{"id":183527,"date":"2024-09-20T08:57:33","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T15:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=183527"},"modified":"2024-09-20T08:57:33","modified_gmt":"2024-09-20T15:57:33","slug":"president-biden-at-the-economic-club-of-washington-d-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=183527","title":{"rendered":"President Biden at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Hello, hello, hello. (Applause.) Thank you, David. In my household, we refer to David as the Washington Monument. (Laughter.) He\u2019s been a friend a long time \u2014 a long time. And not only thank you for the introduction, David, but thank you for your friendship. And thank you all for being here and allowing me to be here.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Fullscreen-capture-9202024-85339-AM.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-183528\" src=\"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Fullscreen-capture-9202024-85339-AM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"365\" srcset=\"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Fullscreen-capture-9202024-85339-AM.jpg 609w, https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Fullscreen-capture-9202024-85339-AM-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Fullscreen-capture-9202024-85339-AM-123x70.jpg 123w, https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Fullscreen-capture-9202024-85339-AM-570x325.jpg 570w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"President Biden Delivers Remarks at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C.\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yl5Cn9Bk7i4\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Yesterday was an important day for the county, in my view. Two and a half years after the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates, it announced that it would begin lowering interest rates.<\/p>\n<p>I think it\u2019s good news for consumers, and it means the cost of buying a home, a car, and so much more will be going down. And it\u2019s good news, in my view, for the overall economy, because lower borrowing costs will support economic growth.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s an important signal from the Fed- \u2014 from the Federal Reserve to the nation that after repeated interest hikes to cool down inflation, inflation has come back down, and the Fed \u2014 the Fed is lowering \u2014 switched to lowering rates to keep the country growing \u2014 the economy growing.<\/p>\n<p>At its peak, as you all know, inflation was 9.1 percent in the United States. Today, it is much closer to 2 percent.<\/p>\n<p>That doesn\u2019t mean our work is done. Far from it. Far from it.<\/p>\n<p>No one should confuse why I am here. I\u2019m not here to take a victory lap. I\u2019m not here to say, \u201cA job well done.\u201d I\u2019m not here to say, \u201cWe don\u2019t have a hell of a lot more work to do.\u201d We do have more work to do.<\/p>\n<p>But what I am here to speak about is how far we\u2019ve come, how we got here, and, most importantly, the foundation that I believe [we\u2019ve] built for a more prosperous and equitable future in America.<\/p>\n<p>So, let\u2019s be clear. The Fed lowering interest rates is- \u2014 isn\u2019t a declaration of victory. It\u2019s a declaration of progress. It\u2019s a signal we\u2019ve entered a new phase of our economy and our recovery.<\/p>\n<p>You know, I believe the [it\u2019s] important for the country to recognize this progress, because \u2014 because if we don\u2019t, the progress we made will remain locked in the fear of negative mindset and dominate our economic outlook since the pandemic began, instead of seeing the immense opportunities in front of us right now.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s \u2014 this is a moment, in my view, for business to feel greater confidence to invest, hire, and to expand. It\u2019s a moment for individuals to feel greater confidence buying a home, a new car, starting a family, starting a new business.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve \u2014 we\u2019re creating jobs. [Un]employment remains very low. Small-business creation is at its historic highs. The economy is growing. The main challenge we\u2019ve had \u2014 it\u2019s been a painful one but \u2014 has been the pandemic and the inflation it created, causing enormous pain and hardship for families all across America. That\u2019s not true just for us but for every major economy in the world.<\/p>\n<p>But now \u2014 now inflation is coming down in the United States. And the fact is, it\u2019s come down faster and lower than almost any other [of the] world\u2019s advanced economies.<\/p>\n<p>So now, instead of looking at interest rates increases, interest rates are going to be coming down, and they\u2019re expected to go down further. And that\u2019s a good place for us to be. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Now, a lot of people, as you all know \u2014 maybe you know a few \u2014 thought we\u2019d never get here. When Kamala and I came to office, 3,000 people a day were dying of COVID \u2014 3,000 a day. Millions of Americans had lost their jobs, their businesses. And the global economy was in a tailspin.<\/p>\n<p>Four years ago, we inherited the worst pandemic in a century and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. In fact, my predecessor was one of just a few \u2014 two presidents in American history who left office with fewer jobs than the day he came into office. The other? Herbert Hoover.<\/p>\n<p>When I came to office, there was no real plan in place \u2014 no plan to deal with the pandemic, no plan to get the economy back on its feet. Nothing \u2014 virtually nothing.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted we wouldn\u2019t \u2014 they wouldn\u2019t see a full recovery until well after the end of my first term in office. But I refused to accept that, like many of you refused to accept it.<\/p>\n<p>I came into office determined not only to deliver immediate economic relief for the American people but to transform the way our economy works over the long term; to write a new economic playbook, grow the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not just the top down; put workers first; support unions to make sure workers have a bargaining clout they need to get a fair price to grow that pie \u2014 and after all, it\u2019s the productivity that\u2019s \u2014 they \u2014 they\u2019re the productivity baked into that pie, in my view; no one \u2014 leave no one behind; foster fair \u2014 fair competition; invest in all of America and in all Americans.<\/p>\n<p>When we do things for the poor and have \u2014 they have a ladder up, the middle class does very well, and the wealthy continue to do very well. We all do well. And we are doing well. Working families and the middle class are the center of the strong, equitable, and sustainable recovery.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the keys from the new playbook, in my view. Within the first two months in office, I signed the American Rescue Plan, one of the most significant economic recovery packages in our history. Not a single person on the other team \u2014 Republicans \u2014 voted for it.<\/p>\n<p>It delivered shots in the arm for vaccines to vaccinate the nation in one of the most sophisticated logistical operations in American history. I found it incredibly difficult to plan that. Without protecting our nation from COVID, our economic recovery would never have taken off.<\/p>\n<p>It also delivered immediate economic relief for those who needed it the most. An individual earning less than $75,000 a year received a $1,400 check. So, a family of five earning less than $150,000 a year could receive as much as $7,000. And, by the way, in middle-class families like the one I grew up and many of you grew up in, that is a game changer. That saved people\u2019s sense of being.<\/p>\n<p>It also prevented a wave \u2014 a wave of evictions, bankruptcies, and delinquencies and defaults that the previous crises weak- \u2014 weakened the recovery and left working families permanently further behind.<\/p>\n<p>I was determined to avoid what Secretary Yellen called the \u201ceconomic scarring\u201d \u2014 scarring that hurt so many Americans and left them behind in the past.<\/p>\n<p>We delivered essential funding to states and local governments to keep essential services moving, to keep teachers and first responders on the job, to keep small businesses open, and to build more housing. We also expanded the Child Tax Credit to cut child poverty in half.<\/p>\n<p>And with the Butch Lewis Act, we took the most significant action in 50 years to protect the pensions of millions of union workers and retirees. Before we acted, workers faced cuts to their pensions. Now we\u2019re restoring the full amount of their pensions, including for workers who previously saw cuts.<\/p>\n<p>And there\u2019s so much more.<\/p>\n<p>But we also know the pandemic led to a surge in inflation all across American and the world \u2014 and the country, I should say. And the economy shut down and then opened back up in an unprecedented manner. Shipping had stalled. Factories shut down. Inflation grew worse after Putin invaded Ukraine, which sent food prices skyrocketing and energy prices soaring around the world.<\/p>\n<p>So, we immediately brought together business and labor to fix the problem with broken supply chains and unclog our ports, trucking networks, and shipping lines.<\/p>\n<p>Remember those massive cargo ships stuck outside the port of Loa- \u2014 of Los Angeles, delaying deliveries and driving up prices during the holiday season? Remember that? Remember the shortage of baby formula and the crisis that caused? Well, we got supply chains back to normal. When we did that, inflation began to ease. Doesn\u2019t solve, but ease.<\/p>\n<p>It also \u2014 I also \u2014 I also rallied our allies to stand against Putin\u2019s aggression. In the beginning, there wasn\u2019t a whole lot of support for that. I warned them all. I got clearance from the intelligence community to let them know when he was going to invade. They didn\u2019t believe it was going to happen. But he invaded exactly when I said he was. Led the world to realize that we had a real problem.<\/p>\n<p>And it \u2014 releasing oil reserves to stabilize global markets to \u2014 and, by the way, our gas prices are now down to $3.22, lower than before the invasion \u2014 (applause) \u2014 and $3 \u2014 below $3 a gallon in 14 states, including Delaware. (Laughter and applause.) I can go home now, past the gas station. (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Energy production for all \u2014 from all sources is now at record highs in America \u2014 record highs.<\/p>\n<p>And unlike my predecessor, I respect the Federal Reserve\u2019s independence as they pursued \u2014 it\u2019s a mandate \u2014 to bring inflation down. That independence has served the country well.<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, I\u2019ve never once spoken to the chairman of the Fed since I became president. It\u2019ll also do enormous damage to our economy if that independence is ever lost.<\/p>\n<p>You know, my new economic playbook also rejects the long-held conventional view among economists \u2014 many economists \u2014 that we had to lower our ambitions to bring inflation down.<\/p>\n<p>After I took action to rescue the economy, we got relief to families that needed it. Some experts predicted that people would have a \u2014 that we would leave the labor market and not come back to work. They referred to this as \u201cthe Great Resignation.\u201d Remember that? The Great Resignation.<\/p>\n<p>Well, to state the obvious, they were dead wrong. We now have the highest working-age employment in decades. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Other critics said it would take the loss of millions of Americans\u2019 jobs to \u2014 and a decline in real wages and, yes, the recession to get inflation back down. Possible, but I refused to accept that. I believed, sometimes over the amazement of my staff, that we should seize the moment to finally invest in all of America and all Americans for decades to come. We did just that with what I call our Investing in America agenda.<\/p>\n<p>How can we have the strongest economy in the world without the most advanced infrastructure in the world? How can that be?<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why I wrote and worked so hard to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the most significant law in generations, to modernize our roads, bridges, ports, airports, trains, buses; removing every lead pipe from schools and homes so every child could drink clean water; providing affordable \u2014 (applause) \u2014 providing affordable high-speed Internet for every American, no matter where they live, not unlike what Franklin Roosevelt did.<\/p>\n<p>Remember what he did? You don\u2019t remember. You weren\u2019t around, nor \u2014 by the way, I wasn\u2019t \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 I\u2019m old, but I wasn\u2019t there either. (Laughter.) But he decided that rural America had to have access to electricity.<\/p>\n<p>The Internet is a \u2014 as a \u2014 is as critical as electricity was during his period.<\/p>\n<p>I remember saying that to my younger staff, who looked at me, \u201cWell, what are you talking about?\u201d (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>But look, we\u2019re growing our economy. We got more to do. We\u2019re improving our quality of life. We\u2019re literally building a better America because of all of you.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, \u201cBuy American\u201d has been the law of the land since the 1930s. And I have to admit to you, Tommy, the \u2014 \u201cTommy,\u201d excuse me \u2014 Congressman Carper, my buddy \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 I didn\u2019t realize that when they wrote the law in \u201833 about unions organizing, they also had a provision in there: Any money \u2014 it says any money the president is sent from the Congress to invest on an investment in America should use American workers and use American products. Past administrations, including my predecessor, failed to buy American. Not anymore.<\/p>\n<p>Kamala and I are making sure the federal projects building American roads, bridges, highways, and so much more beyond that, like aircraft carriers and tanks, they will be made with American products and built by American workers, creating good-paying American jobs.<\/p>\n<p>How can we be the strongest nation in the world without leading the world in science and technology? I mean, think about it. We walked away for a long while in investing in science and technology as a government.<\/p>\n<p>During the pandemic, the American people learned about supply chains. You know, I remember going home and saying, \u201cWell, the supply chain.\u201d And my family, \u201cThe supply chain? What the hell is a supply chain?\u201d (Laughter.) No, but I\u2019m serious. Think about it. It became common knowledge what a supply \u2014 what we\u2019re talking about to all \u2014 the average American.<\/p>\n<p>And the shortage of semiconductors, those little tiny computer chips smaller than a tip of your finger that power everything \u2014 but every \u2014 everyday lives, from smartphones, to automobiles and dishwashers, to advanced weapon systems, and so much more. Think about it. It takes over 3,000 chips to build an automobile. Remember the crisis when we didn\u2019t have access to those in the automobile industry?<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, we invented these chips here in America. And we still design the most sophisticated chips in the world.<\/p>\n<p>But over time, my predecessors thought it was better to manufacture those chips overseas because the labor was cheaper. That\u2019s why they went overseas.<\/p>\n<p>The result: When the pandemic shut down those chip factories overseas, the price of everything went up because we didn\u2019t have enough chips here in America.<\/p>\n<p>We learned the hard way that one of the best ways to strengthen our supply chi- \u2014 our supply chain is to make sure the supply chains starts in America \u2014 starts in America. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, if I could hold in the back there, that\u2019s why I \u2014 I have great relationships with the European friends. But this is one where they go, \u201cWhoa.\u201d (Laughter.) That\u2019s why I literally wrote and signed the CHIPS and Science Act, to bring manufacturing back home and so much more.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, private companies from around the world are now investing tens of billions of dollars to build new chip factories right here in America \u2014 in New York, Ohio, Arizona \u2014 all across the country.<\/p>\n<p>You know, it takes time to build these factories. But the number of construction workers is way up, and they\u2019re making good salaries \u2014 already creating tens of thousands of jobs in construction facilities. But the American public is going, \u201cWell, where\u2019s all this going, Biden?\u201d Because they haven\u2019t s- \u2014 they expected this to happen overnight. You got to build the factories first.<\/p>\n<p>When these factories are finally built, we\u2019ll have tens of thousands of jobs running those factories \u2014 so-called fabs. As you all know \u2014 this is one audience I don\u2019t have to explain it to \u2014 they\u2019re \u2014 these fabs are bigger than football fields, creating jobs that are going to pay over $100,000 a year, and you don\u2019t need a college degree.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s going to generate such economic growth when the one outs- \u2014 in \u2014 outside of Columbus, Ohio \u2014 a thousand acres. I call it a field of dreams.<\/p>\n<p>The old playbook was to go abroad to the cheapest labor, export American jobs, and import foreign products. Our new playbook is we export American products and create American jobs right here in America where they belong. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>But that\u2019s not all. I wrote and signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant climate law ever, anywhere in the history of the world. When I say \u201cI wrote,\u201d I actually did write some of this, my \u2014 my daughter would say, \u201cwith my own paw.\u201d (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Skeptics told me we couldn\u2019t get it done. Remember? We couldn\u2019t get this done; there was no possibility of this. There wasn\u2019t a consensus. And if we did it, it would be too late and too little. But we did it with your help: $369 billion for climate and clean energy, more than ever happened in the history of the world.<\/p>\n<p>Not a single one of the opposition \u2014 Republican friends \u2014 voted for it. It took Vice President Harris to cast the tiebreaking vote in the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>The Inflation Reduction Act is going to help cut carbon emissions in half by 2030, and we\u2019re well on the way, including \u2014 well, I won\u2019t go into it all \u2014 and creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying clean energy jobs for American workers. I set up a Climate Corps, just like the Peace Corps; it\u2019s going to \u2014 you watch what happens with that.<\/p>\n<p>Lower energy costs for families with tax credits to install rooftop solar and efficient-energy appliances, to weatherize your windows and doors with high-tech insulation, more efficient heating and cooling systems \u2014 and get a tax credit for doing it and grow employment and grow the economy \u2014 and so much more.<\/p>\n<p>And, again, many of you are doing \u2014 you\u2019re the ones doing it. You\u2019re creating these good-paying jobs.<\/p>\n<p>The Inflation Reduction Act also focused on lowering costs for prescription drugs.<\/p>\n<p>There was a law in America that I fought like hell as a senator \u2014 and a lot of others who did for a long, long time \u2014 to change the law: The only agency that could not negotiate prices was Medicare. For years, many other members of Congress fought \u2014 for decades \u2014 to change that and give Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices, like the VA is able to lower dr- \u2014 negotiate drug prices for veterans.<\/p>\n<p>Well, with the Inflation Reduction Act, we finally beat Big Pharma. And we finally gave Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.<\/p>\n<p>And now \u2014 millions of seniors have diabetes, as one example, but now, instead of paying up to $400 a month for that insulin for their diabetes, they\u2019re only paying 35 bucks a month \u2014 35 bucks.<\/p>\n<p>And they\u2019re still making a hell of a profit, by the way. You know how much it costs to make that insulin? Ten dollars. T-E-N dollars. Ten dollars. Package the whole thing, you get up to $13.<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, if I had Air Force One sitting out there, I could get you in the plane and take you anywhere in the world, any major capital. Whatever prescription you have, I can get it for you cheaper in Toronto, London, Berlin, Rome \u2014 anywhere around the world.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s just beginning. The same law says that starting this January \u2014 we don\u2019t have to cha- \u2014 any new changes with the law, the existing law \u2014 every senior\u2019s total prescription drug cost will be capped at $2,000 a year, no matter how expensive their drugs are, even expensive cancer drugs that cost 10-, 12-, 14,000 bucks a year.<\/p>\n<p>And these reforms don\u2019t just save seniors money, but, equally important, they save every American taxpayer money. Just so far, these reforms will save American taxpayers $160 billion over the next decade because Medicare won\u2019t have to pay \u2014 spend (inaudible). (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, that weight-loss medicine is just getting going, man, that debate. (Laughter.) Watch.<\/p>\n<p>All told, we\u2019re proving that we can bring down inflation while safeguarding hard-won gains in jobs and real wages in American workers.<\/p>\n<p>Today, a record 16 million jobs created, more than any other single presidential term.<\/p>\n<p>When I took office, more than 2 million women left the workforce due to the pandemic. If you listen to these other guys, they think women don\u2019t want to work. They don\u2019t know women in America. (Applause.) No, I\u2019m serious. Watch. Watch, watch, watch.<\/p>\n<p>And speaking of watches, on my watch \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 we reversed the loss. We actually increased the number of women working by an addition 2 million women in the workforce. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, we have the highest share of working-age women on jobs since 1948, when we started \u2014 and we\u2019re \u2014 and we \u2014 we started to keep track back then. With wages up, incomes up for women workers, we\u2019ve always believed women should be paid equally for equal work. And there\u2019s not a single damn job a woman can\u2019t do that a man can do, including being president of the United States of America. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>You all think I\u2019m kidding. My younger sister used to be three years younger than me. She\u2019s now 20 years younger. (Laughter.) Went to the same university, took the same courses. She graduated with honors; I graduated. (Laughter.) She\u2019s the one who should be \u2014 anyway. (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Nineteen million people have applied to start new businesses. That\u2019s a record. And here\u2019s the thing about those new businesses: Every application to start a new business is an act of hope. It\u2019s an act of optimism, hope.<\/p>\n<p>More Americans have health insurance than ever before, and I don\u2019t think that should be something we should sneeze at. Everyone deserves basic health care.<\/p>\n<p>The racial wealth gap \u2014 (applause) \u2014 is the smallest in 20 years.<\/p>\n<p>Remember how many economists thought we\u2019d need a recession to bring down inflation? There was even a major financial news headline, which I\u2019ll not reference, saying, \u201c100 percent chance of a recession in 2023.\u201d Well, instead, our economy grew by more than 3 percent last year, and inflation came way down. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>American households came out of the crisis \u2014 American households \u2014 with stronger balance sheets, higher incomes, greater wealth. And all that progress is a remarkable testament to the resilience and determination of the American people. They\u2019re the one \u2014 I mean, determination of American workers; of American entrepreneurs, like all of you; American business.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s in stark contrast to my predecessor\u2019s record. His failure in handling the pandemic led to hundreds of thousands of Americans dying because of COVID. Remember \u201cjust inject a little dye, you\u2019ll be okay\u201d?<\/p>\n<p>His failure to lead the economic crisis that followed that created millions of Americans \u2014 caused them to lose their jobs. In fact, the last month of his failed term was the last month our economy lost jobs. On my watch, the economy has created jobs every single month for nearly four years. (Applause.) Because of you.<\/p>\n<p>My predecessor enacted a $2 trillion tax cut that made \u2014 overwhelmingly benefited the very wealthy and the biggest corporations. Made you feel good, I\u2019m sure. But guess what? We don\u2019t have to hurt corporations. We don\u2019t have to \u2014 I come from the corporate state of the world. For 36 years, I represented the state \u2014 Tom and I \u2014 that had more corporations incorporated in Delaware than every other nation in the United States of America \u2014 every other state in the nation \u2014 the entire nation \u2014 in the state of Delaware.<\/p>\n<p>But what did his policies do? It increased the federal deficit significantly, more than any other previous presidential term. And the federal deficit went up every single year of his presidency and left office with the largest annual deficit in American history: $3 trillion.<\/p>\n<p>And now he not only would give another $5 trillion tax cut for the very wealthy and the biggest corporations, he wants a new sales tax on imported goods \u2014 food, gasoline, clothing, and more. As most of you know, such policies would cost the average American family nearly $4,000 a year.<\/p>\n<p>But he and his allies say they support workers and the middle class. Give me a break.<\/p>\n<p>On my watch, we\u2019ve created over 700,000 manufacturing jobs. He lost 170,000 manufacturing jobs in four years. On our watch, factory construction is at a record high. It increased 210 percent. On the other team\u2019s watch, factory construction barely increased 2 percent.<\/p>\n<p>On my watch, the trade deficit with China declined to its lowest level in a decade. On his watch, the trade deficit with China soared.<\/p>\n<p>On my watch, we\u2019re seeing a record stock market and record 401(k)s.<\/p>\n<p>And the bottom line is I\u2019m a capitalist. I wish I had more stock. (Laughter.) But I believe capitalism is the greatest force to grow the economy for everybody. I really mean it.<\/p>\n<p>Now, don\u2019t point to the fact that for 36 \u2014 this time I\u2019m going to point out to you \u2014 when they did the income of all the members of Congress, I was listed as the poorest man in Congress. (Laughter.) I never thought I was poor. I had a decent salary as a senator.<\/p>\n<p>But we face a fundamental choice. For the past 40 years, too many leaders have sworn by an economic theory that has not worked very well at all: trickle-down economics. Cut taxes for the very wealthy \u2014 and they deserve having taxes cut \u2014 but cut for the very wealthy and hope the benefits trickle down.<\/p>\n<p>Well, guess what? Not a whole lot trickled down to my dad\u2019s kitchen table.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s clear, especially under my predecessor, that trickle-down economics failed. And he\u2019s promised it again \u2014 trickle-down economics \u2014 but it will fail again.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, President Clinton pointed out that since the end of the Cold War in \u201889, America has created about 51 million jobs. Of those 51 million jobs in that period, the economy under Democratic presidents created 50 million \u2014 a fact \u2014 50 million of those. And the economy under Republican presidents created 1 million of those new jobs.<\/p>\n<p>Folks, I\u2019ve laid out a better choice, in my view, to grow the economy from the middle out and the bottom up. I promised to be a president to all Americans, whether they voted for me or not. And I kept that promise, making a lot of Democrats very angry because studies show that I signed actually \u2014 one of the laws I signed actually delivered more benefits to red states than to blue states. That\u2019s a fact. More went to Republican states than Democratic states. That may not have been good politics, but I believe it\u2019s good for the country. And I kept my promise.<\/p>\n<p>Today, we are better positioned than any nation in the world to truly win the economic competition of the 21st century, in my view. And there\u2019s so much more we can do.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re going to continue bringing down prices for families by building more affordable housing, making childcare more affordable \u2014 and, by the way, you make it more affordable, it increases economic growth \u2014 growth \u2014 growth \u2014 by continuing to lower health care costs as well.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re continuing fighting to make sure everyone \u2014 everyone pays their fair share in taxes.<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, I hope some of you out there are billionaires, but paying 8.2 percent ain\u2019t quite enough. If you just paid 25 percent, it would generate enough income \u2014 $500 billion over the next 10 years. We could cut the deficit. And be paying 25 percent wouldn\u2019t \u2014 anyway, I don\u2019t want to get into it. If I get going, might \u2014 (laughter).<\/p>\n<p>But my point is that includes restoring the \u2014 extended the Child Care Tax Credit to cut child poverty in half.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re determined to lower prescription drug costs not just for seniors but for everyone, helping the federal budget and household budgets and so much more.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m sorry to go on so long. Let me close with this. I probably \u2014 you know, early in my term, I traveled \u2014 to the skepticism of some of my own team and many of the Democrats \u2014 to South Korea to meet with President (inaudible) and \u2014 President Hu in \u2014 in Sou- \u2014 in South Korea and the CEO of Samsung. They were manufacturing a significant portion of the chips in the world.<\/p>\n<p>And I sat with them and I encouraged both of them to invest in America. And they agreed. What surprised me, when I asked the CEO of Samsung why he was prepared to invest billions of dollars to build chip factories in the United States, they mentioned two reasons: because of our workforce, which I know we have the best workers in the world. And second, they said we have the safest, the most secure nation in the world in which to invest.<\/p>\n<p>And now, as I stand here in front of some of the most signifi- \u2014 significant business leaders and successful business leaders in the country, we also know we have the best research universities in the world \u2014 the best in the world. We have the most dynamic capitalist system in the world.<\/p>\n<p>But here\u2019s what we can\u2019t take for granted. We have stability because we have a rule of law. Our democracy is unparalleled.<\/p>\n<p>I know I talk about the \u2014 a lot about democracy from the first time I ran. But it\u2019s really under stress. For real. We can never lose those democratic principles.<\/p>\n<p>American business, our economic dynamism can\u2019t succeed, in my view, without a stability and security that makes us the envy of the world \u2014 and we are.<\/p>\n<p>Four years ago, we\u2019ve gone from a histor- \u2014 historic crisis to greater progress than any of us thought possible. We did it with a new playbook based on one of the most im- \u2014 oldest truths of our nation: Believe in America. Invest in America. That\u2019s the truth.<\/p>\n<p>Give the American people half a chance. They have never, ever, ever, ever, ever let the country down. Give them a full chance, and watch them lift us up to endless possibilities. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what I see in this room. Incredible \u2014 I really mean this, and I\u2019m not trying to be solicitous with you \u2014 an incredibly \u2014 incredible business leaders, innovators who embody that sense of possibilities.<\/p>\n<p>You know, I spent more time with Xi Jinping than any world leader has: over 90 hours with him alone, traveled 17,000 miles with him in the United States and a \u2014 and in \u2014 and in China.<\/p>\n<p>We were in the Tibetan Plateau, and he looked at me. He said, \u201cCan you define America for me?\u201d And, by the way, I gave all my notes in, so they have this. (Laughter.) And I said, \u201cYeah, I can define America in one word\u201d \u2014 and I mean this from the bottom of my heart; I mean this from the bottom of my heart \u2014 \u201cPossibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re a nation of possibilities. We think big. We believe big. We sometimes fail, but we think big.<\/p>\n<p>I have never been more optimistic about America\u2019s future. We just have to remember who the hell we are and how far we\u2019ve come together. We\u2019re the United States of America, and there\u2019s nothing \u2014 virtually nothing we cannot do when we act together.<\/p>\n<p>So, keep it up, folks. We need you badly.<\/p>\n<p>God bless you all. And may God protect our troops. Thank you. (Applause.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Hello, hello, hello. (Applause.) Thank you, David. In my household, we refer to David as the Washington Monument. (Laughter.) He\u2019s been a friend a long time \u2014 a long time. And not only thank you for the introduction, David, but thank you for your friendship. And thank you all for being here and allowing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":183528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-183527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Fullscreen-capture-9202024-85339-AM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=183527"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":183529,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183527\/revisions\/183529"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/183528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=183527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=183527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=183527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}