>> bill bradley presents his thoughts on several economic and political issues facing the u.s. this is about an hour. [applause] >> well, how is everybody tonight? pretty good? thank you for the very generous and kind introduction. it is a pleasure to be here. this is my seventh book.

[inaudible conversations] [laughter] >> is that better? this is my seventh book. i've had people introduce me at book signings before. that was a terrific one. thank you for that introduction. people get confused when they introduce and i remember this one person has died, we are so glad senator bradley is here tonight. he's going to speak on his new book, wonderful book. i can guarantee you if you put it down, gil never pick it up. [laughter] i was on the energy and natural

resources committee and the chairman was the guy from louisiana name ben johnson. secretary henry kissinger was on the geopolitics for boyle and the chairman of the committee said were so glad you're here, dr. kissinger. i know to make important contributions for this committees were. i want to say to the committee members that dr. kissinger's memoir has just come out 824 pages. i must tell you, dr. kissinger, i find it full of things that. if you fall asleep and break your -- drop it on your leg it will break it. i want to talk about the book and then you can ask them questions. the impetus of this book was really, like many americans,

last summer witness the debt limit debacle and i witnessed this up we were still in two wars in the other side of the world and i was aware of the middle class and the median income was the same as the was as it was in 2006 in for the last 25 years basically stagnant. i found for the last 25 years, basically do you really think anything is going to get done. i'm feeling hopeless. i decided to write it out. i don't have my hands on the leverage of power.

poorer citizens just like you. so what can i do? one thing i can do is bring whatever experience i had in the moment and talk to the american people as best they could and that's what i've tried to do. i try to remind people we have different problems in the past. depression after depression. we fight wars. there've been times when the structure of our democracy just is not where we've overcome them and move forward. i wanted to tell people they are flexible enough to try and run our own future. i wonder my juice something when i ran for president in the paleolithic era that there's a

goodness in the american people and that goodness, that selflessness has to be the foundation upon which government policy is built. for example, a nonprofit set to give to someone else with no expectation of return and these are the private sector performer guy, then the best of government takes the accountability of the privacy during the passion and commitment of the non-private sector and that is when government comes alive to do a great thing for the people of this country. so people asked me, what do i miss about being in politics? i really miss two things. and it's not doing public policy 24 hours a day. i love that. and that's what books like this one try to fill that void. and the second thing i miss is

that people quite frankly and all their shapes and sizes, terre hautescum of fears, dreams, anxieties. i miss that. people look to your leg you're part of something that can help when you run for president amplifier 100 fold. and i tried to fill that food but the radio program that i do in serious satellite radio called american voices. the premise of the program is i want people to hear that kind of stories that i have heard for 40 years on the road as a basketball player and politician. the kind of stories i've heard for americans. they really boil down to two kinds of stories.

one is a story about people who have an unusual job. the guy that watches when does in new york city skyscrapers. our public health nurse in the niche islands or the groundskeeper at fenway park in boston. all of those stories -- had done over 300 stores no. all of those stories are stories about the dignity of work and about the fulfillment one haas in doing something while, whatever that is. and so, i wanted to write about that. chapter five is called celebrating selflessness. which as i said it's got to beat the inside in the foundation for anything else we do. and what kind of stories?

well, the story of the guy who send shoes for 46 years and none of every tp put a portion of that tape into the fund to pay for his health care. and the day i interviewed him, you put over $100,000 into that fund. that's the goodness of the american people. then there's the lady outside chicago. she had an 11-year-old son who had cancer and she -- she's in the hospital and got a lot of letters that he was in the hospital. and then when he came home, he got no letters. he asked his mother one day, mom, are they not sending me letters because i think i'm going to die? and so his mother started sending him letters. and she was sign the letters, a

secret pal on a bad week when he was really sick at home, three. on a good week in school have been a normal life, at least one letter. one night she came into the kitchen and he was there writing on the kitchen table issue in overcome and no, no, not for you, mom. and continued driving a folded up, put it in an envelope, give it to his mother and said we should give this to my secret pal? she started to open and said no, no, for my secret pal. so she put in too bad. what would you do? open the envelope, took out the piece of paper and bits that i love you, mom. [laughter] about four months later he died. she went into his closet and get the most difficult thing that a mother can do, which is to clean out the closet of a deceased

child. and in the floor of that closet she found a shoebox. and in the shoebox, she found all the letters from his secret pal organized chronologically. and in the bottom of the shoebox she found an address book that had the address above the kid that went to camp to camp previous summer. so as a tribute to her son, she wrote every kid in that book a letter, trying to buck them up like she packed up her son. an amazing thing happened. she started getting letters from people. letters from people all over the country. thank you for writing to my next-door neighbor here in kankakee. i have a cousin in iowa city who has a child. could you write to them? could you write here, could you write their? she got such a response she started an organization called love letters.

over 10 years, she wrote over 4000 letters to kids with cancer all across this country. now that is the goodness of the american people. and we have politics and donaldson will get to god and partisanship and polarization in real issues that will determine the future of this kind tree, but you must never forget that there is that goodness out there, that we are generous people, debbie gave with no expectation of return often. and while they do that, we are at our best. weather was raising the bar in with your neighbors in the early years, or writing letters to kids with cancer today. i know guys after i got about 20 shows he said what you going to do when you run out of people like this? i said you don't get it. it's america. i'm never going to run out of people like this. so that is really why -- that

was the impetus to write about. now what the expiration? the inspiration comes from the title, comes from abraham lincoln's second state of the union message. it's 1861. the war's been going on about here. it's not going well for the north. months away from the emancipation proclamation family can sense his address to congress. i mean, one of the great address as in american history, full of so much create status. the two or three sentences caught my mind -- caught my attention as i was thinking about the book. he says, speaking to the congressmen, senators in the middle of the civil war, we can only succeed by con third working together. it is not in any of us imagined that her, but can all of us to

better? and that is a relevant question. when you look out and see the fragility and inequality of the economy, the direction of foreign policy, but her relatives of the national dialogue, that is a legitimate question. can we all do better? we now that we have to be at our best ever going to meet the challenges our country faces. we know each of us has to be at our best. and that of course is the next level of the title. the politicians and people in washington can do better. but the question is, can each of us to better? and that might mean some very simple things in your life. politics today is between two

competing ethics. the ethic of caring, collective action associated with democrats in the back of responsibility, individual action. a massive campaign sorry. it's already shaping up that this is what is going to be this year. at the presidential race is about the future, not the past. but there it is, beginning to be the same thing. when the truth is, and i think we need politicians and tell people the truth. we need votes, says ben hall's. and everybody has adequate coverage and see a doctor when they're sick and weren't sure of that in this country.

how are you doing taking care of their own body by which you read and how much you exercise? and remember, the healthier you are, the less he'll cost the health care system and and the more money available to cover other people who don't have health insurance. so it takes both. 35% of the altar the is only income. we have to make social security solid for years and years to come, generations to come. in individual responsibility would say if you want retirement with more than just social security, your personal responsibility is to say if you don't save enough, you're not going to have as good of her a retirement as a few essays.

so the point here is we need individual responsibility and collective carrion. as i said and yet, our state as individuals, even at our best depends on the success of a national committee. we are all in this together. so, i'm i decided when i was writing that the bed i couldn't talk about everything. i had to narrow it down a little bit. so i narrowed it down to three subjects. one is the economy, particularly with reference to what we can do to get more jobs that are paid to revive our sense of upward mobility in this country.

i tried to do that in the book with the analysis of what we can do in the short-term. and i can go into one of questions and answers. we had to make sure we have to resolve those. that's who we are as a country and wants to lose fat we've lost the op to miss them from the beginning. we've lost the hope for a better life and none of us wants that. we need to do a few things. if we do a few things, we'll be right back. so i talk about the economy. we talk about the foreign policy in the major point of this chapter is to say that 21st

century is going to be about economics and our security will depend increasingly about economics, our economy will perform. twentieth century is about military action. the 21st century is not going to be the case. sure, there's terrorism. we need to make sure we get out of terrorists. we did a great need be, adoptable land forces. we need to court made a space, et cetera. but the fundamental point is our economy performs will determine our future and how do we lead in the world. i argue we should lead by the power of our whole of the pluralistic democracy with a growing economy to take everybody to higher ground.

lee kwan yew, the founder and former prime minister of singapore says in the 21st century, the winner will be -- in the 21st century, intelligence will determine the winner in the global competition. he set in china has a talent pool of 1.3 billion people to draw from. the united states has a talent pool of 7 billion people, meaning everybody in the world. we are an open society. we invite people to common is and take us all to higher ground. as long as we deserved that, we are going to be fine. and then i talk about china in the context of the last decade. i talk about the last decade,

what have we done? we have fought two wars. that is where a talent coming thinking power of people that are smart wins. that is where your tax dollars went. that is where too many of our lives would. but what about the chinese? in the decade we were doing that, they were laying the groundwork for economic leadership in the 21st century. how? a few things. chinese had on the books plans to have high-speed rail lines going from chinatown to singapore, southeast asia, across central asia, turkey. across siberia to moscow and then to berlin. once those lines iran, the resources of that whole region can be brought to china. china also has on the books

construct in some dance. the dams would be in the himalayas on rivers like the neocons were that irrawaddy but the bama petrova, which are rivers that flow into southeast asia and asia. so by building that stands was an ability to regulate the water, they will have an influence in the region without firing a gun shot. ..

>> it sits between europe and and the united states on the shipping lines. thinking about what the world should look like. they had 100 million people

listening to this serious of the rise of nations. we have to wake up. front-page of the new year times last year. europeans go to china to ask for investment in the euro rescue funds. with sanction policy with the wto to have them less satiable. the story of the burgeoning economic power that western

business looks for investment in libya. that was us with their latest mideast venture but the chinese think of the next 50 years. middle income americans and getting our akon and a2 grow and been on the cutting edge of technology not just internal domestic but leadership in the world and we must not forget that. but the political system in the united states sufferers from two major flaws with gerrymandering that reward extremes only 50 seats are

competitive if i am in the 6040 -- 60/40 i know we will win. a republican has to worry about somebody on his right or vice versa. we play to that constituency. in order to move the humanity forward. fill that is the role of money and politics when iran for the senate for the first time 1978 i spent 1.6 million dollars. jon corzine spent 63 million.

then extrapolate to the whole political system because of the supreme court. i know you one to questions. richard nixon watergate to carrying satchels of cash around the country is outraged to put limits on campaign spending. you cannot limit the amount of money a person spends with his third campaign because that is to limit that person's right to free speech. running for congress today what is the first thing the

congressional committee will say? can you raise the money? and who can write the check have the advantage. the supreme court made another ruling reversed a loss since put in existence by a teddy roosevelt prohibiting corporate contributions. building on the supreme court interpretation joy petition that corporations are really people come of the supreme court and 2010 said because corporations are people under the law of day cannot be limited to the

right of free speech and limiting the money would do that. a corporation could spend as much on politics. ladies and gentlemen,, the birth of the super pac. then it will be an orgy of money that is revolting. and broadcasting lies about barack obama? that is the beginning. democrats and republicans will spend more. money distorts the work that politicians need to do for

the people the financial industry contributed $1,800,000,000 health care industry contributed 145 million in the industry contributed 75 million. is it any surprise if we have a watered-down four financial reform bill that did not take the actions that it should? the health care industry is it a surprise in the did not get a public option? slow their i's. look at yourself. that is what i mean by we

can all do better. we made a mistake to believe leader can renew the country by himself even touching our hearts like barack obama could not do it alone. sergeants and lieutenants and people to go out and spread the word. and ultimately with the internet age with arabs praying has the autocrats in the middle east apathy

should not be an option. a group of people said slavery is a moral. in the 1880s women said they should be able to vote. then somebody said african-americans should have the same break in 1970 somebody said we should clean the air and of the water. it was not a congressman or a senator but a citizen movement those are things

for us to think about. to groups. tea party occupy. the tea party had a very specific objective of well-founded with a clear strategy to win the congressional races and won 43 seats in the congress. when speaker boehner and obama had the debt reduction

and package of $3 trillion they rejected it in almost brought the country to the brink of bankruptcy. three years ago nobody heard of the tea party but because of money and focus they made it happen. dick lugar said the air of collegiality is over but confrontation has begun. such ignorance. occupy has a great slogan

today was not adequately funded did not choose to have a specific objective or involved in the congressional races. the result was there it is. the tea party is dominant. cannot under it estimate the difference of monday. occupy had a lot of passion with specific objectives.

they reached an for the levers of power. when both of those come together we make progress. dr. martin luther keying, jr. had a dream to touch millions of americans in order to make the dream of permanent in the lot of the united states, you needed a politician named lyndon johnson who knew how to pull the levers of power that it was not prepared to do. we have the means to solve the problem.

with very specific things to achieve, be clear about our interest. we need a constitutional amendment. that is the central cost if we want to make a difference in return politics to the people. thank you very much. [applause] raise your hands. i will call on you. in zero is one of politician

to tell you? >> talking about ignorance we tried to educate ourselves. with the stellar said the seven? -- citizen. [inaudible] >> yes. doing enormous things as a citizen had major impacts on america. i said i will give them to my friends.

[laughter] three weeks ago. >> [inaudible] >> on the first point* i cannot help you. on the second to point* the answer is a constitutional amendment. became prime gold you could possibly do something with genuine public financing with mccain-feingold but the current approach assay constitution amendment they may limit

federal, state, local government on political campaigns. that is the key. three-quarters of the state will do it. many will resist. this happen in the 19th century to corrupt state legislators that were controlled by railroads by banks and oil accompanies. those who from the payroll and the people rose up and said no. i want to reelect u.s. senators. it is possible with rooms

like this across the country. >> our friend bill walton congratulates you buy your new book. [laughter] i like your titled "we can all do better" which team was better? [laughter] >> that is simple. we were.

[laughter] dr. j. was a great human being. someone i admire. >> and with the other governments? [laughter] and from 1986 cutting rates to eliminate loopholes in

the process. to write books are talk about. and in the living room with our daughter we were watching i was watching myself on television back then. senator bill bradley and my daughter said stick around. her friend says come on. they will talk about a loopholes. ronald reagan was committed when i met him at the white house.

to talk about i know you are interested in in tax reform i am interested because basketball made me the depreciable asset. [laughter] talk about what warms my soul? a program created in 1992 with republican leach that brain skids in high-school from russia, republics russia, republics, kazakhstan to live with american family is. we have had nearly 30,000 go through that program.

that has transformed expectations of impressions of the united states and of russia. when i meet these kids i love them. such a commitment. i could tell you story after story. >> maybe a shouldn't. and is there a way to make the defense budget to smarter and more effective? i think to deter i now that we need to reorient our structures and one kid to do

that with a strong navy to keep in the context major issue for national security it cannot produce the money you need to spend. then you have to cut the programs of basic living health care and social security and that is not where we want to go. that not simply because. >> >> they are outsourced with the cost of low-cost labor

undermining construction jobs? i appreciate talking about the economy. that higher income over the last 10 years in we've lost 40,000 factories due to outsourcing. technology replaced millions of other jobs. with the lack of representation by labor unions with wages and salaries. what do we do short-term? we have to get people

working. may cut social security and we need to say if you hire another worker government will pay 30 percent of the cost ford two years. that means not $1 would be spent without a job being created. right now on the books is 1.8 trillion dollars. is 20% list used to hire people unemployment would be 5%. why don't you hire more people?

uncertainty about the future and there is not to be enough. those are the two. to do with the first with significant deficit reduction with entitlement programs and defense programs and tax policy. then you see the deficit coming down long-term. we borrowed 1.4 erred trillion dollars. but the chinese will still have those dollars. may get them to buy united states reconstructions. creating 5 million jobs of the construction sector that

a desperate leave need to lay the groundwork for economic growth. with the air-traffic control system it is the same as the 1960's people looking at the television set to with the red dot. also lastly long term. we have to change the way we tax and employment. social security tax unemployment tax. we need those programs desperately but we don't need the full burden but we should be taxing things such

plastics, aluminum, ineffici ent buildings, cars, and the value added tax using that money for social security and medicare. thereby to put to in place a tax system encouraging people to higher. >> how would you engaging our citizens? we hear stories. we know the numbers. 9.7, 15.eight they all have good dead end. how do make this work?

>> to me, and the media in the internet age has less impact and fragmented that cable channels that already reinforce their own views put no walter cronkite tells us the same thing. we're told different things. there are times when political points of view are irreconcilable before the civil war. but then we resolve our conflict through political with political combat that is vicious and when of the

sayings that ultimately happens. of course, i like to see democrats wipe the floor with republicans. or you have a narrow majority what we continue to have today. the only way to move forward is bipartisan cooperation people compromising. is the radical right captures the republican party and at a time we cannot get agreement on the braley important things going to another group of citizens you could see the

emergence of a third congressional party. that is the non starter. you could have 50 candidates running. changing the tax system. those 50 people, they would operate at the full power and congress, could do trades of those were the only four things if you want the vote for the communications bill recommitted to the constitutional amendment? then they could shake up the

system and bring people back. if the president is reelected, a trade rack is about to have been generate first with automatic cuts taxes, defense, taxes back up on social security. it is a critical vote to. i hope obama would take a page out of the lyndon johnson playbook. the president and staff could identify 30 republicans in the house to vermette, background, educat ion know that they do the wrong thing. then i know more about those

30 people they and their mother. who they seek advice from, how many brothers, what they do on their vacations, their first grade teacher the big businesses in their community, chief fund-raisers, and pull them in one by one give them good drink in tell them to follow it because your country needs you. on this gigantic deficit package to determine the

future of the country, i need your approach. there are too many things that could happen if way do not get this past. give me your vote does the patriot. i would wait 10 days. do i have your vote? it is a critical moment in history. if he said no i would call his mother. [laughter] >> 70% of the national

economy and it seems to me consumerism consumes us not just as citizens but as a nation. as a politician you could not say we have to create new jobs but all third our relation to consumption. how do you resolve the paradox consumer is them is destructive but yet create jobs you have to promote fact? >> it is a difficult dilemma. there are a two sides be the use save money or consume. the united states is one of the worst saving countries in the world. just as china and needs to consume more we need to save more.

you could do that the national level with the surplus or the individual level with savings. but getting people to buy less, i don't think in the wake of 9/11 the way to do with the crisis to buy something at the mall was not an adequate response. by yet to to shift from consumption to investment in people, where do we want to to spend the money? if you have an elderly parent taken care of the have to be talented with an investment and education.

but it produces a good social result. but with frivolous consumers from it it will shift more to investment of people and that will be the first step. >> the measurement of our self-esteem have stood do with the index of consumer confidence. that is how we are told as a people. >> consumer confidence is one of the measures to keep the economy moving.

but the statistics that we have don't adequately reflect our opportunity is in my opinion. to more questions. >> in the book i talk about that. i think it is worth exploring. for a penny or to on every trade you have two or $300 billion per year. those who do the trading don't like that. they make 1 million trades

per minute. are we worse off? i don't think so. we need more money lent to rio businesses and less decorative pieces of paper not the one that goes down that has the paper when the music stops. [laughter] >> [inaudible] >> what do like about the administration? >> i like the president. [applause] and what he has tried to do. a think he was dealt the worst hand since roosevelt. two wars, and f. financial system in the crater and he did a steady job you need

somebody calm and he did a pretty good job. you could argue the stimulus needed to be big year -- bigger navy 1.9 trillion he should have done public financing within the first two months. he has literally reset the foreign policy and hillary clinton has done a great job. we're now part of the world community again. he sought the capacity to touch our spirits. that is the end of the second question. [laughter] thank you very much. [applause] >> there is the new exhibit called the books that saved

america and we take up to work -- a speeeleven of the exhibit. >> we call it books that shaped america as opposed to change america because they sculley have an impact on american society. that to spur seem to be better. >> what comes to mind? no one book is shaping america. so many have had such a profound influence and the very essence of what that is that it would be impossible

and improper to pick one book out of 88. other earliest book is from ben franklin and electricity. 1751. to books about common-sense one is praising your child from dr. spock and the thomas paine book has sparked the american revolution. >> are these all first editions? >> they are not although many in the library of congress collection that to are very rare if not one-of-a-kind but to me was selected for inscriptions by the authors or other famous

people. books that i adore our part of the armed services serving in the military. we have examples of books they were sent to read down libel leave books are sent to read on the ipod. one is tarzan i am trying to think of the other. >> insists exhibit is a lot of novels. >> that is part of the culture of the common people but some highbrow that appeal to people of all ages in children's books charlotte's web and the "wizard of oz."

>> also "gone with the wind." how did they shape america? >> who we were becoming more the aspirations and other told about experiences like the diary of lewis and clark. others defined our dialect. "huckleberry finn." they shaped not only our ideas but how we speak today. >> you also have social and cultural mentioning dr. spock, the one called the big book. >> we also thought it was important to to look at to nonfiction zero or self-help.

we look across the broad spectrum. we did not want to limit ourselves to a certain kind of author or writing style. books that are innovative that showed america as the innovative country that use books and stories literally are intellectually. >> here you are in charge of the willing process? >> it was definitely a large committee. note chairperson. we have a number of discussions and it was not

that difficult to select these books because this is not a definitive list or note article that shaped america. we really decided what we wanted to do to get america talking was not a consensus says may be choosing only 500 or 100 books. >> talk about upton sinclair and rachel carson and? >> when a the interesting things not only social movements the leading to legislation. we know it created the forerunner of legislation to the drug could ministrations.

actually social change. >> 88 is where we decided to stop. we were worried about a definitive list. 10, a 25 or 100. then it was up for grabs. it won't give anybody the impression we've sent to stop at 88. >> poetry or religious books? >> we have quite a few exemplars running this century with allen ginsberg and walt whitman. poetry has been an impressive part of american history and they have been committed to writing and

reading poetry. >> what about religious? >> although not with the religion but we felt that was more representative for america and a particular religious book. look at the values of america looking at the religious books. i started here over 30 years ago and assistant to the law library in.

you cannot keep the away. i run to work every morning. being here with many scrips common musical scores, will hold gambit of knowledge in america it is a thorough and a privilege. you will have trouble getting me to retire. >> open to the public? >> yes. through the end of september. review cannot come to washington we have a virtual exhibit on the website and asking people from all over the world to comment on the books we selected but also why it should not be or why you think something should

be added. we have heard from over 5,000 people so far and we encourage people to go to the website to find a list of the books in the opportunity of what you think should the on the list loc.gov/bookfest. and we decided to put a cut off. if we look at books that shaped america we have to give books and opportunity to prove their worth. with this organic endeavor we plan to keep looking at books. one decade is a good place to stop. we will stop then and keep visiting. and to have a huge influence

on aids research to raise the consciousness of that terrible disease. of levying voice of america. >> host: were these books best sellers in their time? >> yes. into many continue to be and have not gone out of print. >> -- that was not a criteria. >> emily dickinson book of poetry? >> of course, she is a must have bought the particular books we have an is a cooperative in the cuba they

reproduced the book of poetry and may a facsimile of her house and a little tree made out of recycled materials. she is a phenomenal poet but we did not know about her until the mid-1950s to read them under added it. >> who does the editing? >> those professional editors like to make people can former. >> roberta shaffer associate librarian for library services at the library of congress. in washington d.c. right across from the nation's capital. if you would like to joy a