>> as i listen to larry hamm talk about what's happening in the federal building here, it strikes me that we have these killings. we have this injustice. it happens, i won't even say ep sodicily. it is systemic.

the response has to be systemic. there is nobody standing with philando castillo or in ferguson. we could call the role and call the list. i'm not disrespecting any struggle. the pain is going to keep coming, keep coming, keep coming. the response has to be for more systemic. from a public policy perspective, we have to look at how police officers are held accountable. we have to look at local public policy around policing. i was somewhere, it might have been atlanta, where a coalition of ministers had said they wanted to be able to interview the incoming police chief.

community needs to have the opportunity. not disrespecting any struggle but people get struggle weary when it is around a person. it is too tempting to say, why this and not that. why do we stand up to predatory capitalistic oppression that makes our lives, or return on investment, the loss of our lives, the incarceration of us a profit center for somebody. that's a question we have to look at more broadly even as we do the other stuff. >> i would disagree that there are not people standing in solidarity still with our brothers and sisters that have suffered. there are more than one way to occupy and be president and be in solidarity. people are creatively finding ways to do just that through social media and that. it shouldn't be centered on any

one particular person. i think that we have to be careful. we are stronger united. we have greater risk and challenges when we are divided. i think it is very important we lift up the importance of solidarity across our communities of color. i think we have a danger when we -- it is very important we affirm our solidarity. >> you cannot hashtag your way to freedom. >> we have to move on. i don't think there is disagreement in that. i think that there are these individual incidents that people stand with and around. i think dr. malveaux was right. we have to come up with a system-wide approach to this and a formula to confront police violence in every single community and to advocate for community control and oversight of police. that has to be across the board as opposed to one sitting one

way. we have to wrap up. i apologize. let me turn it over to dr. daniels. it has been a pleasure being here with you. there are many more activities throughout the weekend. please participate. thank you for the opportunity to be here. now, i would just ask all the panelists and the major to remain at the conclusion when dr. daniels is finished so we can all take a group photograph if you don't mind. please welcome dr. ron daniels. >> one of the realities is we have people that are not staying at this hotel. they have to get the last

shuttle back to the double tree. if we don't do that, that will be a problem. that's one of the constraints we are facing. tomorrow for those that are registered, we have a series of sessions taking place tomorrow morning about the criminal justice system. we didn't have a major session that george frazier is going to be a part of in terms of economic development. we have a major session on the black family. in all of these sessions, it is not just about expressing grievances. you look at george frazier. you are talking about somebody who has built a serious network. we have other economic agendas, programs that we are going to be exposed to. the issues about police accountability. ron hampton and others going to be here talking about how do we take control of the police. also, talking about innovative programs that are taking place, like the law enforcement assistance diversion program

coming out of seattle. there are some things that are happening because of the movement and struggle in the streets that are forcing those changes. so we can see concretely what's being done. we want you to be aware of that in terms of the participation you bring today. give all of yourself a big round of applause for coming and being patient. as we leave, we want to get a chance to interface with the folks. we have vendors who have come. one of the most beautiful afric african marketplaces that you can see. get yourself a red/black/green flag and an ivw t-shirt. what i'm going to ask us to do is for us to all stand. let's do seven hurambes.

means let's all pull together. the last one, we want to hold it real long and strong. the other thing that i think larryham is right about. we can debate all these issues. there should be more people in the streets. we shouldn't have to be begging people to be in the streets. what happens is, we are in the streets when it affects me. when i hurt, you hurt. it's the notion of omuntu. when one is hurt, we are all hurt. we have to rumble together. we shouldn't be begging and pleading with people. that's where we are now. we are going to have to become ungovernable. we are going to have to do what martin luther king said, redistribute some pain and use our $1.2 trillion in our hands in a way of using it as a black

struggle. seven hurambes. hurambe, hurambe, hurambe, hurambe, hurambe, hurambe, hurambe, hurambe! in 1979, c-span was created

as a public service and is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. this afternoon, vice-president biden will preside over the senate as colleagues play tribute to the outgoing senate president. he represented delaware in the u.s. senate for more than three decades. watch our coverage from the senate floor live at 3:00 p.m. eastern. now, the vice-president earlier in the week on the financial sector. good afternoon, everyone. as our semester comes to a close, i wish to thank all of you for being here. we are specially grateful to rena agerald as our mcdonough school of business and vice

provost for faculty. since its founding in 2010, the center has served as a forum for regulators, policymakers and industry leaders to come together and engage in rigorous debate, discussion, and research to guide policy and practice. i want to thank you to all of our colleagues at the center who have helped make this special gathering possible. we come together in galveston hall. throughout our history, this hall has served as one of the foremost places for public discourse and discussion. today's gathering with distinguished national leaders reflects the commitment we have as an academic community located in our nation's capital to engage in a national dialogue on the issues facing our country. last month in a message to our community, i reaffirmed our responsibility to bring the resources of our university into engagement with the challenges

in our nation. one of the ways in which we realized this commitment is through fostering and promoting the debate and dialogue that takes place on this hilltop. today, we are honored to welcome two individuals who have played an important role in shaping and directing economic policy for our country. former chairman of the federal reserve system in the economic recovery advisory board, paul volcker and vice-president, joe biden. mr. volcker and vice-president biden have been colleagues working in support of leadership intending to promote the flourishing of our national economy and by improving accountability and transparency in our financial system. we are honored to welcome vice-president biden back p to

our hilltop and look forward to his reflexes on sound financial regulation. first, i would like to offer a few words about our distinguished guests who will introduce him, mr. paul volcker. graduate of princeton and harvard, he began his career as an economist at the new york federal reserve bank in 1952. since that time, he has held numerous positions in both public and private sectors, including vice-president and director of forward planning at chase manhattan bank. under secretary of the u.s. treasury for monetary affairs. president of the new york federal reserve and for two terms chairman of the board of the federal reserve system. he has provided counsel and guidance to national and world organizations, chairing in 2004 the independent inquiry committee into the u.n. oil for food program. in 2007, a world bank panel reviewing the operations of the department of institutional

integrity. in 2008, president obama asked him to lead the president's economic recovery advisory board. he has served on a number of distinguished advisory groups and boards including the valcker alliance to help rebuild public trust in government. in 2007, he served as speaker and received an honorary degree here at the commencement ceremonies of our mcdonough school of business. an honor to welcome him back to the hilltop to address our community again today. please, join me in welcoming paul volcker.

>> thank you very much. students, staff, others who might be here, introducing vice-president biden on this special occasion is a really great privilege for me. i think i ought to begin with a revealing anecdote. one day, if i recall correctly, in november, 2009, sitting quietly up in new york, i got an unanticipated telephone call. vice-president biden was on the line. the one and only time for me. he asked directly whether my idea that commercial banks protected by the u.s. government shouldn't be involved in speculative trading was catching on. i said, it was a really good idea but it had no horses to sell it. the vice-president immediately

responded, don't worry about that. i'll be your horse. that, he was. he took on the sceptics in and out of the administration. he gave the proposal political weight. president obama soon announced his support. to my complete surprise, labeled the new law the volcker rule. it could have well labeled the biden rule and then nobody would have had the nerve to question it today. now, we're approaching an unexpected new administration. it brings a whole range of unanswered questions, as you well know, not least about financial reform. no doubt, there are those who would like to see large parts of the financial reform set out in the dodd/frank act put aside

seemingly owe blifus to the lessons of the near breakdown of the financial system in 2008. we escaped a great depression. it took an enormous intervention of government funds to protect the banks and the economy from that threat. we don't want to repeat that experience again. there has been a lot of comment and concern, i know, about a relatively slow recovery from the so-called great recession. in my view, not enough attention has been paid to the simple fact that we have, in fact, reached close to full employment. our performance here in the united states stand out particularly in contrast to the rest of the industrialized world. to me mind, it is very important, we have reached the point. we have reached that point of full employment consistent with

reasonable price stability. the prospect we can make tan that in the months and years ahead. i realize there are large questions about the future. the period of expansion has been long by historic standards. productivity growth is measured for two decades has been below earlier experience. p when i say measured in that sentence, i suspect it is hard for the stat es stigss to keep with the cybereconomy. it may be lower statistics than the real economy justifies. i'm not here as a prognosticator. for sure, we are on sounder economic footing than when president obama and vice-president biden took office. so i greatly appreciate the opportunity not to introduce joe biden, who needs no introduction from me, but to thank the man.

he has given his professional life to public service and his personal life to a strong family. each has had its share of satisfaction and joy but tragedy as well. i trust vice-president that as you leave office, you leave so with a sense of personal contribution and satisfaction that only a full life of family, love, and public service can provide. ladies and gentlemen, welcome the vice-president of the united states.

>> thank you very, very much. please be seated. mr. chairman, what a high honor and a wonderful compliment for you to introduce me and to say the things you said. i hope as i leave this office i hope my ability to stay engaged in the great affairs of the country is as partially meaningful as yours has been. you have never, ever stopped serving your country and you have never, ever stopped anyone from going to you and continuing to ask your advice and input. you are one of the most respected economists and men in the country. thank you for that wonderful introduction.

it's good to be back up on the hill. it's good to be back in gaston hall. my son, hunter, as a matter of fact, five bidens have graduated from this great university. based on tuition, i think a sidewalk should be named after me. one of my two sons, hunter biden, a brilliant young man, and two of my sister's children and two of my brother's children and it has served them all incredibly well. i was thinking that as i walked out the first time i walked on

this stage was back when father owe donovan was president. he asked me to deliver the most difficult speech i have ever delivered in my life. no speech, i mean this sincerely, did i work harder on. my son joined the jesuit volunteer corp. it was a retreat filled as this hall is today. i was asked by father whether i would come and speak on how my faith had informed my public policy. i had spent most of my career, all of my career, making sure never to twain let the twain meet or to talk about my faith as it related to public policy. it was personal. i didn't know how to tell father o'donovan. i worked very hard. i spent hours and hours trying to figure out how could i do this. as we catholics say, as the

nunns used to say to us, as i examine my conscience, i realize that the one thing that informed my public policy the most was my faith and all the great faiths, abhorrence for the abuse of power. so the subject matter ended up being a significant moment for me in realizing all the things that have ever gained my emotional commitment and intellectual effort. all related to the abuse of power. from the time i got involved as a high school kid in the civil rights movement and the abuse of women and children, et cetera, as well as the abuse of economic power. in a strange sense, this is what i want to talk about today. mr. chairman, want to thank you

and the volcker alliance on organizing today's conference on maintaining the financial stability of our economy. it seems like a no-brainer. the chairman released a paper today, a blueprint on how to make our financial system safer. specially mitigating the risk of short-term debt. it is very, very important reading for financial regulators, business leaders, reporters, academics and students, for anyone concerned about the future of our economy. from my perspective, it comes at a very pivotal moment. we are in the midst of one of the longest krecoveries in history. americans are better off today than they were eight years ago. there are still a lot of people being left behind. it wasn't an accident. it happened because we made some very tough, very unpopular decisions.

things turned out they turned out to be the right call on balance. one of the first people the president went to upon winning was chairman volcker, to lead a group of economists to give us the best advice we could. it is a recovery that requires us to remember just how far we have come and how we can't afford to go back to the policies that nearly brought down the entire economy just eight years ago. that's what i would like to talk with you a few minutes about today. eight years ago this month, president-elect obama and i were forming an administration. the financial system was crumbling. the economy was on the brink of collapse. we lived the pain. we can't ever forget the turmoil. people were terrified of another great depression. over 3 million foreclosures a year from 2009 to 2011, bank

runs, thought to be a thing of the past, were back. remember that in 1930, fearful depositors, our grand parents and great grandparents withdrew their money from bank. in this great recession, i got criticized for engaging in hyperbole when i named it the great recession. there goes biden again, another biden gaffe. i wish it had been. it wasn't our grandparents but large institutions, not ordinary households, were taking their funds back, credit markets dried up, making it almost impossible for small businesses to keep their doors open and meet a payroll. perspective homeowners to get a mortgage. car buyers to get a loan and right before election day, lehman brothers collapsed unleashing a real, actual fear that the whole financial system could come crashing down.

it is hard to remember that right now, thank goodness. across the country, people were rapidly losing confidence in the government's ability to stem panic and stabilize the financial system. we have to remember that the turmoil in the financial sector led to crippling conditions in the real economy, the real lives of millions of american households and businesses outside of wall street, off of wall street. this month, eight years ago, we had already lost 695,000 jobs. good paying, middle class jobs. when barack obama and i placed our hands on the bible, we were sworn in on january 20th, 2009, we had already lost almost 700,000 at that moment and ended up losing more than 800,000 that month of january. unemployment would peak at 10%. long-term unemployment saw historic highs.

poverty rating seeded 15%. the stock market plummeted. was it going to fall below $6,000? trillions of dollars in wealth lost, decades of retirement savings destroyed overnight. i think we are still feeling the lingering effects of that in terms of how people conduct themselves. falling real estate prices left nearly a third of the mortgaged homes under water. 7 million homes lost to foreclosure since the start of the great recession. gm and chrysler, iconic automobile industry of the united states headed towards bankruptcy, risking livelihoods of 1.5 million. workers up and down the auto supply chain. this economic crisis didn't happen by chance. the reason i remember how it happened is not to hold people responsible, particularly, but to make sure we don't commit the same problem or the same sin

again. it was a direct result of short-sighted, irresponsible, and i would argue greedy actions by wall street. washington's lack of regulation over a 20-30-year period. so barack obama and i knew that fixing the real economy meant stabilizing and fixing the financial system. mr. chairman, i remember a conversation, the one we had. i also remember the meetings we had to figure out what to do and how we leaned on you. i remember the first meeting that the president-elect and i had with our economic team in chicago a month before the inauguration. we were told that tens of millions of americans owed more on their homes than they were worth and we were told we might need well over $1 trillion to fix the banks. the good news we were told and i remember sitting in the room of about 40 economists. you weren't nair. you were back in new york, i believe. i'm not sure where you were but

the economic team we were told, mr. president, we had good news. we are not going to recommend that you call a bank holiday. whoa, what do you mean? that's the good news. it was said in deadly earnest. there were considerations of whether or not they were going to well we call a bank holiday. that's what president roosevelt was told during the great depression. we knew our regulatory system was outdated, designed decades ago and ill-equipped to moderate the modern day economy and we had seen this play out before in economic crises driven by insufficient regulation. i was there when we dealt with the savings and loan crisis in the '80s. i was there when we had to deal

with the failure of long-term capital management in the '90s. i was there in the aftermath of the enron debacle in 2000, which reminds me of that old bad joke of claude and maude during the late '90s sitting on the porch in the farm. claude looks at maude and said, remember, when ww 1, i was gassed and you came home and took care of me. >> she said, yeah. >> remember when we bought the little drugstore and i lost it all nd yand you were there, mau and i got drafted in ww ii. that's when i lost these two fingers on my hand, maude. he goes through it and he said, maude, i was thinking, you're bad luck. maybe i'm bad luck, because i went through all of those. i bass there. when it comes to the great recession in 2008, we knew the

ses speck underpinnings were complex but also that we could avoid repeating it again. banks and other financial companies that originated mortgages knew they could turn around and sell these loan ns a heartbeat. they often threw lending standards out the window making billions of dollars on loan that is were completely unprepared, to people that were completely unprepared to make the payments. i remember a fellow who was a cla classmate of my sons who became a very successful real estate man. i remember him telling me i had a housekeeper came up to me and said, guess what? they are going to give me a $300,000 loan to buy a $300,000 home. he said, how can you pay it? >> she said, they told me i would be able to. ratings agencies were paid by banks and institutions to a great risk time and again. they gave inflated ratings to

get business. the repeal of glass-steagall allowed banks to take on risky investments putting the whole system at risk. there was a debate inside the white house whether i should say this. i have never not said what i cast. that was the worst vote i cast to repeal glass-steagall. there was an sec regulation in 2004 that allowed the biggest investment banks to operate with too much leverage, too much reliance on short-term debt and very little supervision. across the board, there was insufficient regulatory infrastructure. a shadow banking system was allowed to op mer rate with limited oversight. the lack of systematic regulator overseeing the whole system. new and exotic financial products widely misunderstood were not subject to adequate regulation. the structure of executive pay created intensives for ceos to

take excessive risks. collectively, this wasn't about allowing banks to take on morris can. it was about shifting the risk from the banks to the government and taxpayer. that's because the federal government lacked adequate authority to manage failures and banks knew, they knew they had a backstop in the form of the american taxpayer. the administration and our democratic allies in con gret knew that we had to protect american families from immediate danl. we also knew it was imperative to identify and curb the risks that were being taken so that we could help prevent future crises. president bush saw the beginnings of the crisis and knew he needed to act even though he had no way to know of the magnitude. he started the troubled asset relief program, so-called t.a.r.p., which injected capital into the banking system and in some cases financed toxic assets

from the banks and before stimulus was a dirty word, president bush pushed for rebates to the tax payers to try to jolt the economy a little bit and president obama and i continued the t.a.r.p. program to avoid a complete collapse of our financial system. mr. chairman, you know better than anybody, voting for t.a.r.p., bailing out banks was like putting a snake in everybody's living room. talk about the most unpopular vote any member of congress -- i really mean this now. i'm serious. the folks who, quote, caused the crisis, all of the sudden, we're making sure that we bail them out. it's hard to explain to average well-informed americans. it was necessary. it was the right vote and helped save the economy. when all was said and done, t.a.r.p. amounted to over $400

billion. we insisted it be paid back, the tax payers got it back plus $15 billion in interest. we rescued the auto industry, which wasn't popular. 6 out of 10 people didn't think we should do it, on the brink of bankruptcy. today, i know i got blamed for pushing that a lot, because i'm middle class joe and i'm the guy with manufacturing. well, i understand. universities in particular, washington very particular, to be middle class means you are not sophisticated. i understand when the middle class does well, everybody does well. the wealthy do very well and the poor have a way up. it is what holds together the social contract, a growing middle class. today, the automobile industry is back on its feet. 695,000 jobs added since the automakers emerged from bankruptcy. the fastest growth on record. dodd/frank was the center piece

of our plan to stabilize the financial system and prevent another crisis. with your help, mr. chairman, we implemented the volcker rule to reinstill a firewall between risky betts and safe investments disallowing banks from gambling with american bank deposits. it created a consumer financial protection bureau from doing everything from helping students get the best deals on their loans to make sure debt collectors get p the law and keep them from targeting military family. pretty important stuff. i don't know how many times my son, a decorated veteran in the iraq war. he was a jag officer, spent a year in iraq. i remember how i had an opportunity to see him several times, because i was responsible for iraq. i traveled in and out of iraq and afghanistan 28 times. the year he was there, i would see him. he said, dad, what i most get is

soldiers, panic calls coming to see me. they are foreclosing on my house at home. they are foreclosing on my house, what do i do? today as the cop on the beat, cfpb has brought more than $11 billion relief to 27 million americans, while protecting all consumers from harmful financial scams and practices. dodd/frank plook dodd/frank looked at the financial system as a whole to see where the risk might arise. this could affect people that have nothing to do with the particular firm or company. it regulated derivativeses like credit default swaps bringing them in to increase transparency and broad oversight to the shadow banking system and empowered the fed known as the fdic, to do what it does best,

empowering it to deal with bankrupt banks and permanently increase the amount of insured deposits from $100,000 to $250,000. giving people the peace of mind that the deposits are safe and preventing bank rupns in the future, required better banks making them hold better capital and subjecting them to stress tests. enforced conflicts of interest prohibitions with rating agencies to restore confidence that their evaluations are fair and unbiased. they put in place new regulations to change executive compensation like say on pay, which allows share holders to say whether executive pay raises are appropriate, like clawbacks. the ability to back clawback bonus frs underperforming executives. i will talk about this later. quite frankly, there is more that has to be in reigning in

executive/ceo pay. this was all part of a nationwide effort to rid our financial system of reckless behavior and fraud that nearly brought down the entire economy, not here but worldwide. let's be honest. there were some, myself, the chairman and several others, including the state's attorney general who didn't think we went far enough. i remember my son calling me, attorney general of the state of delaware, mr. chairman, saying dad, i can't tell you what i'm about to do. it would be a conflict of interest. dad, i just want to warn you, the administration is not going to like it. i'm not going to settle with these banks. kamala harris of california, now senator elect, katherine cortez of nevada, senator elect roy cooper of south carolina, all elected now and the attorney general of the state of delaware, beau biden went after

them bringing several billion to all three of the states. none of this happened overnight. the financial sector stabilized much more quickly than our critics thought it would allowing american commerce to get back on its feet. let's remember what our republican friends said at the time and continue to say about dodd/frank. mitch mcconnell who is a frnd and truly is, john boehner who is a friend and paul ryan, who is a friend, the entire republican caucus. i remember when the republicans and the conservative media thought i was exaggerated when i called it the great recession. the same people said dodd/frank would restrict credit markets. today, they are functioning again and americans can get home, student, small business loans at reasonable rates. the chairman of the house and financial services said dodd/frank would crush small business lending. today, small business lending is back to pre-recession levels in small business start-ups.

the largest year over year increase in the last few decades. he and so many other republicans said it would crush community banks. today, community banks are lending at pre-recession levels and expanding significantly. he and so many others said dodd/frank would make the banking sector riskier. they are better capitalized today. the number of bank failures decrease from 140 in a year when the president and i took office and the cost of failures to the federal insurance fell $38 billion, under $1 billion this period in a decline of 98%. so much for the republican party orthodoxy that says dodd/frank would be a disaster for the real economy. my friend, john boehner, said. here are the facts. i know a lot of people and probably many of you do, maybe

even some of your parents who lost their jobs and have been hit hard. today, we are in the midst of the longest streak of job growth in history. over 15 million jobs added. more than all the advanced economies in the world combined. the unemployment rate is 4.6%. at the time of the great recession, there were too many retirees that lost their savings or delayed retirement. today, most retirement accounts have been restored. americans added $34 trillion in wealth over the course of this administration. while we know not everyone got back their homes, housing prices are up by about a third and 8 million homeowners are above, not under water. what we forget is those folks who lost their home never having missed a mortgage payment, the lawn on either side of them having turned brown because of some cockamamy loan, they end td up under water, lost their homes, never able to get back

in. they are not benefiting in that additional $34 billion is back. they weren't in the market when it was around 650. now, that it is 19 thoup, th,00e not benefiting to. there air lot of people we should pay attention to. every time i talk about it, it is middle class joe again. the truth of the matter is, a lot of people got hurt. many are still not back. so many workers deserve more pay for the work they do, household income is still up by 5.2% last year, $2,800. our gdp is up 11%. even after accounting for inflation. there was undeniable progress over the past eight years. the president and i both acknowledge, not enough. that's why we propose a number

of things i will speak to. we are a lot better off today than we were then. i say this as a defense of why we should not be changing in a fundamental way some of the things that are being suggested. the economy has gone from crisis to recovery and we are now on the cusp of resurgence. we also know the path to this resurgence has included real hardships for americans, some of whom have never really made it back. they still feel left out. they have every reason to ask why. the first truth is the american economy cannot prosper in the midst of a financial crisis period. our capitalistic system is the greatest al greatest alocator of capitalism in the world. it helps create jobs and helps build the middle class. we need it but we need it to function in a fair way to let everybody in. so we can have a lot of the entire financial section to go bust and drive the country into

an economic depression or we could have intervened to save the economy and laid the ground work to rebuild the middle class. the second truth is that more should have been done. even on top of our trillion dollar stimulus for american families. even on top of the largest tax cut. the president and i tried to do more. we pushed hard to pass the american jobs act of 2011 that provided billions for training and unemployment insurance. tax cuts for small businesses. all told, the act was estimated added 2 million jobs and generated additional 1.5% in economic growth. our friends on the hill said no. we knew that in order to prosper, we needed a 21st infrastructure. we are 26th in the world in transportation and infrastructure. some of you may remember i got in a little trouble when i said, if i blindfolded you and put you

in laguardia and an airport in beijing and asked which was a developing country, you would have said laguardia. guess what? everybody disagreed. the governor, the mayor, the people of laguardia. now, there is a $6 billion program. this is the united states of america. we pushed for an infrastructure package this would have put millions of americans back to work rebuilding america but republicans said no. we proposed billions of tax cuts but the hill said no. we wanted to make two years of community college free and pay for it by closing loopholes like stepped-up basis. the public has said no. does anybody believe in the 21st century, 12 years is enough? does anybody really believe that to be true? that 12 years of free education is enough to compete in the 2

1st century? already, six in ten jobs right now require more than a college degree. excuse me, more than a high school degree. we know so many other qualified women are staying out of the workforce. why? the cost of child care. you go to washington, two kids, $22000 a year. we want to triple the maximum child care tax credit. that alone with other could add 500,000 women into the workplace. increasing productivity and growth. our friends said no. when reagan was president, we had about $800 billion in tax loop holes. now, we have 1.3 trillion per year. all the economists here at georgetown, tell me you can justified more than 600-800 billion of that as generating either a social good or increased productivity. we want to reform the corporate

tax code by incentivizing company that is bring their profits home and their operations back home. our friends said no. in the end, we didn't have the republican votes in the congress. let me just say to you all that this is not your father's republican party. i remember all the years i served in the senate infrastructure was pushed more by republicans than by democrats literally, not figuratively. there was a consensus. the basic bargain. if you contributed to the well-being of the outfit you worked with, you got to share in the benefits. that was the basic bargain, democrats and republicans. from 1972 when i got elected as a 29-year-old kid and 20 years before, 30 years before, which leads to the fundamental question, where do we go from

here? the people have spoke p. they can't be lulled into a sense of collective amnesia. i happen to support the electoral college. i come from the state of delaware. 2.5 billion more people spoke to the other team than the team that got elected. we can't forget what caused this god-awful recession of eight years ago. it was the same policies that are being proposed now. half the rate on dividends. cut the top income tax rate. dramatically reduce estate tax. deregulation orthodoxy. the president and i wanted to clear the rubble. beyond that, we wanted to build a new stadium, one that actually had lights in the stadium. for god's sake, if we can't do that, let's at least make sure the umpire is on the field calling balls and strikes and wearing a striped shirt. that's why we can't allow the

repeal of dodd/frank. we can't go back to the days when the banks hired bank regulators. we can't go back to the days when the banks were free to take risk with money. we can't o go back and take the risk that when they failed. we can't afford that. the country can't afford it. the middle class cannot afford it. we need to ensure that the executive compensation does not go back to encourage executive risk-taking and short-term ism. i talked about stock buybacks with publicly traded companies, how ceos don't have the incentive to go for the future, but rather swing for the fences today. they're not bad guys are women. the process incentivize action.

this started in 1980 when president reagan made it easier for company to buy back stock close to share prices. we need to change this as well. we need the rules created by. frank -- by dodd frank. we also need to continue to address the threat posed by bottomless short-term debt. as evidenced by recent concerns of retail banks, we have to step up our monitoring and enforcement activities. look at wells fargo. the justice department, i cannot speak to it because i don't talk to them. they are reviewing whether or not there are criminal stations here -- sanctions here. let's be

clear, this should never be allowed to happen again. millions of families paid the price for irresponsible and reckless policies. our regulators need to have the resources to catch this activity before it gets out of control. it is pretty basic. you don't have to be an economist to understand this. you have to be an economist. it helps. that is why i have some brilliant economists working for me. you don't have to be on economists to understand this. look at what caused the problem in the first place. look at what we did to correct the problem. my little grandson would say it is not rocket science. ladies and gentlemen, let me close with

this -- my deceased wife used to tell me joey, the greatest gift god gave mankind was the ability to forget. my mother, god love her said if that were true, every woman would only have one child. [laughter] >> is a great gift god gave us, the ability to forget. but it does not apply governing. forget is dangerous. dangerous. on the cusp of a real depression , and how far we have come today on the cusp of a real, potential resurgence with the united states better positioned than any country in the world to lead the 21st century. my lord, we are so much better positioned. i'm not supposed to be an expert

on economy, i'm supposed been expert on foreign policy. i don't have my briefcase with me today. i do know a lot about foreign policy. look around the world. do you think any leader of a major country would trade places with the president of the united states in terms of potential for the 21st century? god love china, i want to see them succeed. they don't have enough water. we talking about a $2 trillion project turned the direction of the rivers around. raise your hand if you think the eu is a serious competition. our member is determined bringing up being summoned from american enterprises to how japan was going to bonus -- own us. i was viewed as heretical by saying

there is not a shot in the world of that happening. not because of barack obama and joe biden. because you have most agile venture capitalists in the world, and most productive workers in the world. energy. we at the epicenter of energy for the remainder of this century -- at least the next 50 years. watch what we can do. watch what happens. ladies and gentlemen, we respect intellectual property. you can adjudicate contract differences and no it will be kept. we are so much better positioned than any nation in the world. we have a workforce to continues to be replaced because the value of

immigration. name your product that has transformed the world and forms of technology that was not made in america or can he did america. -- conceived in america. two great things in america stand to the dna -- no matter how her situation is in grade school, though child is criticized for john to orthodoxy. we are encouraged to challenge orthodoxy. we are a

remarkable country. we can't forget who we are or where we recently came from the and who created this, -- this crisis in the first place. we have to move forward, and my hope and prayer is that we will. i have -- i think we have to give this new administration a fighting chance. it is not so clear. we will see. we'll see what happens. if you notice, they decided they will immediately repeal the affordable care act. they figured 20 million people walls not have insurance -- will not have insurance. good night, lucy. [laughter] all of a sudden i found out they can go back to charging women born for insurance the men -- more for

insurance than men. pre-existing conditions do matter. bless me father, for i have sinned. [laughter] [applause] there are so many young people in this audience. i want you to know two things. america has developed some incredible women and men who never ever stop fighting for what they think is right for the country, like paul volcker. you have been. your voices should be doesn't to based on their batting average. take a look at what they said and what happened. judge objectively whether or not it is worth listening to. measured against how fundamental things have

changed, whether there is still a timeline. folks, this is no time to turn back. i got elected when i was a 29-year-old kids to the united states senate. i was listed as the young idealist. it's a lucky person that puts to feed on the morning when they get up and do things that so mattered. i think it's the matters a lot. a whole lot. just take a look. take a look at where we are positioned to everyone else in the world. i was listed as the young optimist like i elected. i will conclude by saying i can say without fear of contradiction from anyone who knows me that i'm truly more optimistic about america's chances today than any time i have been since i served, and i have served for 44 years either as united states senator or as vice president. which sent to

get some people out of the way. [laughter] thank you are much. -- very much. [applause] [applause] and vicement biden will be in the senate chamber this afternoon where a number of the lawmakers will offer tributes to him and the senate. he served as president of the senate for the past eight years and also served