[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 43 (Monday, October 30, 2006)]
[Pages 1870-1871]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at Urban Trust Bank

October 23, 2006

    The President. I want to thank Bob Johnson and Dwight Bush for 
hosting this meeting here at the Urban Trust Bank. I also want to thank 
Tim and Tony and Kathy for joining us. These are local entrepreneurs who 
are living the American Dream, which is, they've started their own 
businesses; they're growing their own businesses; they are hoping to 
expand and hire more people.
    One of the great things about America is that somebody can start 
with nothing and end up with something when it comes to business. People 
can have a dream, and they can work hard to achieve that dream. And the 
role of government, it seems to me, is to make sure that the dreamers 
are rewarded for their hard work and their ingenuity and success. And 
the best way to do that is to reduce taxes on people. The more money a 
entrepreneur has in his or her pocket, the

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more likely it is he or she will be able to expand that business, which 
will create jobs.

    Government has got to be careful about the regulations it passes. 
We've got to be careful about the number of lawsuits that threaten these 
young companies. Government can do well at helping to team up with 
private corporations to enhance capital flows. But the strength of this 
economy depends upon the strength of the small-business sector.

    We've added a lot of jobs since August of 2003--6.6 million new 
jobs. And that's a result of small businesses growing and expanding. I 
was just talking to Tim. He's got 30 employees. That's up from zero 5 
years ago. It's really enlightening and encouraging for me to talk to 
these hard-working people.

    One of the interesting things about our economy that's also 
important is that as the economy has grown, the real wages for American 
workers has increased. Last year it increased by 2.2 percent. That's the 
largest increase in recent years. And that's important, because not only 
does it mean the small businesses are doing well, it means our working 
families are doing as well.

    And so I want to thank you, Bob, for letting me come by. 
Congratulations on the example you've set.

    Robert L. Johnson. My pleasure, sir.

    The President. Appreciate you very much.

    Mr. Johnson. Thank you, Mr. President.

    The President. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 2:01 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
Robert L. Johnson, founder and chairman, The RLJ Companies; Dwight L. 
Bush, president and chief executive officer, Urban Trust Bank; Timothy 
Sullivan, founder and chief executive officer, Fidelis Security Systems, 
Inc.; Tony Rome, president and chief executive officer, Maven 
Strategies; and Kathy Boden, president and chief executive officer, 
Bluehouse Water Solutions.