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323154776
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Eastman Kodak, Rochester, NY 5/17/89 [OA 8130]
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323154776
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Eastman Kodak, Rochester, NY 5/17/89 [OA 8130]
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13888-015
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Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Curt Smith Chronological Files
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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
S
FOIA
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:
Smith, Curt, Files
Subseries:
Chron File, 1989-1992
OA/ID Number:
13888
Folder ID Number:
13888-015
Folder Title:
Eastman Kodak, Rochester, New York, 5/17/89
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
G
18
29
1
4
(Smith/Wallace)
May 8, 1989
Draft Seven
KODAK
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: EASTMAN KODAK
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK
MAY 17, 1989
Ladies and gentlemen, friends.
Thank you for that introduction, and for your warm
reception. It is a pleasure it is to be in the Flower City.
You know, that oft-proclaimed -- and, here at Eastman Kodak,
let me say, oft-photographed -- philosopher, Groucho Marx, once
said of a friend, "She got her good looks from her father -- he's
a plastic surgeon."
Well, today, to all of you gathered here, let me suggest
that America gets her good works from an even higher source: The
productivity of the American people.
America's productivity evolves from many things -- from
creativity to belief in work to common decency. Above all, it
springs from cooperation -- partnerships -- between all levels of
government, private enterprise, and voluntary organizations.
What we call the Puritan Work Ethic, for instance, has
helped Rochester become a bastion of music and commerce. "Do
Unto Others" has made you America's th-highest city in terms of
charitable corporate giving. And teamwork has fashioned such
landmarks as the Al Lang Center and, yes, the community-owned Red
Wings.
In a sense, this is what George Eastman had in mind when he
founded Eastman Kodak in 1888. For he believed in capitalism
with a conscience. He knew that cooperation begets productivity.
And that productivity begets the profits which make philanthropy
possible.
As President, I intend to spur the partnerships which
nurture that productivity. For a more productive private sector
will create new jobs, unlock new markets, and unleash business'
ability to expand and build.
Take deficit reduction, for instance. There are those who
suggest that we couldn't reach a bi-partisan budget agreement
to slash the Federal deficit. Well, they were wrong -- dead
wrong. And thousands of jobs will live because they were wrong.
Recently, I unveiled a partnership with Congress that will
narrow the deficit to $99.4 billion in the Fiscal Year that
begins October 1.
Now, this plan's preliminary -- more talks still lie ahead
if we're to balance the budget by FY 1993. But no longer are
critics crying, "Mission Impossible." Already, we've sliced $65
billion off the estimated deficit for the current fiscal year.
And we've kept my pledge of no new taxes.
Deficit reduction will make us more productive. And so will
a second partnership to make more capital available for
investment. I refer to restoring the capital gains differential
-- a partnership with business.
You know, there's a song kids sing in Sunday school. It's
called "The Bible Tells Me So." My friends, when it comes to
capital gains, it's history that tells us so.
History tells us that excessively taxing capital gains is
like any tax increase -- there's no incentive to invest. But
history also tells us that restoring the capital gains
differential makes Nations more productive. Hong Kong,
Singapore, South Korea, and West Germany exempt capital gains
from taxes. And our second-largest trading partner, Japan, taxes
them lightly, if at all.
Here, let us learn from our competitors, and also from the
past. And adopt our plan which supports reducing the capital
gains differential to 15 per cent on long-held assets. According
to Treasury estimates, this step will raise $4.8 billion in new
revenue. And 80 per cent of the people who'll benefit earn less
than $50,000 -- the corner grocier, the repair-shop owner, the
local mailman.
Deficit reduction. The tax cut on capital gains. Both
partnerships will spur productivity. Well, there's another
partnership that can build a better America. In fact, it matters
most of all -- for, ultimately, the greatest productivity stems
from a creative mind. I'm talking, of course, about education --
a partnership with the future.
Let me share a story with you -- a story about two ways to
look at education, told by the French. The master of the house
was planning his garden, and told his gardener to plant a certain
kind of tree. The gardener objected, explaining that the tree
was slow-growing, and would take a hundred years to reach full
growth.
But it's the master's response that I find interesting. "In
that case," he said, "there's no time to lose. Plant it this
afternoon. "
My friends, that's the way to look at education -- as the
seeds which will bear America's fruit. George Eastman believed
that. In 1929, he said, "The progress of the world depends
almost entirely on education. " And so does Kay Whitmore. Last
year she observed, "Our future depends on the workforce."
I agree. Yet here in Rochester, your problems parallel the
Nation's. As recently as 1987, the dropout rate was 30 per cent.
One out of every 5 students was suspended for poor discipline. A
third of all ninth-graders could be expected to drop out before
graduating from high school. And nearly two-thirds of all ninth-
graders tested one to two years below grade level.
These facts demand action -- and act, we will.
Recently, I sent legislation to Congress which demands
accountability. And spurs local flexibiity and choice. Above
all, our program says that if excellence breeds achievement,
then excellence should be rewarded.
We're asking Congress, for instance, to create a $500-
million program to reward America's merit schools -- the schools
that improve the most. And a new Magnet Schools of Excellence
program. And Alternative Certification will allow talented
Americans from every field to teach in America's classrooms.
To help those urban schools hit hardest by drug abuse and
trafficking, we want to create Urban Emergency Grants. And we
want to give America's youth a special incentive to excel in
science, mathematics, and engineering, through a new initiative
of National Science Scholarships.
No, our program is not a be-all and end-all. But it is a
start. For our goal is to help business and academia help the
greater public. Help, not go it alone. For we are a partner,
not superior.
Here at Eastman Kodak, you know that. And understand that
it is the private sector which has the resources -- the
responsibility -- to make us more productive. And you realize,
too, that our children will shape the 21st century.
That is why, working together, Rochester's business,
community, and academic leaders have unveiled long-term
initiatives to help students read, write, and use technology --
in short, to help kids compete in the workplace. For example,
you've acted to raise teachers' pay. But to demand longer hours
and extra days. To have teachers visit students' homes, acting
as a mentor. To encourage parental involvement. And to hold
teachers accountable for student achievement.
Now, all the returns aren't in. But U.S. News terms your
program "a model for educational reform." Teaching applications
are up. And some teachers who left the district are returning.
Will standards rise, and stay there? I believe SO. And much of
the credit belongs to you.
In 1988, the Rochester Brainpower Coalition received the
President's Citation for private sector initiatives. This
company lies at the heart of that coalition.
For it was you who helped provide the financial and
political support for a .long-term commitment. And lent people
and equipment, at company expense, to teach kids engineering and
robotics. Who have given some $125 million to more than 1,000
colleges and universities. And now have focused on pre-college
levels -- helping to restructure city schools, and aiming at
urban "at-risk" students.
By giving of yourselves, you have enriched your community.
And shown that the business of America isn't only business. My
friends, the business of business is America.
For that, I thank you. And I think George Eastman would,
too, looking down, no doubt, through the latest telephoto lens.
For he knew that giving is a two-way street. And our fate is not
divisible.
Even as a young man, he began giving to nonprofit
institutions when his salary was only $60 a week. He helped
create the Eastman School of Music, and build the Eastman
Theatre. And one day in 1924, he gave away $30 million to the
University of Rochester, M.I.T., Hampton, and Tuskegee.
When he died, The New York Times proclaimed, "Eastman was a
stupendous factor in the education of the modern world." " He knew
that a productive America could be a charitable America -- and
that a charitable America could enrich the world.
My friends, through deficit reduction, a lower tax on
capital gains, and excellence in education, let us, too, increase
America's productivity. So that America's charity can enrich not
merely our age -- but generations to come.
Thank you for inviting me, and for this wonderful occasion.
God bless you, and God bless America.
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