QUOTE OF THE DAY
President Discuses Economy and Tax Relief in North Carolina
John Deere-Hitachi Construction Machinery Corporation
Kernersville, North Carolina
THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for having me. Thanks for letting me come by to John Deere-Hitachi. I'm here to talk about our economy. No better place to talk about our economy in a place where people are working hard and where they're productive, where they're making a product people want. The economy of the United States is strong, and I'm here -- how we're going to work together to keep it stronger.
First, I want to thank the workers of this facility for letting me come by to interrupt your work day. (Applause.) I'll try to keep my comments brief, so you can get back to work. (Laughter.) I appreciate the job you're doing. This is a remarkable facility -- a facility of high technology, of good management and great, skilled workers.
I appreciate being back in the state of North Carolina. I was somewhat disappointed to learn that North Carolina is the best place to do business in the United States -- I thought that might have been Texas. (Laughter.)
But there's a lot of work that needs to be done. In the long-term, the most significant deficits will occur as baby boomers retire, and more people receive Social Security and Medicare benefits. There's unfunded liabilities in our Social Security and Medicare systems. That means that there's a lot of baby boomers retiring who have been promised more benefits with fewer people paying into the system. That's what that means. And unless we do something about it, these unfunded liabilities, we're going to put a great burden on our children and our grandchildren.
Reform of Social Security and Medicare is an important issue for the American people. And I've been talking about it, and I'm going to keep talking about it, because I strongly believe the United States Congress has an obligation to do something about it. (Applause.) My attitude is, when you get elected to office in Washington, D.C., you have an obligation to confront problems, not pass them on to future generations and future Congresses. (Applause.)
You know, throughout the last century, we often heard pessimists telling us that our best days are behind us, and that the future belongs to others. Our grandparents heard the pessimists in the 1930s and 1940s say that the future belonged to the central planners. Our parents heard the pessimists again in the 1950s, when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite. Some of us remember hearing the pessimists in the 1970s and 1980s, when we were told that America was tired and could no longer compete with Japan. At that moment, Ronald Reagan's tax cuts were just beginning to kick in, and that set off one of the largest economic expansions in history. One newspaper editorialized about "the stench of failure" during that period of time.
You know, the great thing about our history when you look at it is the American people have always proved the pessimists wrong. At the start of a hopeful new century, the American worker is the most productive worker that human history has ever known. (Applause.) At the start of this new century, we have proven that pro-growth economic policies out of Washington, D.C., do work, and can overcome some mighty obstacles. At the start of the century, we recommit ourselves to the notion that the more free people are, the better off your economy will be. (Applause.)
This great country of ours is a place where people can start out with nothing -- and be able to raise a family, and own a home, or start a business. Through all my travels around the world, I'm always struck by how bright the future of America is. Our job in Washington is to keep that future bright and hopeful by making choices that reward hard work and enterprise. This economy is strong, and the best days are yet to come for the American economy. (Applause.)
I'm honored you let me come by. I'm always glad to come back to North Carolina. And I'm particularly pleased to be with the good, fine folks right here at the Deere-Hitachi plant. May God bless you and your families, and may God continue to bless our country. (Applause.)
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
President George W. Bush addresses his remarks on the economy and tax relief to an audience in Kernersville, N.C., following a tour of the John Deere-Hitachi excavator assembly line, Monday, Dec. 5, 2005.