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Jobs Corp Center 9/11/92 [OA 5812]
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Jobs Corp Center 9/11/92 [OA 5812]
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MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Speech File Draft Files
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Chron File, 1989-1993
OA/ID Number:
13641
Folder ID Number:
13641-003
Folder Title:
Jobs Corp Center 9/11/92
[OA 5812]
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26
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4
7
349464
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
09/11/92
----
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: JOBS CORPS CENTER, EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, MO
09/11
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCBRIDE
BAKER
MOORE
SCOWCROFT
MULLINS
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BATES
PORTER
BRADY
PROVOST
BROMLEY
ROSS
CALIO
SMITH
DEMAREST
TUTWILER
FITZWATER
ZOELLICK
GRAY
KAUFMAN
MCGROARTY
HOLIDAY
BOSKIN
HORNER
GROOMES
REMARKS:
The attached has been forwarded to the President.
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
2 SEP 10 Pll : 21
September 10, 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM:
DAN MC GROARTY
DM.H
SUBJECT:
PROPOSED REMARKS FOR JOB CORPS CENTER, EXCELSIOR
SPRINGS, MISSOURI
I. SUMMARY
On Friday, September 11, at 12:40 p.m., you will address
approximately 2,000 people at a job training site, the Job Corps
Center in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. In the audience will be
500 students and administrators from the program, as well as 500
students from area schools.
II. DISCUSSION
Your remarks (approximately 13 minutes / teleprompter)
reprise your economic address from Detroit, putting special
emphasis on the impact your agenda will have on young people
entering the job market.
McGroarty/Walters
September 10, 1992
8:00 p.m.
[JCMO]
PII:
09
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: JOBS CORPS CENTER
EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, MISSOURI
SEPTEMBER 11, 1992
12:40 P.M.
Thank you, Booker [T. Jones, President and CEO of the
company that runs the Job Corps Center], for those kind words.
Governor John Ashcroft; John Douglas and Wayne Jenkins from the
Department of Labor; and John Thomas, president of the student
body here, thank you. /
Just before I came here today, I met with a home-team hero -
- Derrick Thomas, who runs the Third and Long Foundation, when
he's not running down opposing quarterbacks. On Sundays you know
him as Number 58 -- but today, he's number 832: America's 832nd
Daily Point of Light. // Actually, when I got right up next to
Derrick, I didn't know whether "Point of Light" would do it -- I
thought maybe we should name him a lighthouse. //
And I know Derrick will agree when I say it's great to see
the team spirit here at Job Corps. //
We're in a political season so tough it makes what goes on
in Arrowhead Stadium seem like two-hand touch. So when you're
all done with your training, I'd like to invite all the
carpenters here back to Washington. There's a certain House on
Capitol Hill that's in need of a little renovation. // You know
Bob Vila's (Veel-ah's) show: This Old House? Well, there's an
old House of Representatives back in Washington that hasn't been
cleaned out for 38 years. //
2
Let me tell you why I'm here at Jobs Corps cutting into your
lunch hour. I've just seen first-hand the fruits of your labor -
- the skills you'll use to succeed in an economy that seems to
change by the day. Today, I want talk to you about your world:
Tell you how America as a nation is ready to move forward to a
future of peace and prosperity -- if we but make the right
choices.
As we gather today, I am proud to be the first President who
can say: The Cold War is over -- and freedom finished first.
But with change comes new challenges. The defining challenge of
the 90s is to win the peace -- to win the competition of the new
global economy. // In the 21st Century, America must be not
only a military superpower, but an export superpower and an
economic superpower.
We start with an honest appraisal of our weaknesses -- and
our strengths. My opponent talks about an America in decline --
but just remember: If you want to talk to the most productive
workers in the world -- you don't have to fly to Japan ... you
don't have to hop a flight to Germany: You can look right here
in the USA -- because the American worker is the most productive
worker in the world. //
How do we guarantee that our workers will still be the
world's most productive -- and that there will be plenty of high-
wage jobs in your future? / Yesterday in Detroit I set out a
strategy -- what I call my Agenda for American Renewal: Six
challenges we must meet to move America forward. And I set a
3
goal: Today our national economy is nearing $6 trillion dollars.
My agenda will make America the world's first $10 trillion dollar
economy by the first years of the 21st Century. //
My Agenda for American Renewal starts with these facts:
Right now, in our factories, 1 of every 6 manufacturing jobs is
tied to trade. On our farms, produce from 1 in every 3 acres we
harvest will be sold abroad. In the century ahead -- in your
lifetimes -- the percentage of your paycheck that comes from what
America sells abroad is only going to grow. The bottom line in
our new world economy is this: Exports equal jobs. //
I have faith that if we open foreign markets, our workers
will satisfy the demand for our products. So my agenda starts
with a global trade strategy -- a network of new free trade
arrangements from Chile to Czechoslovakia, from the Pacific
nations to Poland. Give America the opportunity, and I believe
we can respond to the needs of any customer -- anywhere.
But developed economies need developing minds. That's why
my Agenda for American Renewal takes aim at the critical
challenge -- preparing our children for the new century ahead.
That means a revolution in American education.
Competition works in our economy -- it's time to bring some
competition to the classroom. I have a GI Bill for Kids -- which
would give thousand dollar scholarships to every parent, so that
they can choose where their kid should go to school. Whether
it's the public school across town or the private or religious
4
school across the street, I believe parents, not the government,
should decide which school is best for their kids. 11
Now, the third key component of my agenda for American
renewal: Helping America's businesses sharpen their competitive
edge. Small businesses create 2/3 of all new American jobs --
and they're the first to turn change to advantage in a fast-
moving economy. When you finish this program, a small business
is where you'll most likely end up with a job.
We must ease the burden on small business. Small businesses
need relief -- from tight credit / over-regulation / taxation /
and litigation.
Let me expand on this last point. America has become the
land of the lawsuit -- each year we spend $200 billion on direct
costs to lawyers./ I think that's crazy, and I have a plan to
put an end to crazy lawsuits. America won't work until we start
suing each other less -- and start caring for one another more.
//
Fourth, my Agenda for American Renewal means promoting
economic security for working Americans. That means health care
reform -- to make health insurance affordable to all Americans,
and make sure you're never locked into a job you want to leave
because you're worried you may lose your health care coverage.
It means a retirement or pension plan that you can take with you
throughout your career.
Fifth, our Agenda for American Renewal must mean an America
that leaves no one behind. That means programs that break the
5
cycle of dependency. That help public housing tenants become
homeowners
that help people on welfare find work
that
help people without hope take heart. We don't owe every American
a living -- but we do owe every American an opportunity. //
And finally, my agenda won't be complete until we bring
change to one of the most hide-bound institutions in America:
The government. I call my idea "right-sizing" government. But
whatever we call it, I know you'll agree: Government is too big,
and it spends too much. //
My opponent wants to make big government even bigger. To be
precise, he's already on record for at least $220 billion dollars
in new spending -- and $150 billion in new taxes.
Now my opponent likes to tell you he'll only raise taxes on
the rich. But I'll tell you this: Bill Clinton's going to end
up taxing all working Americans for the same reason outlaw Willie
Sutton robbed banks: "Because that's where the money is." //
Well, I don't think people are undertaxed. I think
government spends too much. That's why my agenda includes a new
idea to drive down the deficit -- by giving the American taxpayer
power to earmark a full 10 percent of his federal tax dollars for
one purpose, and one purpose only: to pay down the national
debt. It is time to rightsize our government.
My new plan is comprehensive -- filled with specific answers
to questions Americans are asking around their dining room tables
these days. One of those questions is -- how will I stay ahead
of the changes in the world economy?
6
According to some studies, just 2 percent of you will work
the same job from now until retirement. The average worker can
expect to change jobs 10 times during the course of his career.
You need real-world security -- skills you can put to work now -
- and ten years from now. //
But just as you can't drive a nail without a hammer, you
can't build a dream without a job. You're here at Job Corps
because you know that it takes more and better skills to earn
good jobs -- and you decided you were going to do something about
it. //
Well, America has work to do -- and we can't let your drive
go to waste. // Maybe fifty years ago, a strong back might have
been enough to get a good job. In our changing economy, it's not
enough any more. What you earned yesterday with sweat -- you've
got to earn tomorrow with skills.
That's why last month, I announced new initiatives to focus
federal job training on the kind of real-world skills Americans
like you -- and Americans of all ages need in this new world
economy.
To help young people find that first job -- we have a
program called the Youth Training Corps, modeled after Job Corps
programs like this one, to get inner-city kids off the mean
streets, and give them a second chance to build the skills they
need to succeed. For older workers who've lost their job -- or
worry that next pay envelope may bring a pink slip, we've
developed a new idea called Skill Grants. We want to give
7
workers vouchers worth $3000 dollars -- to be used towards the
training program of their choice.
And let me say: choice is critical. You know what I mean.
I don't see job training as an excuse to shoehorn you into
whatever program has an open slot, or the next box on some
bureaucrat's checklist. I want to give you the power to go where
you want to get training -- in the kind of career that you
choose. //
These are some of the ideas I'm talking about to Renew
America. Many are underway, others are just beginning.
You see, I'm committed in this campaign -- to providing
serious answers -- to the questions Americans are asking about
our future. I have diagnosed the problem, and offered serious
solutions -- not all of which are popular. And I'm asking for a
mandate -- to put my solutions into action, and get this country
moving.
For now at least, my opponent has chosen a different
strategy. Rather than talk about what he wants for America, he
spends his time belittling my ideas, and playing on fears.
One example. I want to talk about limiting the growth of
government spending -- which my opponent says he agrees with.
But instead of offering any ideas of his own, he simply says --
watch out seniors, watch out Veterans.
Governor Clinton is running a Freddie Krueger candidacy,
"he's more interested in playing on people's fears, than in
dealing with this country's problems.
8
I know times are tough, and that Americans have real
concerns. But I reject a candidate who'll say anything to get
elected. I'm going to talk about real ideas -- ideas that are
right for America.
You see, we stand on the cusp of a new age in our nation.
We have changed the world, and our children sleep safer because
of our actions. Now we can devote the same energy, the same
determination we used to win the Cold War -- to building a safer
and more secure America here at home.
With the agenda I've outlined today, I believe we can Renew
America, and build a better and brighter future.
Thank you all for this warm welcome -- and may God bless
this great nation, the United States of America.
# # #
Document No. 349464ss
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
9/10/92
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: TODAY, 9/10 5:00pm!
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: JOBS CORPS SITE
SUBJECT:
KANSAS CITY, MO - FRIDAY, 9/11/92
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCBRIDE
BAKER
X
MOORE
SCOWCROFT
X MULLINS
DARMAN Soully
PETERSMEYER
BATES
PORTER
BRADY
&
PROVOST
BROMLEY
ROSS to Athe
by phone home
CHANGE
ORRA
CALIO N/C
otherwise
SMITH N/C
DEMAREST
>
TUTWILER
FITZWATER
X
ZOELLICK
GRAY N/C
KAUFMAN
HOLIDAY N/C
MCGROARTY
HORNER
BOSKIN see Draft
REMARKS:
Please forward your comments directly to Dan McGroarty, RM. 122, x2930,
no later than 5:00 p.m., TODAY, THURS. SEPT. 10, with a copy to this
office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
Called 4:00
PHILLIP D. BRADY
5:10
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
6:25
Ext. 2702
McGroarty/Walters
September 10, 1992
1:30 p.m.
2 SEP 10 Pl: 53
[JCMO]
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: JOBS CORPS SITE
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
SEPTEMBER 11, 1992
12:40 P.M.
Thank you,
,
for those kind words.
Let me tell you why I'm here at [Xxxx Center] cutting into
your coffee break. I've just seen first-hand the fruits of your
labor -- the skills you'll use to succeed in an economy that
seems to change by the day. Today, I want talk to you about your
world: Tell you how America as a nation is ready to move forward
to a future of peace and prosperity -- share with you my Agenda
for American Renewal, the agenda that's going to shape that world
for the better. //
I am proud to be the first President who can say: The Cold
War is over -- and freedom finished first. But with change comes
new challenges. Now that the Cold War is over, we've got to cope
with the consequences of our success. The defining challenge of
the 90's is to win the peace -- to win the competition of the new
global economy. // Let me put the challenge this way: In the
21st Century, America must be not only a military superpower, but
an economic superpower -- an export superpower.
We start with an honest appraisal of our weaknesses -- and
our strengths. My opponent talks about an America in decline --
but just remember: If you want to talk to the most productive
workers in the world -- you don't have to brush up on your
German, or take a crash course in Japanese. You can start right
2
here in the USA -- because the American worker is the most
productive worker in the world. //
Now: How do we guarantee that our workers will still be the
world's most productive -- and that there will be plenty of high-
wage jobs in your future? / Yesterday in Detroit I set out a
strategy -- what I call my Agenda for American Renewal: Six
challenges we must meet to move America forward. And I set a
goal: Today our national economy is nearing 6 trillion dollars.
My agenda will make America's the world's first $10 trillion
dollar economy by the year 2000. //
Here's how we get there: America must challenge the world
with a global trade strategy -- a network of free trade
arrangements East and West, North and South. At the same time,
we're going to foster the capabilities at home that will keep us
in the lead.
My Agenda for American Renewal starts with these facts:
Right now, in our factories, 1 in 6 jobs are tied (directly) to
inductry
trade. On our farms, 1 in three acres we plant harvest will be sold
CEA
abroad. {Here in Missouri } And in the century ahead -- in
your lifetimes -- the percentage of your paycheck that comes from
what America sells abroad is only going to grow. The bottom line
in our new world economy is this: Exports equal jobs. //
But developed economies need developing minds. That's why
my Agenda for American Renewal takes aim at the critical
challenge -- preparing our children for the new century ahead.
That means a revolution in American education.
3
Think about a government policy that gave you one store to
shop in, and one product to buy. Think about the quality you
could expect. No, I'm not talking about the old Soviet Union.
Change the word "store" to "school," and you'll see I'm talking
about America's public education system, and the monopoly power
it has over our kids.
Competition works in our economy -- it's time to bring some
competition to the classroom. Whether it's the public school
across town or the private or religious school across the street,
I believe parents, not the government, should decide which school
is best for their kids. //
Now, the third key component of my agenda for American
renewal: Helping America's businesses sharpen their competitive
edge. Small businesses are the heartbeat of this American
CEA->
economy; they create many 2/3 of all new American jobs -- and they're
the first to turn change to advantage in a fast-moving economy.
We've got to ease the burden on small business. Small businesses
need relief -- from over-regulation / taxation / and litigation.
And let me expand on this last point. America's become the
land of the lawsuit -- a $200 billion dollar a year drain on our
economy. / America won't be right until we start suing each
other less -- and start caring for one another more. //
Fourth, our Agenda for American Renewal must mean an America
that leaves no one behind. That means programs that break the
cycle of dependency. That help public housing tenants become
homeowners
...
That help people on welfare find work
That
4
help people without hope take heart. We don't owe every American
a living -- but we do owe every American an opportunity. //
Fifth, my agenda will bring change to one of the most hide-
bound institutions in America: The government. I call my idea
"right-sizing" government. But whatever we call it, I know
you'll agree: Government is too big, and it spends too much. //
It reminds me of what Senator Dirksen used to say about the
size of government, back in the 1960s. He used to say: "A
million here, a million there --pretty soon, you're talking about
real money." // Well, since then, that million's been adjusted
for inflation. Nowadays, you can't get a bureaucrat up out of
bed in the morning unless he's got a few billion to push around.
That is what's wrong with government. People who never met
a payroll, never started a business -- people who don't know the
first thing about making a buck -- playing with billions of your
money. My opponent wants to make big government even bigger. To
be precise, he's already on record for $220 billion dollars in
new spending -- and $150 billion in new taxes.
Now my opponent likes to tell you he'll only raise taxes on
the rich. But I'll tell you this: Bill Clinton's going to end
up taxing the middle class for the same reason Willie Sutton
robbed banks: "Because that's where the money is." //
Well, I don't think people are undertaxed. I think
government spends too much. If Congress enacted the package of
spending cuts I proposed in this year's budget -- those cuts
would let us lighten the tax burden on small business, and cut
5
income tax rates across the board. / And my agenda includes a
new idea to drive down the deficit -- by giving the American
taxpayer power to earmark a full 10 percent of his federal tax
dollars for one purpose, and one purpose only: to pay down the
national debt.
Finally, my Agenda for American Renewal won't be complete
unless we promote economic security for working Americans. That
means health care reform -- to make health insurance affordable
to all Americans, and make sure you're never locked into a job
you want to leave because you're worried you may lose your health
care coverage. It means a retirement or pension plan that you
can take with you throughout your career. And security means job
training -- the reason you're here -- to give you the skills that
mean success.
I really believe you've got opportunities your parents never
dreamed of -- but I know you've also got worries your Mom and Dad
didn't have. According to some studies, just 2 percent of you
will work the same job from now until retirement. The average
worker can expect to change jobs 10 times during the course of
his career. You need real-world security -- security that means
something in the new world you'll work in.
But just as you can't drive a nail without a hammer, you
can't build a dream without a job. You're here at [xxxx] because
you made the decision to meet the real-world head-on. / Last
month, I announced a series of new initiatives to focus federal
6
job training on the kind of real-world skills Americans of all
ages need in this new world economy. //
To help young people find that first job --- a program we
call the Youth Training Corps, to get inner-city kids off the
mean streets
... get them a second chance to build the skills
they need to succeed. For older workers who've lost their job -
- or worry that next pay envelope may bring a pink slip, we've
developed a new idea called Skill Grants: vouchers worth $3000
dollars, to be used towards the training program of their choice.
And let me say: choice is critical. I don't see job
training as an excuse to shoehorn you into whatever program has
an open slot, or the next box on some bureaucrat's checklist -- I
want to give you the power to decide your own future, get you
training in the kind of career that you choose. //
This Agenda for American Renewal is about all the things we
must do to prepare for our future -- and about the one thing all
of us want. Together, we can empower America to reach a grand
goal: To become a $10 trillion dollar economy by the year 2000.
Every election is a referendum on the future. The real
question is: how do we get there? One side wants to use
government to dictate the course of change -- I want to use
government to clear the way for people to make the decisions that
matter in life. One side puts its trust in government. I say:
let's trust the American people. //
The great ideas that make this economy grow don't begin in
the marbled halls of some federal building back in Washington.
7
More great ideas -- more of our GDP -- begin at a basement
workbench, at the computer on your kitchen table, with the
savings you set aside to start a business of your own. //
America is the envy of the world: not because its
government is great -- but because its people are great. Because
the American people are builders who dream, and dreamers who
build.
We need a government that understands that fundamental fact.
A government that knows when to help -- and when to get out of
the way. My program -- my Agenda for American Renewal -- will
make the next American Century a new American Century, a time of
peace and prosperity for all. 11
Thank you all for this warm welcome -- and may God bless
this great nation, the United States of America.
# # #
6823
Document No. 349464ss
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
9/10/92
92 SEP 10 P7: 42
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: TODAY, 9/10 5:00pm!!
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: JOBS CORPS SITE
SUBJECT:
KANSAS CITY, MO - FRIDAY, 9/11/92
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCBRIDE
BAKER
MOORE
SCOWCROFT
MULLINS
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BATES
PORTER
BRADY
PROVOST
BROMLEY
ROSS
CALIO
SMITH
DEMAREST
>
TUTWILER
FITZWATER
>
ZOELLICK
GRAY
KAUFMAN
HOLIDAY
MCGROARTY
HORNER
BOSKIN
REMARKS:
Please forward your comments directly to Dan McGroarty, RM. 122, x2930,
no later than 5:00 p.m., TODAY, THURS. SEPT. 10, with a copy to this
office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
September 10, 1992
TO:
DAN MCGROARTY
NSC concurs with the attached as revised.
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
for
Brent Scowcroft
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
CC: Phillip Brady
McGroarty/Walters
September 10, 1992
1:30 p.m.
2 SEP 10 Pl: 53
[JCMO]
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: JOBS CORPS SITE
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
SEPTEMBER 11, 1992
12:40 P.M.
Thank you,
-------,
for those kind words.
Let me tell you why I'm here at [Xxxx Center] cutting into
your coffee break. I've just seen first-hand the fruits of your
labor -- the skills you'll use to succeed in an economy that
seems to change by the day. Today, I want talk to you about your OUR
world: Tell you how America as a nation is ready to move forward
to a future of peace and prosperity -- share with you my Agenda
for American Renewal, the agenda that's going to shape that world
for the better. //
I am proud to be the first President who can say: The Cold
War is over -- and freedom finished first. But with change comes
new challenges. Now that the Cold War is over, we've got to cope
with the consequences of our success. The defining challenge of
the 90's is to win the peace -- to win the competition of the new
global economy. // Let me put the challenge this way: In the
21st Century, America must be not only a military superpower, but
an economic superpower -- an export superpower.
We start with an honest appraisal of our weaknesses -- and
our strengths. My opponent talks about an America in decline --
but just remember: If you want to talk to the most productive
workers in the world -- you don't have to brush up on your
German, or take a crash course in Japanese. You can start right
2
here in the USA -- because the American worker is the most
productive worker in the world. //
Now: How do we guarantee that our workers will still be the
world's most productive -- and that there will be plenty of high-
wage jobs in your future? / Yesterday in Detroit I set out a
strategy -- what I call my Agenda for American Renewal: Six
challenges we must meet to move America forward. And I set a
goal: Today our national economy is nearing 6 trillion dollars.
My agenda will make America's the world's first $10 trillion
dollar economy by the year 2000. //
Here's how we get there: America must challenge the world
with a global trade strategy -- a network of free trade
arrangements East and West, North and South. At the same time,
we're going to foster the capabilities at home that will keep us
in the lead.
My Agenda for American Renewal starts with these facts:
Right now, in our factories, 1 in 6 jobs are tied directly to
trade. On our farms, 1 in three acres we plant will be sold
abroad. {Here in Missouri } And in the century ahead -- in
your lifetimes -- the percentage of your paycheck that comes from
what America sells abroad is only going to grow. The bottom line
in our new world economy is this: Exports equal jobs. //
But developed economies need developing minds. That's why
my Agenda for American Renewal takes aim at the critical
challenge -- preparing our children for the new century ahead.
That means a revolution in American education.
3
Think about a government policy that gave you one store to
shop in, and one product to buy. Think about the quality you
could expect. No, I'm not talking about the old Soviet Union.
Change the word "store" to "school," and you'll see I'm talking
about America's public education system, and the monopoly power
it has over our kids.
Competition works in our economy -- it's time to bring some
competition to the classroom. Whether it's the public school
across town or the private or religious school across the street,
I believe parents, not the government, should decide which school
is best for their kids. //
Now, the third key component of my agenda for American
renewal: Helping America's businesses sharpen their competitive
edge. Small businesses are the heartbeat of this American
economy; they create 2/3 of all new American jobs -- and they're
the first to turn change to advantage in a fast-moving economy.
We've got to ease the burden on small business. Small businesses
need relief -- from over-regulation / taxation / and litigation.
And let me expand on this last point. America's become the
land of the lawsuit -- a $200 billion dollar a year drain on our
economy. / America won't be right until we start suing each
other less -- and start caring for one another more. //
Fourth, our Agenda for American Renewal must mean an America
that leaves no one behind. That means programs that break the
cycle of dependency. That help public housing tenants become
homeowners
That help people on welfare find work
...
That
4
help people without hope take heart. We don't owe every American
a living -- but we do owe every American an opportunity. //
Fifth, my agenda will bring change to one of the most hide-
bound institutions in America: The government. I call my idea
"right-sizing" government. But whatever we call it, I know
you'll agree: Government is too big, and it spends too much. //
It reminds me of what Senator Dirksen used to say about the
size of government, back in the 1960s. He used to say: "A
million here, a million there --pretty soon, you're talking about
real money." // Well, since then, that million's been adjusted
for inflation. Nowadays, you can't get a bureaucrat up out of
bed in the morning unless he's got a few billion to push around.
That is what's wrong with government. People who never met
a payroll, never started a business -- people who don't know the
first thing about making a buck -- playing with billions of your
money. My opponent wants to make big government even bigger. To
be precise, he's already on record for $220 billion dollars in
new spending -- and $150 billion in new taxes.
Now my opponent likes to tell you he'll only raise taxes on
the rich. But I'll tell you this: Bill Clinton's going to end
up taxing the middle class for the same reason Willie Sutton
robbed banks: "Because that's where the money is." //
Well, I don't think people are undertaxed. I think
government spends too much. If Congress enacted the package of
spending cuts I proposed in this year's budget -- those cuts
would let us lighten the tax burden on small business, and cut
5
income tax rates across the board. / And my agenda includes a
new idea to drive down the deficit -- by giving the American
taxpayer power to earmark a full 10 percent of his federal tax
dollars for one purpose, and one purpose only: to pay down the
national debt.
Finally, my Agenda for American Renewal won't be complete
unless we promote economic security for working Americans. That
means health care reform -- to make health insurance affordable
to all Americans, and make sure you're never locked into a job
you want to leave because you're worried you may lose your health
care coverage. It means a retirement or pension plan that you
can take with you throughout your career. And security means job
training -- the reason you're here -- to give you the skills that
mean success.
I really believe you've got opportunities your parents never
dreamed of -- but I know you've also got worries your Mom and Dad
didn't have. According to some studies, just 2 percent of you
will work the same job from now until retirement. The average
worker can expect to change jobs 10 times during the course of
his career. You need real-world security -- security that means
something in the new world you'll work in.
But just as you can't drive a nail without a hammer, you
can't build a dream without a job. You're here at [xxxx] because
you made the decision to meet the real-world head-on. / Last
month, I announced a series of new initiatives to focus federal
6
job training on the kind of real-world skills Americans of all
ages need in this new world economy. //
To help young people find that first job -- a program we
call the Youth Training Corps, to get inner-city kids off the
mean streets
get them a second chance to build the skills
they need to succeed. For older workers who've lost their job -
- or worry that next pay envelope may bring a pink slip, we've
developed a new idea called Skill Grants: vouchers worth $3000
dollars, to be used towards the training program of their choice.
And let me say: choice is critical. I don't see job
training as an excuse to shoehorn you into whatever program has
an open slot, or the next box on some bureaucrat's checklist -- I
want to give you the power to decide your own future, get you
training in the kind of career that you choose. //
Nate: To reach This Agenda for American Renewal is about all the things we
$ 10 trillian in 200
conomy must do to prepare for our future -- and about the one thing all
would have to grow
at
annual of us want. Together, we can empower America to reach a grand
rate afabout goal: To become a $10 trillion dollar economy by the year 2000.
7.4 % annually startens
in 1993. assuming 3%
Every election is a referendum on the future. The real
growth inflatear,A question
is: how do we get there? One side wants to use
real growth would
have to overage about 4, 4%.
government to dictate the course of change -- I want to use
Our official government to clear the way for people to make the decisions that
in 3.1% matter in life. One side puts its trust in government. I say:
CEA forecasts are
range three let's trust the American people. //
1995.
The great ideas that make this economy grow don't begin in
the marbled halls of some federal building back in Washington.
7
More great ideas -- more of our GDP -- begin at a basement
workbench, at the computer on your kitchen table, with the
savings you set aside to start a business of your own. //
America is the envy of the world: not because its
government is great -- but because its people are great. Because
the American people are builders who dream, and dreamers who
build.
We need a government that understands that fundamental fact.
A government that knows when to help -- and when to get out of
the way. My program -- my Agenda for American Renewal -- will
make the next American Century a new American Century, a time of
peace and prosperity for all. //
Thank you all for this warm welcome -- and may God bless
this great nation, the United States of America.
# # #
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
92 SEP 10 P7 September 10, 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR DAN McGROARTY
FROM:
ROGER B. PORTER RBP
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: Job Corps Site
We have reviewed the attached remarks and have noted a few
suggested changes on the draft.
Please let us know if you have any questions or if we may
help in any other way.
CC: Phillip D. Brady
JH Document No. 349464ss
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
9/10/92
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: TODAY, 9/10 5:00pm!!
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: JOBS CORPS SITE
SUBJECT:
KANSAS CITY, MO - FRIDAY, 9/11/92
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCBRIDE
BAKER
MOORE
SCOWCROFT
MULLINS
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BATES
PORTER
BRADY
PROVOST
BROMLEY
ROSS
CALIO
SMITH
DEMAREST
TUTWILER
FITZWATER
ZOELLICK
GRAY
KAUFMAN
HOLIDAY
MCGROARTY
HORNER
BOSKIN
REMARKS:
Please forward your comments directly to Dan McGroarty, RM. 122, x2930,
no later than 5:00 p.m., TODAY, THURS. SEPT. 10, with a copy to this
office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
McGroarty/Walters
September 10, 1992
1:30 p.m.
2 CEP.10 P1:53
[JCMO]
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: JOBS CORPS SITE
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
SEPTEMBER 11, 1992
12:40 P.M.
Thank you,
, for those kind words.
Let me tell you why I'm here at [Xxxx Center] cutting into
your coffee break. I've just seen first-hand the fruits of your
labor -- the skills you'll use to succeed in an economy that
seems to change by the day. Today, I want talk to you about your
world: Tell you how America as a nation is ready to move forward
to a future of peace and prosperity -- share with you my Agenda
for American Renewal, the agenda that's going to shape that world
for the better. //
I am proud to be the first President who can say: The Cold
War is over -- and freedom finished first. But I with change) HOWEVER, comes
AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES.
HAVE A
DIFFERENT SET OF CHALLENGES FACING OUR NATION.
new challenges. Now that the Cold War is over, we got to cope
with the consequences of our success. The defining challenge of
the 90's is to win the peace -- to win the competition of the new
global economy. // Let me put the challenge this way: In the
21st Century, America must be not only a military superpower, but
an economic superpower -- an export superpower.
We start with an honest appraisal of our weaknesses -- and
our strengths. My opponent talks about an America in decline --
but just remember: If you want to talk to the most productive
workers in the world -- you don't have to brush up on your
THE MOST PRODUCTIVE WORKERS ARE
German, or take a crash course in Japanese. You can start right
2
here in the USAO because the American worker is the most
productive worker in the world.
//
CONTINUE TO
Now: How do we guarantee that our workers will still be the
world's most productive -- and that there will be plenty of high-
wage jobs in your future? / Yesterday in Detroit I set out a
strategy -- what I call my Agenda for American Renewal: Six
challenges we must meet to move America forward. And I set a
goal: Today our national economy is nearing 6 trillion dollars.
My agenda will make America's the world's first $10 trillion
THE FIRST YEARS of THE 21st CENTURYO
dollar economy by the year 2000. //
Here's how we get there: America must challenge the world
with a global trade strategy -- a network of free trade
arrangements East and West, North and South. At the same time,
we're going to foster the capabilities at home that will keep us
in the lead.
My Agenda for American Renewal starts with these facts:
IS
Right now, in our factories, 1 in 6 jobs are tied directly to
trade. On our farms, 1 in three acres we plant will be sold
abroad. {Here in Missouri } And in the century ahead -- in
your lifetimes -- the percentage of your paycheck that comes from
what America sells abroad is only going to grow. The bottom line
in our new world economy is this: Exports equal jobs. //
But developed economies need developing minds. That's why
my Agenda for American Renewal takes aim at the critical
challenge -- preparing our children for the new century ahead.
That means a revolution in American education.
3
MIGHT
Think about a government policy that gave you one store to
shop in, and one product to buy. Think about the quality you
could expect. No, I'm not talking about the old Soviet Union.
Change the word "store" to "school," and you'll see I'm talking
about America's public education system, and the monopoly power
it has over our kids.
GENERATES INNOVATION AND STREVETHENS
Competition works in our economy -- it's time to bring some
competition to the classroom. Whether it's the public school
across town or the private or religious school across the street,
I believe parents, not the government, should decide which school
is best for their kids. //
Now, the third key component of my agenda for American
renewal: Helping America's businesses sharpen their competitive
OUR
edge. Small businesses are the heartbeat of this American
economy; they create TAKE 2/3 of all new American jobs -- and they're
OF CHANGE
the first to turn change to advantage) in a fast-moving economy.
We've got to ease the burden on small business. Small businesses
need relief -- from over-regulation / taxation / and litigation.
And let me expand on this last point. America's become the
land of the lawsuit -- a $200 billion dollar a year drain on our
economy. / America won't be right until we start suing each
other less -- and start caring for one another more. //
WILL
Fourth, our Agenda for American Renewal must mean an America
that leaves no one behind. That means programs that break the
cycle of dependency. That help public housing tenants become
homeowners
That help people on welfare find work
That
4
help people without hope take heart. We don't owe every American
a living -- but we do owe every American an opportunity. //
Fifth, my agenda will bring change to one of the most hide-
bound institutions in America: The government. I call my idea
"right-sizing" government. But whatever we call it, I know
you'll agree: Government is too big, and it spends too much. //
It reminds me of what Senator Dirksen used to say about the
size of government, back in the 1960s. He used to say: "A
million here, a million there --pretty soon, you're talking about
real money." // Well, since then, that million's been adjusted
for inflation. Nowadays, you can't get a bureaucrat up out of
bed in the morning unless he's got a few billion to push around.
That is what's wrong with government. People who never met
a payroll, never started a business -- people who don't know the
first thing about making a buck -- playing with billions of your
money. My opponent wants to make big government even bigger. To
be precise, he's already on record for $220 billion dollars in
new spending -- and $150 billion in new taxes.
Now my opponent likes to tell you he'll only raise taxes on
the rich. But I'll tell you this: Bill Clinton's going to end
up taxing the middle class for the same reason Willie Sutton
robbed banks: "Because that's where the money is." //
Well, I don't think people are undertaxed. I think
government spends too much. If Congress enacted the package of
spending cuts I proposed in this year's budget -- those cuts
would let us lighten the tax burden on small business, and cut
5
income tax rates across the board. / And my agenda includes a
new idea to drive down the deficit -- by giving the American
taxpayer power to earmark a full 10 percent of his federal tax
dollars for one purpose, and one purpose only: to pay down the
national debt.
Finally, my Agenda for American Renewal won't be complete
unless we promote economic security for working Americans. That
means health care reform -- to make health insurance affordable
to all Americans, and make sure you're never locked into a job
you want to leave because you're worried you may lose your health
care coverage. It means a retirement or pension plan that you
can take with you throughout your career. And security means job
DEVELOP
training -- the reason you're here -- to give you the skills that
mean success.
I really believe I you've got opportunities your parents never
dreamed of
abut BUT I know you've also got worries your Mom and Dad
didn't have. According to some studies, just 2 percent of you
will work the same job from now until retirement. The average
worker can expect to change jobs 10 times during the course of
his career. You need real-world security -- security that means
something in the new world you'll work in.
But just as you can't drive a nail without a hammer, you
can't build a dream without a job. You're here at [xxxx] because
you made the decision to meet the real-world head-on. / Last
month, I announced a series of new initiatives to focus federal
6
job training on the kind of real-world skills Americans of all
TO COMPETE IN THE GLOBAL
ages need in this new world economy. //
To help young people find that first job -- a program we
call the Youth Training Corps, to get inner-city kids off the
mean streets
get them a second chance to build the skills
they need to succeed. For older workers who've lost their job -
- or worry that next pay envelope may bring a pink slip, we've
developed a new idea called Skill Grants: vouchers worth $3000
A
dollars, to be used towards the training program of their choice.
And let me say: choice is critical. I don't see job
training as an excuse to shoehorn you into whatever program has
an open sloto or the next box on some bureaucrat's checklist I
AND
want to give you the power to decide your own future,y get you
training in the kind of career that you choose. //
This Agenda for American Renewal is about all the things we
must do to prepare for our future -- and about the one thing all
of us want. Together, we can empower America to reach a grand
THE FIRST YEARS of THE
goal: To become a $10 trillion dollar economy by the year 2008.
Every election is a referendum on the future. The real
question is: how do we get there? One side wants to use
government to dictate the course of change -- I want to use
NEXT CENTURY
government to clear the way for people to make the decisions that
matter in life. One side puts its trust in government. I say:
let's trust the American people. //
The great ideas that make this economy grow don't begin in
the marbled halls of some federal building back in Washington.
7
More great ideas -- more of our GDP -- begin at a basement
workbench, at the computer on your kitchen table, with the
savings you set aside to start a business of your own. //
America is the envy of the world: not because its
government is great -- but because its people are great. Because
the American people are builders who dream, and dreamers who
build.
We need a government that understands that fundamental fact.
A government that knows when to help -- and when to get out of
the way. My program -- my Agenda for American Renewal -- will
make the next American Century a new American Century, a time of
peace and prosperity for all. 11
Thank you all for this warm welcome -- and may God bless
this great nation, the United States of America.
# # #
JH Document No. 349464ss
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
92 SEP 10 P5: 34
DATE:
9/10/92
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: TODAY, 9/10 5:00pm!!
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: JOBS CORPS SITE
SUBJECT:
KANSAS CITY, MO - FRIDAY, 9/11/92
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCBRIDE
BAKER
MOORE
SCOWCROFT
>
MULLINS
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BATES
PORTER
BRADY
PROVOST
BROMLEY
ROSS
CALIO
SMITH
DEMAREST
TUTWILER
FITZWATER
>
ZOELLICK
GRAY
KAUFMAN
HOLIDAY
MCGROARTY
HORNER
BOSKIN
REMARKS:
Please forward your comments directly to Dan McGroarty, RM. 122, x2930,
no later than 5:00 p.m., TODAY, THURS. SEPT. 10, with a copy to this
office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
McGroarty/Walters
September 10, 1992
1:30 p.m.
2 CEP.10 P | : 53
[JCMO]
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: JOBS CORPS SITE
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
SEPTEMBER 11, 1992
12:40 P.M.
Thank you,
,
for those kind words.
Let me tell you why I'm here at [Xxxx Center] cutting into
your coffee break. I've just seen first-hand the fruits of your
labor -- the skills you'll use to succeed in an economy that
seems to change by the day. Today, I want talk to you about your
world: Tell you how America as a nation is ready to move forward
to a future of peace and prosperity -- share with you my Agenda
for American Renewal, the agenda that's going to shape that world
for the better. 11
I am proud to be the first President who can say: The Cold
War is over -- and freedom finished first. I with change/ HOWEVER, comes
AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES.
HAVE A
DIFFERENT SET OF CHALLENGES FACING OUR NATION.
new challenges. Now that the Cold War is over, we got to cope
with the consequences of our success. The defining challenge of
the 90's is to win the peace -- to win the competition of the new
global economy. // Let me put the challenge this way: In the
21st Century, America must be not only a military superpower, but
an economic superpower -- an export superpower.
We start with an honest appraisal of our weaknesses -- and
our strengths. My opponent talks about an America in decline --
but just remember: If you want to talk to the most productive
workers in the world -- you don't have to brush up on your
THE MOST PRODUCTIVE WORKERS ARE
German, or take a crash course in Japanese. You can start right
2
here in the USA.) because the American worker is the most
productive worker in the world.
//
CONTINUE TO
Now: How do we guarantee that our workers will still be the
world's most productive -- and that there will be plenty of high-
wage jobs in your future? / Yesterday in Detroit I set out a
strategy -- what I call my Agenda for American Renewal: Six
challenges we must meet to move America forward. And I set a
goal: Today our national economy is nearing 6 trillion dollars.
My agenda will make America's the world's first $10 trillion
THE FIRST YEARS of THE 21ST CENTURYO
dollar economy by the year 2000. //
Here's how we get there: America must challenge the world
with a global trade strategy -- a network of free trade
arrangements East and West, North and South. At the same time,
we're going to foster the capabilities at home that will keep us
in the lead.
My Agenda for American Renewal starts with these facts:
Right now, in our factories, 1 in 6 jobs are IS tied directly to
trade. On our farms, 1 in three acres we plant will be sold
abroad. {Here in Missouri } And in the century ahead -- in
your lifetimes -- the percentage of your paycheck that comes from
what America sells abroad is only going to grow. The bottom line
in our new world economy is this: Exports equal jobs. //
But developed economies need developing minds. That's why
my Agenda for American Renewal takes aim at the critical
challenge -- preparing our children for the new century ahead.
That means a revolution in American education.
3
MIGHT
Think about a government policy that give you one store to
shop in, and one product to buy. Think about the quality you
could expect. No, I'm not talking about the old Soviet Union.
Change the word "store" to "school," and you'll see I'm talking
about America's public education system, and the monopoly power
it has over our kids.
CENERATES INNOVATION AND STREVETHENS
Competition works in our economy -- it's time to bring some
competition to the classroom. Whether it's the public school
across town or the private or religious school across the street,
I believe parents, not the government, should decide which school
is best for their kids. //
Now, the third key component of my agenda for American
renewal: Helping America's businesses sharpen their competitive
EUR
edge. Small businesses are the heartbeat of this American
economy; they create TAKE 2/3 of all new American jobs -- and they're
OF CHANGE
the first to turn change to advantage in a fast-moving economy.
We've got to ease the burden on small business. Small businesses
need relief -- from over-regulation / taxation / and litigation.
And let me expand on this last point. America's become the
land of the lawsuit -- a $200 billion dollar a year drain on our
economy. / America won't be right until we start suing each
other less -- and start caring for one another more. //
WILL
Fourth, our Agenda for American Renewal must mean an America
that leaves no one behind. That means programs that break the
cycle of dependency. That help public housing tenants become
homeowners
That help people on welfare find work
...
That
4
help people without hope take heart. We don't owe every American
a living -- but we do owe every American an opportunity. //
Fifth, my agenda will bring change to one of the most hide-
bound institutions in America: The government. I call my idea
"right-sizing" government. But whatever we call it, I know
you'll agree: Government is too big, and it spends too much. //
It reminds me of what Senator Dirksen used to say about the
size of government, back in the 1960s. He used to say: "A
million here, a million there --pretty soon, you're talking about
real money." // Well, since then, that million's been adjusted
for inflation. Nowadays, you can't get a bureaucrat up out of
bed in the morning unless he's got a few billion to push around.
That is what's wrong with government. People who never met
a payroll, never started a business -- people who don't know the
first thing about making a buck -- playing with billions of your
money. My opponent wants to make big government even bigger. To
be precise, he's already on record for $220 billion dollars in
new spending -- and $150 billion in new taxes.
Now my opponent likes to tell you he'll only raise taxes on
the rich. But I'll tell you this: Bill Clinton's going to end
up taxing the middle class for the same reason Willie Sutton
robbed banks: "Because that's where the money is." 11
Well, I don't think people are undertaxed. I think
government spends too much. If Congress enacted the package of
spending cuts I proposed in this year's budget -- those cuts
would let us lighten the tax burden on small business, and cut
5
income tax rates across the board. / And my agenda includes a
new idea to drive down the deficit -- by giving the American
taxpayer power to earmark a full 10 percent of his federal tax
dollars for one purpose, and one purpose only: to pay down the
national debt.
Finally, my Agenda for American Renewal won't be complete
unless we promote economic security for working Americans. That
means health care reform -- to make health insurance affordable
to all Americans, and make sure you're never locked into a job
you want to leave because you're worried you may lose your health
care coverage. It means a retirement or pension plan that you
can take with you throughout your career. And security means job
DEVELOP
training -- the reason you're here -- to give you the skills that
mean success.
I really believe I you've got opportunities your parents never
dreamed
of BUT I know you've also got worries your Mom and Dad
didn't have. According to some studies, just 2 percent of you
will work the same job from now until retirement. The average
worker can expect to change jobs 10 times during the course of
his career. You need real-world security -- security that means
something in the new world you'll work in.
But just as you can't drive a nail without a hammer, you
can't build a dream without a job. You're here at [xxxx] because
you made the decision to meet the real-world head-on. / Last
month, I announced a series of new initiatives to focus federal
6
job training on the kind of real-world skills Americans of all
TO COMPETE IN THE GLOBAL
ages need in this new world economy. //
To help young people find that first job -- a program we
call the Youth Training Corps, to get inner-city kids off the
mean streets get them a second chance to build the skills
they need to succeed. For older workers who've lost their job -
- or worry that next pay envelope may bring a pink slip, we've
developed a new idea called Skill Grants: vouchers worth $3000
dollars, to be used towards the training program of their choice.
And let me say: choice is critical. I don't see job
training as an excuse to shoehorn you into whatever program has
an open sloto or the next box on some bureaucrat's checklist
I
AND
want to give you the power to decide your own future,y get you
training in the kind of career that you choose. //
This Agenda for American Renewal is about all the things we
must do to prepare for our future -- and about the one thing all
of us want. Together, we can empower America to reach a grand
THE FIRST YEARS of THE
goal: To become a $10 trillion dollar economy by the year 2000.
Every election is a referendum on the future. The real
question is: how do we get there? One side wants to use
government to dictate the course of change -- I want to use
NEXT CENTURYO
government to clear the way for people to make the decisions that
matter in life. One side puts its trust in government. I say:
let's trust the American people. 11
The great ideas that make this economy grow don't begin in
the marbled halls of some federal building back in Washington.
7
More great ideas -- more of our GDP -- begin at a basement
workbench, at the computer on your kitchen table, with the
savings you set aside to start a business of your own. 11
America is the envy of the world: not because its
government is great -- but because its people are great. Because
the American people are builders who dream, and dreamers who
build.
We need a government that understands that fundamental fact.
A government that knows when to help -- and when to get out of
the way. My program -- my Agenda for American Renewal -- will
make the next American Century a new American Century, a time of
peace and prosperity for all. 11
Thank you all for this warm welcome -- and may God bless
this great nation, the United States of America.
# # #
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
CRUMO
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20503
92 SEP 9.10.92 10 P7:37 P7:
NOTICE:
Enclosed are comments from staff members of the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) Such comments do not necessarily
represent the official position of the Director of OMB or of the
Office of Management and Budget. If you wish to have the
Director's personal comments, please let me know -- and contact
me if you have any questions.
James C. Murr
Associate Director for
Legislative Reference
and Administration
Document No. 349464ss
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
9/10/92
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: TODAY, 9/10 5:00pm!!
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: JOBS CORPS SITE
SUBJECT:
KANSAS CITY, MO - FRIDAY, 9/11/92
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCBRIDE
BAKER
MOORE
SCOWCROFT
MULLINS
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BATES
PORTER
BRADY
PROVOST
BROMLEY
ROSS
CALIO
SMITH
DEMAREST
TUTWILER
FITZWATER
ZOELLICK
GRAY
KAUFMAN
HOLIDAY
\
MCGROARTY
HORNER
BOSKIN
>
REMARKS:
Please forward your comments directly to Dan McGroarty, RM. 122, x2930,
no later than 5:00 p.m., TODAY, THURS. SEPT. 10, with a copy to this
office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
(R.Grady may respond at a late)
Ext. 2702
McGroarty/Walters
September 10, 1992
1:30 p.m.
? SEP 10 Pl: 53
[JCMO]
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: JOBS CORPS SITE
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
SEPTEMBER 11, 1992
12:40 P.M.
Thank you,
, for those kind words.
Let me tell you why I'm here at [Xxxx Center] cutting into
your coffee break. I've just seen first-hand the fruits of your
labor -- the skills you'll use to succeed in an economy that
seems to change by the day. Today, I want talk to you about your
world: Tell you how America as a nation is ready to move forward
to a future of peace and prosperity -- share with you my Agenda
for American Renewal, the agenda that's going to shape that world
for the better. //
I am proud to be the first President who can say: The Cold
War is over -- and freedom finished first. But with change comes
new challenges. Now that the Cold War is over, we've got to cope
with the consequences of our success. The defining challenge of
the 90's is to win the peace -- to win the competition of the new
global economy. // Let me put the challenge this way: In the
21st Century, America must be not only a military superpower, but
an economic superpower -- an export superpower.
We start with an honest appraisal of our weaknesses -- and
our strengths. My opponent talks about an America in decline --
but just remember: If you want to talk to the most productive
workers in the world -- you don't have to brush up on your
German, or take a crash course in Japanese. You can start right
2
here in the USA -- because the American worker is the most
productive worker in the world. //
Now: How do we guarantee that our workers will still be the
world's most productive -- and that there will be plenty of high-
wage jobs in your future? / Yesterday in Detroit I set out a
strategy -- what I call my Agenda for American Renewal: Six
challenges we must meet to move America forward. And I set a
goal: Today our national economy is nearing 6 trillion dollars.
My agenda will make America's the world's first $10 trillion
dollar economy
by theyear early years 2000. of the next Centery. (anderson) 4630
Here's how we get there: America must challenge the world
with a global trade strategy -- a network of free trade
arrangements East and West, North and South. At the same time,
we're going to foster the capabilities at home that will keep us
in the lead.
My Agenda for American Renewal starts with these facts:
exports (Howard 4657)
Right now, in our factories, 1 in 6 jobs are tied directly to
trade. On our farms, 1 in three acres we plant will be sold
abroad. {Here in Missouri } And in the century ahead -- in
your lifetimes -- the percentage of your paycheck that comes from
what America sells abroad is only going to grow. The bottom line
in our new world economy is this: Exports equal jobs. //
But developed economies need developing minds. That's why
my Agenda for American Renewal takes aim at the critical
challenge -- preparing our children for the new century ahead.
That means a revolution in American education.
3
Think about a government policy that gave you one store to
shop in, and one product to buy. Think about the quality you
could expect. No, I'm not talking about the old Soviet Union.
Change the word "store" to "school," and you'll see I'm talking
about America's public education system, and the monopoly power
it has over our kids.
Competition works in our economy -- it's time to bring some
competition to the classroom. Whether it's the public school
across town or the private or religious school across the street,
I believe parents, not the government, should decide which school
is best for their kids. //
Now, the third key component of my agenda for American
renewal: Helping America's businesses sharpen their competitive
edge. Small businesses are the heartbeat of this American
economy; they create 2/3 of all new American jobs -- and they're
the first to turn change to advantage in a fast-moving economy.
We've got to ease the burden on small business. Small businesses
need relief -- from over-regulation / taxation / and litigation.
And let me expand on this last point. America's become the
land of the lawsuit -- a $200 billion dollar a year drain on our
economy. / America won't be right until we start suing each
other less -- and start caring for one another more. //
Fourth, our Agenda for American Renewal must mean an America
that leaves no one behind. That means programs that break the
cycle of dependency. That help public housing tenants become
homeowners
...
That help people on welfare find work
...
That
4
help people without hope take heart. We don't owe every American
a living but we do owe every American an opportunity. //
Fifth, my agenda will bring change to one of the most hide-
bound institutions in America: The government. I call my idea
"right-sizing" government. But whatever we call it, I know
you'll agree: Government is too big, and it spends too much. //
It reminds me of what Senator Dirksen used to say about the
size of government, back in the 1960s. He used to say: "A
million here, a million there --pretty soon, you're talking about
real money." // Well, since then, that million's been adjusted
for inflation. Nowadays, you can't get a bureaucrat up out of
bed in the morning unless he's got a few billion to push around.
That is what's wrong with government. People who never met
a payroll, never started a business -- people who don't know the
first thing about making a buck -- playing with billions of your
money. My opponent wants to make big government even bigger. To
be precise, he's already on record for $220 billion dollars in
new spending -- and $150 billion in new taxes.
Now my opponent likes to tell you he'll only raise taxes on
the rich. But I'll tell you this: Bill Clinton's going to end
up taxing the middle class for the same reason Willie Sutton
robbed banks: "Because that's where the money is." //
Well, I don't think people are undertaxed. I think
government spends too much. If Congress enacted the package of
spending cuts I proposed in this year's budget -- those cuts
would let us lighten the tax burden on small business, and cut
5
income tax rates across the board. / And my agenda includes a
new idea to drive down the deficit -- by giving the American
taxpayer power to earmark a full 10 percent of his federal tax
dollars for one purpose, and one purpose only: to pay down the
national debt.
Finally, my Agenda for American Renewal won't be complete
unless we promote economic security for working Americans. That
means health care reform -- to make health insurance affordable
to all Americans, and make sure you're never locked into a job
you want to leave because you're worried you may lose your health
care coverage. It means a retirement or pension plan that you
can take with you throughout your career. And security means job
training -- the reason you're here -- to give you the skills that
mean success.
I really believe you've got opportunities your parents never
dreamed of -- but I know you've also got worries your Mom and Dad
didn't have. According to some studies, just 2 percent of you
will work the same job from now until retirement. The average
worker can expect to change jobs 10 times during the course of
his career. You need real-world security -- security that means
something in the new world you'll work in.
But just as you can't drive a nail without a hammer, you
can't build a dream without a job. You're here at [xxxx] because
you made the decision to meet the real-world head-on. / Last
month, I announced a series of new initiatives to focus federal
6
job training on the kind of real-world skills Americans of all
ages need in this new world economy. //
To help young people find that first job -- a program we
call the Youth Training Corps, to get inner-city kids off the
mean streets
get them a second chance to build the skills
they need to succeed. For older workers who've lost their job -
- or worry that next pay envelope may bring a pink slip, we've
developed a new idea called Skill Grants: vouchers worth $3000
dollars, to be used towards the training program of their choice.
And let me say: choice is critical. I don't see job
training as an excuse to shoehorn you into whatever program has
an open slot, or the next box on some bureaucrat's checklist -- I
want to give you the power to decide your own future, get you
training in the kind of career that you choose. //
This Agenda for American Renewal is about all the things we
must do to prepare for our future -- and about the one thing all
of us want. Together, we can empower America to reach a grand
within 10 years. (anderson) 4630,
goal: To become a $10 trillion dollar economy by the year 2000.
Every election is a referendum on the future. The real
question is: how do we get there? One side wants to use
government to dictate the course of change -- I want to use
government to clear the way for people to make the decisions that
matter in life. One side puts its trust in government. I say:
let's trust the American people. //
The great ideas that make this economy grow don't begin in
the marbled halls of some federal building back in Washington.
7
More great ideas -- more of our GDP -- begin at a basement
workbench, at the computer on your kitchen table, with the
savings you set aside to start a business of your own. //
America is the envy of the world: not because its
government is great -- but because its people are great. Because
the American people are builders who dream, and dreamers who
build.
We need a government that understands that fundamental fact.
A government that knows when to help -- and when to get out of
the way. My program -- my Agenda for American Renewal -- will
make the next American Century a new American Century, a time of
peace and prosperity for all. //
Thank you all for this warm welcome -- and may God bless
this great nation, the United States of America.
# # #
Scully /OMB 6pm
McGroarty/Walters
September 10, 1992
1:30 p.m.
see see p.6.
[JCMO]
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: JOBS CORPS SITE
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
SEPTEMBER 11, 1992
12:40 P.M.
Thank you,
-------,
for those kind words.
Let me tell you why I'm here at [Xxxx Center] cutting into
your coffee break. I've just seen first-hand the fruits of your
labor -- the skills you'll use to succeed in an economy that
seems to change by the day. Today, I want talk to you about your
world: Tell you how America as a nation is ready to move forward
to a future of peace and prosperity -- share with you my Agenda
for American Renewal, the agenda that's going to shape that world
for the better. //
I am proud to be the first President who can say: The Cold
War is over -- and freedom finished first. But with change comes
new challenges. Now that the Cold War is over, we've got to cope
with the consequences of our success. The defining challenge of
the 90's is to win the peace -- to win the competition of the new
global economy. 11 Let me put the challenge this way: In the
21st Century, America must be not only a military superpower, but
an economic superpower -- an export superpower.
We start with an honest appraisal of our weaknesses -- and
our strengths. My opponent talks about an America in decline --
but just remember: If you want to talk to the most productive
workers in the world -- you don't have to brush up on your
German, or take a crash course in Japanese. You can start right
2
here in the USA -- because the American worker is the most
productive worker in the world. //
Now: How do we guarantee that our workers will still be the
world's most productive -- and that there will be plenty of high-
wage jobs in your future? / Yesterday in Detroit I set out a
strategy -- what I call my Agenda for American Renewal: Six
challenges we must meet to move America forward. And I set a
goal: Today our national economy is nearing 6 trillion dollars.
My agenda will make America's the world's first $10 trillion
dollar economy by the year 2000. 11
Here's how we get there: America must challenge the world
with a global trade strategy -- a network of free trade
arrangements East and West, North and South. At the same time,
we're going to foster the capabilities at home that will keep us
in the lead.
My Agenda for American Renewal starts with these facts:
Right now, in our factories, 1 in 6 jobs are tied directly to
trade. On our farms, 1 in three acres we plant will be sold
abroad. {Here in Missouri
} And in the century ahead -- in
your lifetimes -- the percentage of your paycheck that comes from
what America sells abroad is only going to grow. The bottom line
in our new world economy is this: Exports equal jobs. //
But developed economies need developing minds. That's why
my Agenda for American Renewal takes aim at the critical
challenge -- preparing our children for the new century ahead.
That means a revolution in American education.
3
Think about a government policy that gave you one store to
shop in, and one product to buy. Think about the quality you
could expect. No, I'm not talking about the old Soviet Union.
Change the word "store" to "school," and you'll see I'm talking
about America's public education system, and the monopoly power
it has over our kids.
Competition works in our economy -- it's time to bring some
competition to the classroom. Whether it's the public school
across town or the private or religious school across the street,
I believe parents, not the government, should decide which school
is best for their kids. //
Now, the third key component of my agenda for American
renewal: Helping America's businesses sharpen their competitive
edge. Small businesses are the heartbeat of this American
economy; they create 2/3 of all new American jobs -- and they're
the first to turn change to advantage in a fast-moving economy.
We've got to ease the burden on small business. Small businesses
need relief -- from over-regulation / taxation / and litigation.
And let me expand on this last point. America's become the
land of the lawsuit -- a $200 billion dollar a year drain on our
economy. / America won't be right until we start suing each
other less -- and start caring for one another more. //
Fourth, our Agenda for American Renewal must mean an America
that leaves no one behind. That means programs that break the
cycle of dependency. That help public housing tenants become
homeowners
That help people on welfare find work
...
That
4
help people without hope take heart. We don't owe every American
a living -- but we do owe every American an opportunity. //
Fifth, my agenda will bring change to one of the most hide-
bound institutions in America: The government. I call my idea
"right-sizing" government. But whatever we call it, I know
you'll agree: Government is too big, and it spends too much. 11
It reminds me of what Senator Dirksen used to say about the
size of government, back in the 1960s. He used to say: "A
million here, a million there --pretty soon, you're talking about
real money." // Well, since then, that million's been adjusted
for inflation. Nowadays, you can't get a bureaucrat up out of
bed in the morning unless he's got a few billion to push around.
That is what's wrong with government. People who never met
a payroll, never started a business -- people who don't know the
first thing about making a buck -- playing with billions of your
money. My opponent wants to make big government even bigger. To
be precise, he's already on record for $220 billion dollars in
new spending -- and $150 billion in new taxes.
Now my opponent likes to tell you he'll only raise taxes on
the rich. But I'll tell you this: Bill Clinton's going to end
on Haw
up taxing the middle class for the same reason Willie Sutton
robbed banks: "Because that's where the money is." //
Well, I don't think people are undertaxed. I think
government spends too much. If Congress enacted the package of
spending cuts I proposed in this year's budget -- those cuts
would let us lighten the tax burden on small business, and cut
5
income tax rates across the board. / And my agenda includes a
new idea to drive down the deficit -- by giving the American
taxpayer power to earmark a full 10 percent of his federal tax
dollars for one purpose, and one purpose only: to pay down the
national debt.
Finally, my Agenda for American Renewal won't be complete
unless we promote economic security for working Americans. That
means health care reform -- to make health insurance affordable
to all Americans, and make sure you're never locked into a job
you want to leave because you're worried you may lose your health
care coverage. It means a retirement or pension plan that you
can take with you throughout your career. And security means job
training -- the reason you're here -- to give you the skills that
mean success.
I really believe you've got opportunities your parents never
dreamed of -- but I know you've also got worries your Mom and Dad
didn't have. According to some studies, just 2 percent of you
will work the same job from now until retirement. The average
worker can expect to change jobs 10 times during the course of
his career. You need real-world security -- security that means
something in the new world you'll work in.
But just as you can't drive a nail without a hammer, you
can't build a dream without a job. You're here at [xxxx] because
you made the decision to meet the real-world head-on. / Last
month, I announced a series of new initiatives to focus federal
6
much like the
job training on the kind of real-world skills Americans of all
256 Carm
ages need in this new world economy
//
To help young people find that first job -- a program we
thatwill
call the Youth Training Corps, to get inner-city kids off the
mean streets
get them a second chance to build the skills
they need to succeed. For older workers who've lost their job -
- or worry that next pay envelope may bring a pink slip, we've
developed a new idea called Skill Grants: vouchers worth $3000
job
dollars, to be used towards the training program of their choice.
And let me say: choice is critical. I don't see job
training as an excuse to shoehorn you into whatever program has
an open slot, or the next box on some bureaucrat's checklist -- I
want to give you the power to decide your own future, get you
training in the kind of career that you choose. //
This Agenda for American Renewal is about all the things we
must do to prepare for our future -- and about the one thing all
of us want. Together, we can empower America to reach a grand
goal: To become a $10 trillion dollar economy by the year 2000.
Every election is a referendum on the future. The real
question is: how do we get there? One side wants to use
government to dictate the course of change -- I want to use
government to clear the way for people to make the decisions that
matter in life. One side puts its trust in government. I say:
let's trust the American people. //
The great ideas that make this economy grow don't begin in
the marbled halls of some federal building back in Washington.
7
More great ideas -- more of our GDP -- begin at a basement
workbench, at the computer on your kitchen table, with the
savings you set aside to start a business of your own. //
America is the envy of the world: not because its
government is great -- but because its people are great. Because
the American people are builders who dream, and dreamers who
build.
We need a government that understands that fundamental fact.
A government that knows when to help -- and when to get out of
the way. My program -- my Agenda for American Renewal -- will
make the next American Century a new American Century, a time of
peace and prosperity for all. //
Thank you all for this warm welcome -- and may God bless
this great nation, the United States of America.
# # #
Document No. 349464ss
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
9/10/92
92 SEP 10 P4. 03
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: TODAY, 9/10 5:00 pm!!
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: JOBS CORPS SITE
SUBJECT:
KANSAS CITY, MO - FRIDAY, 9/11/92
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
>
MCBRIDE
BAKER
MOORE
SCOWCROFT
MULLINS
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BATES
PORTER
BRADY
PROVOST
BROMLEY
ROSS
CALIO
SMITH
DEMAREST
>
TUTWILER
FITZWATER
>
ZOELLICK
GRAY
KAUFMAN
HOLIDAY
MCGROARTY
HORNER
BOSKIN
>
REMARKS:
Please forward your comments directly to Dan McGroarty, RM. 122, x2930,
no later than 5:00 p.m., . TODAY, THURS. SEPT. 10, with a copy to this
office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
Please
see
comments.
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
Thank you.
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
McGroarty/Walters
September 10, 1992
1:30 p.m.
2 SEP 10 Pl: 53
[JCMO]
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: JOBS CORPS SITE
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
SEPTEMBER 11, 1992
12:40 P.M.
Thank you,
, for those kind words.
Let me tell you why I'm here at [Xxxx Center] cutting into
your coffee break. I've just seen first-hand the fruits of your
labor -- the skills you'll use to succeed in an economy that
seems to change by the day. Today, I want talk to you about your
world: Tell you how America as a nation is ready to move forward
to a future of peace and prosperity -- share with you my Agenda
for American Renewal, the agenda that's going to shape that world
for the better. //
I am proud to be the first President who can say: The Cold
War is over -- and freedom finished first. But with change comes
new challenges. Now that the Cold War is over, we've got to cope
with the consequences of our success. The defining challenge of
the 90's is to win the peace -- to win the competition of the new
global economy. // Let me put the challenge this way: In the
21st Century, America must be not only a military superpower, but
an economic superpower -- an export superpower.
We start with an honest appraisal of our weaknesses -- and
our strengths. My opponent talks about an America in decline --
but just remember: If you want to talk to the most productive
workers in the world -- you don't have to brush up on your
German, or take a crash course in Japanese. You can start right
2
here in the USA -- because the American worker is the most
productive worker in the world. //
Now: How do we guarantee that our workers will still be the
world's most productive -- and that there will be plenty of high-
wage jobs in your future? / Yesterday in Detroit I set out a
strategy -- what I call my Agenda for American Renewal: Six
challenges we must meet to move America forward. And I set a
goal: Today our national economy is nearing 6 trillion dollars.
My agenda will make America's the world's first $10 trillion
dollar economy by the year 2000. //
Here's how we get there: America must challenge the world
with a global trade strategy -- a network of strategic free trade
arrangements East and West, North and South. At the same time,
we're going to foster the capabilities at home that will keep us
in the lead.
My Agenda for American Renewal starts with these facts:
Right now, in our factories, 1 in 6 jobs are tied directly to
trade. On our farms, 1 in three acres we plant will be sold
abroad. {Here in Missouri } And in the century ahead -- in
your lifetimes -- the percentage of your paycheck that comes from
what America sells abroad is only going to grow. The bottom line
in our new world economy is this: Exports equal jobs. //
But developed economies need developing minds. That's why
my Agenda for American Renewal takes aim at the critical
challenge -- preparing our children for the new century ahead.
starts with
That means a revolution in American education.
3
Think about a government policy that gave you one store to
shop in, and one product to buy. Think about the quality you
could expect. No, I'm not talking about the old Soviet Union.
Change the word "store" to "school," and you'll see I'm talking
about America's public education system, and the monopoly power
it has over our kids.
whether
Competition works in our economy -- it's time to bring some
And is ot child care,
competition to the classroom. Whether it's the public school
independent
with that
across town or the private or religious school across the street,
care parents < healih hea believer
I believe parents, not the government, should decide which school
is best
what should Familias. is decide best ilics, for
gevernment
for their as kids. our schools, The question remains: Will There be goodjobs For That's our kids.
Now the third key component of my agenda for American
renewal: Helping America's businesses sharpen their competitive
edge. Small businesses are the heartbeat of this American
Their
economy; they create 2/3 of all new American jobs -- and they're
the first to turn change to advantage in a fast-moving economy.
We've got to ease the burden on small business. Small businesses
need relief -- from over-regulation / taxation / and litigation.
And let me expand on this last point. America's become the
land of the lawsuit -- a $200 billion dollar a year drain on our
economy. / America won't be right until we start suing each
other less -- and start caring for one another more. //
Fourth, our Agenda for American Renewal must mean an America
that leaves no one behind. That means programs that break the
cycle of dependency. That help public housing tenants become
homeowners
That help people on welfare find work
That
4
help people without hope take heart. We don't owe every American
a living -- but we do owe every American an opportunity. //
Fifth, my agenda will bring change to one of the most hide-
bound institutions in America: The government. I call my idea
"right-sizing" government. But whatever we call it, I know
you'll agree: Government is too big, and it spends too much. //
It reminds me of what Senator Dirksen used to say about the
size of government, back in the 1960s. He used to say: "A
million here, a million there --pretty soon, you're talking about
real money." // Well, since then, that million's been adjusted
for inflation. Nowadays, you can't get a bureaucrat up out of
bed in the morning unless he's got a few billion to push around.
That is what's wrong with government. People who never met
a payroll, never started a business -- people who don't know the
first thing about making a buck -- playing with billions of your
money. My opponent wants to make big government even bigger. To
be precise, he's already on record for $220 billion dollars in
new spending -- and $150 billion in new taxes.
Now my opponent likes to tell you he'll only raise taxes on
the rich. And I'll tell you this: Dill he's Clinton's going to end
But Bill
up taxing the middle class for the same reason Willie Sutton
Clinton
can pay
robbed banks: "Because that's where the money is." //
For The
Well, I don't think people are undertaxed. I think
onge new
sureaucracies
government spends too much. If Congress enacted the package of
at has
spending cuts I proposed in this year's budget -- those cuts
aledged to
start would let us lighten the tax burden on small business, and cut
raxing
ordinary
Americans.
5
income tax rates across the board. / And my agenda includes a
new idea to drive down the deficit -- by giving the American
taxpayer power to earmark a full 10 percent of his federal tax
dollars for one purpose, and one purpose only: to pay down the
national debt.
Finally, my Agenda for American Renewal won't be complete
unless we promote economic security for working Americans. That
means health care reform -- to make health insurance affordable
to all Americans, and make sure you're never locked into a job
you want to leave because you're worried you may lose your health
care coverage. It means a retirement or pension plan that you
can take with you throughout your career. And security means job
training -- the reason you're here -- to give you the skills that
mean success.
I really believe you've got opportunities your parents never
dreamed of -- but I know you've also got worries your Mom and Dad
didn't have. According to some studies, just 2 percent of you
will work the same job from now until retirement. The average
worker can expect to change jobs 10 times during the course of
his career. You need real-world security -- security that means
something in the new world you'll work in.
But just as you can't drive a nail without a hammer, you
can't build a dream without a job. You're here at [xxxx] because
you made the decision to meet the real-world head-on. / Last
month, I announced a series of new initiatives to focus federal
6
job training on the kind of real-world skills Americans of all
ages need in this new world economy. //
To help young people find that first job -- a program we
call the Youth Training Corps, to get inner-city kids off the
mean
streets ... get them a second chance to build the skills
they need to succeed. For older workers who've lost their job -
- or worry that next pay envelope may bring a pink slip, we've
developed a new idea called Skill Grants: vouchers worth $3000
dollars, to be used towards the training program of their choice.
And let me say: choice is critical. I don't see job
training as an excuse to shoehorn you into whatever program has
an open slot, or the next box on some bureaucrat's checklist -- I
want to give you the power to decide your own future, get you
training in the kind of career that you choose. //
This Agenda for American Renewal is about all the things we
must do to prepare for our future -- and about the one thing all
of us want. Together, we can empower America to reach a grand
goal: To become a $10 trillion dollar economy by the year 2000.
Every election is a referendum on the future. The real
question is: how do we get there? One side wants to use
government to dictate the course of change -- I want to use
government to clear the way for people to make the decisions that
matter in life. One side puts its trust in government. I say:
let's trust the American people. //
The great ideas that make this economy grow don't begin in
the marbled halls of some federal building back in Washington.
7
More great ideas -- more of our GDP -- begin at a basement
workbench, at the computer on your kitchen table, with the
savings you set aside to start a business of your own. 11
America is the envy of the world: not because its
government is great -- but because its people are great. Because
the American people are builders who dream, and dreamers who
build.
We need a government that understands that fundamental fact.
A government that knows when to help -- and when to get out of
the way. My program -- my Agenda for American Renewal -- will
make the next American Century a new American Century, a time of
peace and prosperity for all. //
Thank you all for this warm welcome -- and may God bless
this great nation, the United States of America.
# # #
McGroarty/Walters
September 10, 1992
1:30 p.m.
[JCMO]
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: JOBS CORPS SITE
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
SEPTEMBER 11, 1992
12:40 P.M.
Thank you,
,
for those kind words.
Let me tell you why I'm here at [Xxxx Center] cutting into
your coffee break. I've just seen first-hand the fruits of your
labor -- the skills you'll use to succeed in an economy that
seems to change by the day. Today, I want talk to you about your
world: Tell you how America as a nation is ready to move forward
to a future of peace and prosperity -- share with you my Agenda
for American Renewal, the agenda that's going to shape that world
for the better. //
I am proud to be the first President who can say: The Cold
War is over -- and freedom finished first. But with change comes
new challenges. Now that the Cold War is over, we've got to cope
with the consequences of our success. The defining challenge of
the 90's is to win the peace -- to win the competition of the new
global economy. // Let me put the challenge this way: In the
21st Century, America must be not only a military superpower, but
an economic superpower -- an export superpower.
We start with an honest appraisal of our weaknesses -- and
our strengths. My opponent talks about an America in decline --
but just remember: If you want to talk to the most productive
workers in the world -- you don't have to brush up on your
German, or take a crash course in Japanese. You can start right
2
here in the USA -- because the American worker is the most
productive worker in the world. //
Now: How do we guarantee that our workers will still be the
world's most productive -- and that there will be plenty of high-
wage jobs in your future? / Yesterday in Detroit I set out a
strategy -- what I call my Agenda for American Renewal: Six
challenges we must meet to move America forward. And I set a
goal: Today our national economy is nearing 6 trillion dollars.
My agenda will make America's the world's first $10 trillion
dollar economy by the year 2000. //
Here's how we get there: America must challenge the world
with a global trade strategy -- a network of free trade
arrangements East and West, North and South. At the same time,
we're going to foster the capabilities at home that will keep us
in the lead.
My Agenda for American Renewal starts with these facts:
Right now, in our factories, 1 in 6 jobs are tied directly to
trade. On our farms, 1 in three acres we plant will be sold
abroad. {Here in Missouri } And in the century ahead -- in
your lifetimes -- the percentage of your paycheck that comes from
what America sells abroad is only going to grow. The bottom line
in our new world economy is this: Exports equal jobs. //
But developed economies need developing minds. That's why
my Agenda for American Renewal takes aim at the critical
challenge -- preparing our children for the new century ahead.
That means a revolution in American education.
3
Think about a government policy that gave you one store to
shop in, and one product to buy. Think about the quality you
could expect. No, I'm not talking about the old Soviet Union.
Change the word "store" to "school," and you'll see I'm talking
about America's public education system, and the monopoly power
it has over our kids.
Competition works in our economy -- it's time to bring some
competition to the classroom. Whether it's the public school
across town or the private or religious school across the street,
I believe parents, not the government, should decide which school
is best for their kids. //
Now, the third key component of my agenda for American
renewal: Helping America's businesses sharpen their competitive
edge. Small businesses are the heartbeat of this American
economy; they create 2/3 of all new American jobs -- and they're
the first to turn change to advantage in a fast-moving economy.
We've got to ease the burden on small business. Small businesses
need relief -- from over-regulation / taxation / and litigation.
And let me expand on this last point. America's become the
land of the lawsuit -- a $200 billion dollar a year drain on our
economy. / America won't be right until we start suing each
other less -- and start caring for one another more. //
Fourth, our Agenda for American Renewal must mean an America
that leaves no one behind. That means programs that break the
cycle of dependency. That help public housing tenants become
homeowners
...
That help people on welfare find work
...
That
4
help people without hope take heart. We don't owe every American
a living -- but we do owe every American an opportunity. //
Fifth, my agenda will bring change to one of the most hide-
bound institutions in America: The government. I call my idea
"right-sizing" government. But whatever we call it, I know
you'll agree: Government is too big, and it spends too much. //
It reminds me of what Senator Dirksen used to say about the
size of government, back in the 1960s. He used to say: "A
million here, a million there --pretty soon, you're talking about
real money." // Well, since then, that million's been adjusted
for inflation. Nowadays, you can't get a bureaucrat up out of
bed in the morning unless he's got a few billion to push around.
That is what's wrong with government. People who never met
a payroll, never started a business -- people who don't know the
first thing about making a buck -- playing with billions of your
money. My opponent wants to make big government even bigger. To
be precise, he's already on record for $220 billion dollars in
new spending -- and $150 billion in new taxes.
Now my opponent likes to tell you he'll only raise taxes on
the rich. But I'll tell you this: Bill Clinton's going to end
up taxing the middle class for the same reason Willie Sutton
robbed banks: "Because that's where the money is." //
Well, I don't think people are undertaxed. I think
government spends too much. If Congress enacted the package of
spending cuts I proposed in this year's budget -- those cuts
would let us lighten the tax burden on small business, and cut
5
income tax rates across the board. / And my agenda includes a
new idea to drive down the deficit -- by giving the American
taxpayer power to earmark a full 10 percent of his federal tax
dollars for one purpose, and one purpose only: to pay down the
national debt.
Finally, my Agenda for American Renewal won't be complete
unless we promote economic security for working Americans. That
means health care reform -- to make health insurance affordable
to all Americans, and make sure you're never locked into a job
you want to leave because you're worried you may lose your health
care coverage. It means a retirement or pension plan that you
can take with you throughout your career. And security means job
training -- the reason you're here -- to give you the skills that
mean success.
I really believe you've got opportunities your parents never
dreamed of -- but I know you've also got worries your Mom and Dad
didn't have. According to some studies, just 2 percent of you
will work the same job from now until retirement. The average
worker can expect to change jobs 10 times during the course of
his career. You need real-world security -- security that means
something in the new world you'll work in.
But just as you can't drive a nail without a hammer, you
can't build a dream without a job. You're here at [xxxx] because
you made the decision to meet the real-world head-on. / Last
month, I announced a series of new initiatives to focus federal
6
job training on the kind of real-world skills Americans of all
ages need in this new world economy. //
To help young people find that first job -- a program we
call the Youth Training Corps, to get inner-city kids off the
mean
streets ... get them a second chance to build the skills
they need to succeed. For older workers who've lost their job -
- or worry that next pay envelope may bring a pink slip, we've
developed a new idea called Skill Grants: vouchers worth $3000
dollars, to be used towards the training program of their choice.
And let me say: choice is critical. I don't see job
training as an excuse to shoehorn you into whatever program has
an open slot, or the next box on some bureaucrat's checklist -- I
want to give you the power to decide your own future, get you
training in the kind of career that you choose. //
This Agenda for American Renewal is about all the things we
must do to prepare for our future -- and about the one thing all
of us want. Together, we can empower America to reach a grand
goal: To become a $10 trillion dollar economy by the year 2000.
Every election is a referendum on the future. The real
question is: how do we get there? One side wants to use
government to dictate the course of change -- I want to use
government to clear the way for people to make the decisions that
matter in life. One side puts its trust in government. I say:
let's trust the American people. //
The great ideas that make this economy grow don't begin in
the marbled halls of some federal building back in Washington.
7
More great ideas -- more of our GDP -- begin at a basement
workbench, at the computer on your kitchen table, with the
savings you set aside to start a business of your own. //
America is the envy of the world: not because its
government is great -- but because its people are great. Because
the American people are builders who dream, and dreamers who
build.
We need a government that understands that fundamental fact.
A government that knows when to help -- and when to get out of
the way. My program -- my Agenda for American Renewal -- will
make the next American Century a new American Century, a time of
peace and prosperity for all. //
Thank you all for this warm welcome -- and may God bless
this great nation, the United States of America.
# # #