Direct Evidence! Bush has lost his Marbles. The speech you missed....

KoKo

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Sat May-01-04 10:17 AM
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Direct Evidence! Bush has lost his Marbles. The speech you missed....

Edited on Sat May-01-04 10:21 AM by KoKo01

President Outlines Path for Lasting Prosperity in Wednesday Speech
Remarks by the President at the Newspaper Association of America Annual Convention
Omni Shoreham Hotel
Washington, D.C.

1:30 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, all. Burl, thank you very much. I kind of like ducking those questions. (Laughter.) I appreciate you having me. I hope this toast business becomes a habit -- (laughter) -- if you know what I mean. (Laughter.)

Thanks for letting me come. Tom, thank you for your invitation. Dean, thank you for having me here. Members of the politburo -- (laughter.) I mean, my fellow Americans. (Laughter and applause.)

I was thinking about what I was going to tell you when I came over here today, and I thought I'd talk a little bit about the role of the President in creating an environment so that our prosperity lasts, and then the role of the President in securing America. And then I'll be glad to -- I'll be glad to duck some questions. (Laughter.) Just like my mother told me to do. (Laughter.)

We're prosperous now, which is good -- particularly if you're a guy seeking the vote. New jobs are being created, I think we had 308,000 in the month of March. Industrial production rose at 6.6 percent in the first quarter of this year, which is a positive sign. Homeownership is at the highest rate ever, which is really positive for America. The more people who own something, the better off the country is. Inflation is low. Interest rates are low. And the economy is growing, which is good news.

And the question is, really, from a presidential perspective is, what do you do to keep in place an environment so that prosperity lasts beyond just a recovery? It's amazing that we're growing in spite of the fact that we've been through a recession, a war, an emergency and corporate scandals -- which speaks to the resiliency of the American people and the strength of the entrepreneurial spirit.

The way I view the role of government is that the government's role isn't to create wealth, the government's role isn't to say, "I created jobs," -- the government's role is to create an environment in which entrepreneurs feel comfortable about expanding the job base and risking capital.

So here are some things that I think our country must do to make sure that we have lasting prosperity, prosperity that reflects the willingness of the American system to put in place a competitive system, competitive with other countries.

First, we've got to have a balanced legal system. I'm deeply concerned about a legal system that is fraught with frivolous and junk lawsuits which make it harder to form businesses, make it less desirable to risk capital. A competitive business environment that will encourage lasting prosperity must mean there needs to be balance in our legal system. There must be tort reform. There's a proper role for tort reform at the federal government. Class action lawsuits need to be reformed, in my judgment. Asbestos reforms legislation is stuck in the Senate, ought to go forward. Obviously, there's a lot that needs to be done at the state level. The President can help nudge that along with the bully pulpit. But the Congress ought to move on tort reform.

And they ought to do so on medical liability reform, as well. When I first came to Washington, I wasn't sure if the proper role of the federal government was to get involved with medical liability reform. Then I saw what frivolous lawsuits and the defensive practice of medicine do to the federal budgets. They cost us a lot of money. And it's a national issue, therefore. And so Congress needs to pass medical liability reform -- not only to send a message that tort reform is vital, but also to help us control the cost of medicine, which is a second necessary ingredient for there to be lasting prosperity.

I'm a big promoter in what's called health savings accounts and association health care plans, because I believe that the best way to help control health care costs in the long run is to empower consumer decision-making in the process, as opposed to federal government decision-making in the process.

And I readily concede there's a philosophical debate here in Washington, D.C. of the proper role of the federal government versus the marketplace. It should come as no surprise to you that I tend to -- I tend to side with those who believe market forces are the best way to allocate resources and the best way to help control costs and, therefore, will continue to be a strong proponent of new ideas such as health savings accounts to empower consumers and to encourage the doctor-patient relationship that has been eroded as a result of bureaucracies, both in the private and public sectors, springing forth.

There also needs to be innovation in the health care field, as well as the rest of our society. One of the interesting things about health care, it's kind of like a cottage industry that has yet to adapt to the new technologies of the 21st century. And, therefore, there are missed opportunities when it comes to helping control costs and to provide quality care.

The proper role of the federal government, in my judgment on this, is to help set a national standard so that the myriad of producers have something around which to make proper decision-making when it comes to the use of IT technology. I believe there ought to be broadband in every community, and available to every house by the year 2007, in order to make sure America has lasting prosperity. And that's just the beginning. I think not only should broadband be accessible, but there ought to be ample providers available to every house and every community in America.

If you want to see how much worse it gets read the rest and the Q&A at the end from the Governments Web Site. :crazy:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/04/print/20040421-5.html