friends.
    The other thing is, is that we come in a time of pretty upbeat 
assessment about our economy. More than pretty upbeat--third quarter 
growth was strong. Last week we saw the unemployment numbers drop. The 
private sector is growing. Entrepreneurship is vibrant. And about--over 
280,000 new jobs were created over the last 3 months, and that's 
positive. That's really good, particularly if you're somebody looking 
for work.
    But we're here to talk about policies to make it even better. That's 
what we want. We're not satisfied. And we're not satisfied because I do 
understand some are struggling.
    But with that, Carl, I want to thank you for your hospitality. I 
look forward to hearing from our fellow citizens about what's on your 
mind and really am grateful so many of you all showed up and gave me a 
chance to come and to say hello.

[The discussion continued.]

    The President. Well, I appreciate it. First of all, it says to me 
that our workers are the best in the world. People are really 
productive. You know, you hear this--a lot of talk about trade. You're 
living the trade world. And if we do a good job about making sure trade 
is free and fair, people are going to find work here in America. That's 
what this is all about. In other words, we welcome people coming here. 
We welcome their money. I know the workers welcome the chance to work. 
And we're good about it. We're good at workers. And that's what this 
plant shows.
    And so I appreciate very much, most importantly, the--I appreciate 
the deployment of capital from overseas to America. But most 
importantly, I appreciate the hard-working Americans who are making it 
an attractive place for people to invest right here in South Carolina. 
We're the most productive workforce in the world right now by far. Our 
productivity per worker is way out of sight. And we've just got to keep 
it that way because, you see, high productivity, it creates a short-term 
problem, unemployment. If one worker can put out more goods, unless the 
economy grows, it's going to be hard to hire new people. But in the long 
run, high productivity means better pay, better living.
    And so what you've just told me is, this workforce is doing its job. 
And there's no doubt in my mind this workforce can compete with anybody 
in the world. And my job is to make sure that we have a level playing 
field, see that we've got fair trade--free and fair trade. We want free 
trade because we want you to be able to sell what you make here out of 
the State of South Carolina overseas. That's what we want. Because if 
you're not selling those cars overseas, then it's--some of you may not 
be working, and we want you working.
    But I appreciate that, Carl. Thanks.
    Carl Flescher, Jr. Steve, I wonder if you might want to tell the 
President a little bit about your company.
    Stephen Thies. Sure, Carl. Mr. President, Spartanburg Steel and 
Spartanburg Stainless are two privately held manufacturing companies 
here. We call ourselves ``SSP''; it's a little easier to say than the 
full name. Spartanburg Steel began production here in 1962, so it's an 
old company. But we make metal stampings--today, we make metal stampings 
in welded assemblies for BMW, principally for the X5 sport activity 
vehicle, which is produced here at the plant. You can see some of our 
parts are surrounding us here today. You see some metal parts around the 
room, around the stage. A number of these assemblies are made at our 
company. Spartanburg

[[Page 1573]]

Steel has grown nicely because of its relationship with BMW. That growth 
is helping our owners, our associates, and our suppliers as well.
    Now, we have a second company here in Spartanburg as well. It's 
called Spartanburg Stainless Products, also ``SSP,'' okay? And 
Spartanburg Stainless makes metal stampings and assemblies, but we also 
make beer kegs. We're the only American beer keg manufacturer in North 
America. [Laughter]
    The President. I quit drinking in '86. [Laughter] But I bet some of 
the people out here use the product. [Laughter] I'm not going to point 
out which ones. [Laughter]
    Mr. Thies. Well, we did notice a dip in demand at a point in time--
[laughter]--but probably no relationship. [Laughter]
    The President. Pretty observant fellow, aren't you? [Laughter]

[The discussion continued.]

    The President. Yes. Let me amplify on that real quick. Sorry to 
interrupt. Tax policy--good tax policy is important for economic growth. 
And if you--and I just want to make sure everybody understands what he's 
talking about there. First of all, I hope you saw the tax relief. 
Particularly if you're a mom or a dad, you did, because we increased the 
child credit. We reduced rates. I'm going to tell you why, just so that 
you understand the logic. If you have more money in your pocket, you're 
going to demand an additional good or a service. And when you demand an 
additional good or a service, somebody is going to produce the good or a 
service. And when somebody produces it, it means somebody is more likely 
to, first, keep a job, and if there's enough demand out there, somebody 
is--it means the job base will expand.
    What he's talking about was incentives we provided to encourage 
businesses to invest. And when a business invests in, say, a piece of 
equipment, somebody has to make the equipment. That in itself encourages 
economic vitality and growth. The tax relief we passed came at the right 
time. What we now need to do is make it permanent. Interestingly enough, 
because of a quirk in the rules in the United States Senate, the tax 
relief we passed begins to go away in '05. In order to make sure that 
people can plan for capital investment and you can plan your lives, the 
Congress needs to make the tax relief permanent.

[The discussion continued.]

    The President. Good. Well, I presume your company wouldn't be doing 
well if it hadn't been for somebody willing to invest here in South 
Carolina and the BMW plant. What people have got to understand is that 
when BMW builds cars, there's a spinoff effect. Businesses in the area 
benefit as well. The more work you all do at BMW, the more likely 
somebody is going to be doing work in an associated supplier. Economic 
vitality depends upon the money circulating in our economy. And not only 
does tax policy help, but good trade policy helps, being willing to 
welcome foreign investment into the State of South Carolina.
    What I'm more interested in is, are you working? I don't really care 
who owns the plant. What I want to know is, are they paying you when 
they say they're going to pay you? Is your job--is your check showing 
up?

[The discussion continued.]

    The President. Yes, I appreciate that. These stories are stories of 
an economy that's changing. We went through--we've been through a tough 
time. There's no doubt about it. We've been through a recession. The 
enemy hit us on September the 11th. It affected not only our psychology 
but it affected the economy. It just did. It's just a reality.
    Unfortunately, we had some corporate citizens who didn't tell the 
truth. They forgot what it means to be a responsible citizen. They kind 
of fudged the numbers. They're going to be held to account, by the way. 
That's how you need to treat people who--[applause].
    We marched to war. I don't if you remember, on your TV screens last 
summer it--a year ago, summer--it said, ``March to War.'' You turn on 
the TV, and there it says, ``March to War.'' That's not a very conducive 
environment in which people are willing to take risk. It's not a 
positive thought. It's a--necessary, in my judgment, obviously, to

[[Page 1574]]

make America secure, but it's not positive. I know it's not.
    So we've overcome a lot. Plus, the economy is restructuring. And so 
the fundamental question is, what do you do about it? One, you encourage 
growth, the creation of new jobs. Most new jobs in America are created 
by small businesses. And so we had a small-business focus. But the other 
thing we've got to understand is that as the society becomes more 
productive and the nature of the jobs change, we've got to make sure 
there's worker training programs. We've got over 1,700 one-stop sites 
for workers to go to. These guys did their own one-stop shopping. But 
not everybody may have the same ability to do that. And you can get on a 
computer and find out the jobs available in your neighborhood.
    And as importantly, the job training programs available--I mean, 
somebody listening out there today who is wondering whether or not they 
can find work, there are ample opportunities to find job training 
programs that will help train you for jobs which actually exist. And 
that's a very important concept. There's a little bit of a change--it 
used to be that Government would judge you on just, did you have job 
training programs. And therefore, they have 1,000 hairdressers for 50 
jobs, which didn't make sense. What you're trying to do now is match 
demand for jobs with jobs--with the people.
    There's a lot of Pell grant money available, and that's important 
for people to know, so they can go to a community college. And then 
there's monies available for community colleges--I know the Governor is 
working on this--to make sure the community colleges become laboratories 
for educating workforce for the jobs which exist. There are jobs 
available.
    And so the fundamental question is, how do we help people find those 
jobs? And one thing we've got to do is focus on--you know, technology 
roars through the economy and society, and labor is left behind. And so 
we've got to make sure labor stays caught up. As society changes, as the 
economy changes, we've got to have programs that actually make sense and 
programs that focus--the job training programs--on making sure that the 
workforce, the most productive in the world, has got the skills 
necessary to meet the jobs of the future.
    I want to thank you two guys for taking the initiative. We can have 
every job training program in the world sitting out there, but it also 
requires people willing to take the initiative and be responsible 
citizens. I appreciate the example you set. I'm glad BMW is vibrant and 
doing well. I'm glad you're selling products overseas as well as here at 
home, so Spartanburg has had the opportunity to hire these two guys. 
This is a success story. And I want to thank you very much for being a 
part of it. I appreciate you.

[The discussion continued.]

    The President. Good job. Remember, I talked about job training. A 
good company is one that works hard to train the workforce. A good 
company is a company which says, ``How do we keep our workers on the 
front edge of change?'' It sounds like BMW does that, and I appreciate 
you then passing on the skills you learned. And a good company also 
provides good health care, good retirement, and obviously, the added 
benefit of letting people travel to see a different part of the world, 
which is a pretty interesting concept when you think about it, yes.
    Well, thank you for sharing your story with us.

[The discussion continued.]

    The President. Well, I appreciate that story. Look, I know there's a 
lot of textile workers here in this State who are worried about their 
future. Some have lost their job, and obviously we care about that a 
lot. And in the Government we'll try to do everything we can to make 
sure that the rules are fair.
    But Henry's story is an interesting story, and the wife's story is 
an interesting story, about somebody who said, ``Wait a minute, there's 
a better job.'' And it does take--and it's hard to leave work; I 
understand that. It's unsettling. But you've just got to know--and I 
want to emphasize again what Henry said--there are programs to help 
people transition from one kind of job to a job which has got more 
security and a better paying job--and a better paying job.
    And that's what's happening in the workforce, the jobs are better 
paying. There's

[[Page 1575]]

health care jobs; there's jobs in the manufacturing sector. And a 
productive workforce means that people are going to be able to make more 
money over the long term. That's what that means. And we've just got to 
make sure that we help people get there.
    And part of the reason I've come to talk with people who've been 
through this before is, I want people who are listening to know that 
there is hope, that they're going to have to have a little drive, but 
there's plenty of help for people who are trying to transition from an 
industry that may not be on firm footing to other jobs that will be 
long-lasting jobs. It's important for people here in South Carolina to 
know that. And I want to thank you, Henry, for sharing your story, and 
tell your wife congratulations on being--where is she? Yes, I'll tell 
her. I'll tell her myself. [Laughter] Thank you for doing what you did. 
It's a great example to set. And congratulations.

[The discussion continued.]

    The President. Yes, Barry, before you begin, tell them what you told 
me about Texas. Remember, you were going to----
    Barry Bell. Well, actually, I was supposed to be going to Texas this 
week for a hunting trip. But I sort of backed out of that, and I'm here 
with you now. [Laughter]
    The President. That's right, yes. I knew he was my kind of guy when 
he said he wanted to go on a hunting trip. I don't know if I would have 
canceled if I'd have been him, but thank you. [Laughter]

[The discussion continued.]

    The President. I appreciate the story. Let me pick up on one thing. 
Again, obviously it's a good company, which is one that keeps your 
people on the cutting edge of change by having training.
    I also want to pick up on what he just said. It's a little off the 
subject, but a responsible citizen is somebody who loves their child 
with all their heart, a citizen who says, ``I want to put my family''--
is a citizen I'd love to have working for me--a citizen who said, ``I 
want my family first, I weep when I think about the thought of missing 
my child's baseball games,'' the kind of guy I want working for me, the 
kind of guy I want working with me. I appreciate that.

[The discussion continued.]

    The President. Well, I appreciate that. It's like, I was in North 
Carolina the other day, and the hospital people are looking for work, so 
they went to this junior college, a community college, and helped the 
people design a curriculum that would then enable people to come out of 
the course with the skills necessary to be hired. And that's what we've 
got to do. We've got to make sure that we tailor curriculum for the jobs 
which will exist, because there's a lot of fine people in our country, 
hard-working, decent, honorable people, that all they want is a chance. 
And when the economy races by them, all they're asking for is, ``Give me 
some skills so I can go out and be a productive employee.'' And 
sometimes you find it inside your company. Sometimes it requires a 
community college to have the program necessary. All the time it 
requires a citizen initiative; that's what it requires.
    You did mention Government. Just remember, the role of the 
Government is to see to it that this economy gets going by having good 
policy. The tax policy is good policy. The health care policy for small 
business is important. We've got one other thing--education policy is 
important, obviously.
    There's one other thing I want to mention right quick, because it's 
now up in Congress. Manufacturing companies need energy. Like, you're 
not going to be working long if you don't have energy to run this plant. 
It's a practical matter. And we've got an energy bill that we're trying 
to get out, an energy bill which says we'll work on conservation, an 
energy bill that says our electricity system needs to be modern. You may 
remember what happened last summer. I mean, there was a pretty clear 
signal that parts of the electricity grid need to be modernized; they're 
old and ancient and tired. The utilities--we're working on voluntary 
reliability standards; I think they ought to be mandatory reliability 
standards. That means if you're responsible for moving electricity, it 
must be mandatory that you've got reliability in your system.

[[Page 1576]]

    So we've got an energy bill up there. Let me just make this very 
clear to you. We can find energy at home, and we need to do that. We can 
do it in environmentally friendly ways by using technology. We need to 
have clean coal technology. We need to be finding natural gas in our own 
hemisphere. For the sake of your economic security and your job security 
and for the sake of national security, this country must become less 
dependent on foreign sources of energy.
    Listen, I'm honored you all came out to say hello. I appreciate you 
giving me a chance to--Carl and you all--to come and talk about jobs and 
what's happening in the economy and how we can continue to create an 
environment for job creation. I'm excited about the future because I 
know the nature of America. We've overcome a lot in this country. We 
really have. But I'm not surprised, because I know the nature of the 
citizens who live in this country. People are tough when they need to be 
tough and compassionate when they need to be compassionate, people who 
work hard. As I said, and I meant it, the best workforce in the world is 
right here in America, right here in front of me.
    There's going to be other challenges in front of America. But 
there's no doubt in my mind we will meet every challenge because of the 
nature of this country. This country is freedom's home. This country is 
freedom's defender. And this country believes the American Dream ought 
to be available to everybody. And we need to create that environment so 
people can realize that dream.
    I am so proud to be with you all. I want to thank you for your 
hospitality. May God bless you and your families, and may God continue 
to bless our great country. Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 4:10 p.m. Participants in the discussion 
included: Barry Bell, production section leader, Carl Flescher, Jr., 
vice president for corporate communications, and Archie ``Lane'' Gist 
and Henry Campbell, production associates, BMW Manufacturing Corp.; 
Brian Ludwiczak, maintenance supervisor, and Fred Wilson, quality 
manager, Spartanburg Steel Products; and Stephen Thies, president and 
chief executive officer, Spartanburg Steel Products and Spartanburg 
Stainless Products. In his remarks, the President also referred to Gov. 
Mark Sanford of South Carolina; and David H. Wilkins, speaker, South 
Carolina House of Representatives.