read steve forbes magazines. listen to them. we are always getting close to the other tipping point. seven% of americans get more -- 70% seven% of americans get more benefit from the american government than they pay back in taxes. you can already argue we are past that. i do not think we are. most americans believe and the american dream and a society of growth. we still have that window. what that means is we are at the proverbial fourth in the road. we have the force of two futures in front of us. we owe you the the honor of

making this choice. on the one path, we have the president's back. there's a government centered society. there is the society of debt and decline. the other path is what we are proposing. it is a path of getting us back on the grill and pre-empting a debt crisis. this november what we're asking for is the affirmation of the country to get us the obligation to get this. the choice cannot be clear. you have an opportunity society which is reclaiming the idea. president bush -- president obama, a freudian slip. i would argue that he is bringing us to this government centered society. he is putting our trust in

government. i have a lot of problems with the president's budget. go figure. you are elected to represent the people of your district ores date. we have a debt crisis on the horizon. they decided for over a thousand days not to do anything about it. that is a firing offense. let me talk about the president's budget. there are a lot of problems i have with that. let's focus on growth. it makes our growth situation worse. there are a number of reasons why. i will quote tim geithner. we are not suggesting that we have a solution to long-term fiscal problems. we do not like years.

i cannot have said the better. this is what the president is doing. rather than seeing this as very clear present danger, we're waiting for the republicans to offer their than attack it. offer their than attack it. this is not called the leadership. certainty, if the but the budget plan in place, this will give us an immediate boost of growth today. the future of the bond markets, they're looking to see of leadership is being placed to get this situation under control so they can take risks so they know that they have a certain feature that is one to be optimistic about. it until you have a plan in place, you have another growth

in dividends. cronyism. both parties have been subject to what i call crony capitalism or industrial parts. we got confused. we thought being pro-business was being pro-market. it ended up attracting barriers against would-be competitors. it is easier for us to go back to our core principles. it is harder for the left to do this. the president subscribes to the notion that they just know better in washington. we have a permanent class for those who can better micromanage society you can do a better job of subsidizing and picking winners and losers whether it is the regulations come accreting too big to fail banks or solyndra and the regulatory

state. they believe in the process which put it aside and replaces it with connected capitalism. this replaces the rule of law with the role of bureaucrats. that is probably one of my biggest criticisms of this budget. taxes. tax reform. this is where i think the present budget is the most anti- growth. in january, he is proposing that the top marginal income tax goes up to 44.8%. where paul and i come from, overseas, which we mean lake superior, led the canadiens struck their business tax to 15 term. nine out of some businesses in wisconsin filed their taxes as individuals.

eight out of some businesses are not corporations. what we're saying to them is that if you get successful and buy 4 acres out of the in-a parks and get 25 employees, we still call this the american dream. you're going to be a with a 45% tax rate. how on earth are they going to be able to compete with the likes of the canadiens are taxing themselves at 15% or the japanese who are lower than us now. we have got to remember we're in a global economy. if we tax these businesses were more than half of americans work today, if we tax them as such higher rates than our foreign

competitors are taxing their companies, we lose, if they win. this is a system that is right for austerity. higher tax rates, more complexity, and more loopholes. we tried this approach. we have tried chasing higher spending with higher taxes. it has not worked. we tried stimulus spending. all they got was a debt hangover and a cloud of more uncertainty. it is just put this on slow growth. -- it put us on slow growth. one of the six americans are in poverty now. the woman in unemployment rate is the highest we have been since we measured it. these policies are not working. there is a better way. some of us are actually putting

ideas on the table to show there is a better way. a lot of the political pundits told us we were crazy. the pollsters and the political class said what ever you do, do not do that. you are going to risk political debt. if you want to be good at these jobs, you have to be willing to lose these jobs. if all you do is worry about getting reelected in doing what they tell you is the right thing for the moment based upon phone calls that took place, you are going to go nowhere. you will be running in circles. we know what works. freedom works. limited government works. if you take a look at our budget, it is a huge contrast. the contrast is this. we action deal with the problem. we actually see the debt crisis

coming. we see the drivers of the debt and we deal with it. we have to have those entitlement reforms so that we can preempt austerity. we had proposals at medicare. it does not change things. you wait much longer all bets are off. the one not be able to do that. let's preempt austerity by getting us on the right path so that those people who retire -- my mom has been on medicare for 12 years. when you turn 65, yet could of florida for the winter. -- you have to go to florida for the winter. it is a promise of $37 trillion. if we reform these programs, we came with the commitment to the current generation. we cut $5.30 trillion in

spending. we strengthen did these entitlement programs. we get our debt under control and get the debt completely paid off. we propose the end of cronyism. get rid of all the corporate welfare. get rid of the notion that we should be subsidizing this company and not that company. get back to the system of free markets and fair play an equal rules apply to everybody. the other big difference is tax reform. we propose to do fundamental tax reform. of all the things you can do in this country to help people get back to work, you have to acknowledge the fact that the income tax system blows of i januarup in january.

all tax laws must originate in the house. when and lost the house, it frigid will let the house, it was permanent. it was never meant -- when it left the house, it was permanent. it was never meant to be temporary. then came the byrd rule in the senate and a filibuster. in order to get that tax reduction in place, which the 2003 law was to speed it up to get out of the mild recession, and he had no choice but to accept the time limit on it because the senate refused to go along with making these things permanent. now we are where we are. we have a cliff coming at the end of the year. it provides a great opportunity. let's reform it. let's take a page out of steve

forbes playbook for a better system. there are a lot of democrats that agree with the. at tremendous respect for these gentlemen. -- there are a lot of democrats that have tremendous respect for these gentlemen. we can help the small businesses succeed. i will not go through a system. it means the we did not keep pushing capital away any make america the place where you want to keep your capital. we make america a place for

you was dislocated. we have to make an export more things. we need to have tax laws that died with that. -- jive with that. we are the honorees of having the highest in the world. we think we should have lower rates and improve the incentives to save, work, and invest. the tax rate do that. you l.l. capital to be deployed where it can do the most -- you allow capital to be deployed were taken to the most good, not where some bureaucrat thinks it ought to go. people in their

community decide where it ought to go. you have to keep your eye on competitiveness. you do not mind the fact that this is a whole new story. this is not one where the united states is the undisputed superpower of the world. the we keep going down this path for we divide each other and try to come up with this idea that we can tax ourself at double the rate, our competitors are taxing there. we will be slow growth. there will be economic stagnation. this helps our budget quite a bit. the cbo acknowledges that we will go down to a one term growth. it could be lower than that. what we are showing is that if you actually get the plan that president obama is talking about and get a grip dividend,

you'll balance the budget so much faster. if we do those three things, we can quickly get america back on the path of prosperity. the idea is this. then you revive the system of up for mobility. here is what it comes down to. we do not like the direction the president is taking the country. we believe he is putting the country on a path that is a government centered society of debt and declining. we believe if we follow this path the will not end well for anybody. then you have a debt crisis. the people who need government the most are the ones that get hurt the first. we believe in prosperity. we believe in equality of opportunity, not outcome. we want to put these kinds of

programs policies in place. we have to ask the country for permission. our commitment is this. we cannot simply when an election by default are running against the guy and winning a- war. -- a negative war. we have to have a positive election. we do not want them fixed in some class. when i was working the drill at mcdonald's, when i was waiting tables, i never thought of myself as fixed in some class. it never occurred to me there is some limit and the government had helped me cope with it. on my ownelf as my journey. that is what we do. this is the choice of to futures we have.

do you want to get back to prosperity? do you want to be honest with people? we can keep the commitment to people who have already retired and get back to growth. or are we going to succumb to the tactics that designs to speak to us now could device of ways, it to distort the truth about what is happening in this country? these are the choices. i hate to be so stark but it is that simple. i want to thank the people who are here you have done so much to put us on the right path only to see the inertia of math and economics come at us. we can do this. we can turn this around. i have no doubt in my mind that we will get this country back on track just like our parents did for us. that is the entire legacy of

america. he may the country better for your kids. if we get this right and we turn it around, i have no doubt that for the next generation they will look back at this moment that this is the time america regained its greatness. thank you very much. thank you very much. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> coming up, remarks from the labor secretary. later, the republican presidential candidate told a campaign rally in fort worth, texas. -- holds a campaign rally in fort worth, texas. friday, social and security medicare public trustee on a new study that claims the health- care law will add $340 billion to budget deficits over the next

decade. then, michael kinsley reacts to the latest issues in politics and culture. after that, patricia hu and andrew compart discuss how u.s. airlines are performing. [video clip] >> i walked out after the iowa caucus victory and said game on. i know a lot of folks are going to write, a game over. this is it long way from over. we are going to continue to fight to make sure we defeat barack obama, that we win the house back, and that we take the united states senate and we stand for the values that make us americans. that makes us the greatest country in the history of the world. to be a beacon for everybody for

freedom around the world. >> rick santorum ended his 2012 presidential bid, a process he began in 2009. follow the steps he took on line at the c-span video library. with every c-span program since 1987. >> up next, a discussion on all labor issues and the economy. in 40 minutes, we will hear from the labor secretary. >> union officials discussed jobs in bargaining. this is posted by the national action network. >> thank you for putting this on. we are running a little behind. we will get into this as quickly as possible.

we will talk today about of lead per cent in collective bargaining. they're each going to have a couple of minutes to explain to their union is, who they represent, what their workers do and where they are. i am first going to introduce the secretary treasurer of the american federation of state, county and municipal employees. his union represents 1.6 million workers. he grew up in a union hall in cleveland. he starred with his union in in 1978. why don't you tell us a little bit about your union and what your workers de? >> who was a union member? a lot of you know about some of

this information that we will be presenting. i am 1.6 million members strong. we represent employees oliver the country. local governments, hospitals, independent providers, we even have a small portion of federal workers that we represent. a very active union. very active politically and legislatively. we're very active in organizing. many of you may know this, but we have a rich and proud history. we were born in madison, wisconsin. isn't it ironic that we were born in madison, wisconsin and workers got together to talk about the importance of joining a union and having their voices

heard? in 2012, we are battling a governor named scott walker betook collective bargaining away from us. -- who took collective bargaining away from us. we have a hard history of working a partners over this country whether it is the students or retirees. we believe we built a mainstream movement to deal with the challenges and issues that confront 95 americans right now. in mid is an linzie #1968, we recognize -- in memphis, tenn. in in 1968, we recognize this. there are fighting for dignity and respect and the right to be heard.

isn't it ironic that we were fighting that fight in the mid- 1930's? we're fighting it in 1968 when martin luther king gave his life to support city workers. we are still fighting that battle. we have come a long way. we have a long way to go. we've got folks that are trying to take our freedoms, democracies, and right away from us. we have to join together like never before. we have to close ranks like never before. we have got to make our voices heard. this is what the labor movement is doing. that is what the civil-rights movement must do. we have to take our country

back. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. tom is the presence of the international association. he is the son of a member and became a steward at age 20. he represents more than half a million members. if you're following the news, he may have seen is union turned up in the news. why didn't you tell us a little bit that's >> thank you. it is an honor to be here and to be a participant in this great event taking place. i would like to thank all of the organizers for bringing people together. i am glad to be here joining my partners on this panel. several of them are fellow but

guys -- buckeyes and weaker of together in ohio. we have about 700,000 members. we service workers in the aerospace industry, certainly manufacturing. we have a large contingent of federal employees. when you see a space shuttle or a rocket launch, it it is an ima member whose figure is on the button that powers the vehicle. it was one of the original unions there. it was designated by president franklin roosevelt. it was to be one of the union

services. we are an old union, founded in atlanta georgia. today it is a large union that is very diverse. large female population. the ethnicity of all our members span every background found on the planet. we are very proud of that. we're one of the original unions to support the foundation of the naacp. i have been informed on employment. whether it is human rights or our right to exist in speak our mind. these are the fights we engage in willingly. we run to those fights, not

away. we are glad to be here and participating with all you. [applause] >> in me is a secretary of communication workers. -- annie is a secretary of communication workers. she's been a member since 1976 when she worked as a technician for northwest. >> i just want to say it is a great pleasure to be here. i think everyone for putting on this great conference. communication workers of america is a very diverse union, was founded in in 1947. as a woman, i am very proud that the backbone of the first organizing effort was telephone

operators. it has become much more diverse since then. we have our union claim out of the telephone industry. over the years, it has very much diversified. while we have a large contingency of people working, we also represent people in the media sector. people work in passenger service in the airline industry. we have a manufacturing group. we also represent a large contingency of public workers, primarily at the state and local levels. we are a very diverse union. we are primarily in the states. we do have a new paper guild people in the eastern canadian provinces. bac makes us -- that makes us an international union.

we're very involved politically and on the organizing front. we have had a great organizing victory in cable television, which is predominantly non- union. reverend sharpton played a key role. he came and visited our workers. we're very proud of our relationship. we are very involved in building a movement across this country. we know that labor unions cannot do it by themselves. we are partnering with progressive allies with students and faith based groups. many of you have heard about the 99% trading going on across this country, trying to create a larger group of people who are more educated about what is going on in this country,

especially about the huge in the quality of what we are facing. we have your and your people that have more people that have less. that is a lot of what we are back, trying to equalize that. -- of what we are about, try to equalize that. i look forward to the discussion. thank you. >> next up is the secretary- treasurer for the service employees international union. he came to the u.s. from mexico when he was 10 years old. it came with his mother and siblings. he is a great member of the team. he organized along cesar chavez united farm workers. he is known as an outspoken advocate of comprehensive

immigration reform. >> thank you. thank you for inviting me to be here with you to share some information and experiences. let me say how important it is to talk about labor. what i am more interested in is what is happening to america. what we have is a huge attack that is going on right now. it is an attack on women's rights and fergus rights. -- and workers' rights. we are going to be the first generation that is going to see the next generation inherit a country with less opportunity than the ones our parents left us. we are interested in

participating a discussion. this is 2.1 million members. we represent workers also in the public sector. everything from police officers to social workers to highway workers to everything in between. health-care workers that work in hospitals. doing home care, and taking care of the elderly and the disabled. we also represent properties service workers, janitors, security officers. we are blue collar, a pink collar, and no caller. we are men and women. we are african-american. latino. we are gay and straight. we are young and not quite so young. we look like america. we share a lot of the same problems that are facing

everyone in this country. part of its is we are also the largest union of immigrant workers. we have members that come from all parts of the world's to this country. it this was the land of opportunity. did they came for their piece of the dream. we have members from africa, asia, latin america. in our union we speak over 100 languages. for us, the issue of immigration reform is a key issue. it impacts our members who are undocumented workers and every worker. you cannot have a 11 million workers in the shadows without any rights and have that not impact every single worker. i want to thank reverend sharpton for leading this.

i was very proud to join in the march and march in the footsteps of great men and women who fought for equal rights and making sure that everyone in this country had the same rights and opportunities. thank you so much for your leadership. i look forward to the discussion. thank you. >> thank you. francine is the executive vice president of the american federation of teachers. she runs they know shall live behind tax for. she is a licensed speech pathologist. >> thank you. you will notice that loretta

johnson was to be here. she is our secretary-treasurer. you know i am not lauretta. she's not here because her brother in law passed away. i am very sad about that. i am glad i have an opportunity to be here and participate in this panel. i come from toledo. the last 15 years i was present of the toledo association of teachers. now as an officer, it is a wonderful opportunity to engage nationally. the american federation wants to have -- has 1.5 million members strong. we represent professors and

graduate employees. our present came to toledo. they were touring the country talking about the connection between civil rights and the labor movement. they came there ohio at a very important time. we were fighting and successfully beat senate bill 5 that would have taken away collective bargaining rights and the rights of employed workers. they came and that was civil- rights leaders. they had a great discussion

with high school students. when you look at the jobs at that we have today compared to what other unions were fighting so hard to push, it is really clear that there are two very different visions for our country right now. those of you at breakfast heard that articulated. you have the president's job at, which is meant to provide much-needed resources that would create construction jobs, put teachers back in classrooms, improve the infrastructure in our communities and improve thousands of children's school buildings. you have the so-called jobs at signed into law that does not do these things. it took probably hurt the economy by deregulating wall street in taking away investor protections that keep workers from becoming the victims.

the kind of fraud that cost enron workers their retirement savings. this is the kind of pro- corporate, anti-worker thinking we have been seeing over the last couple of years on tax collector bargaining in states like ohio. we are seeing an attack on our most vulnerable citizens. this should not be happening in our united states. i was raised as a daughter of a steelworker. i understand we need to encourage companies to start hiring. we do not want to discourage growth and innovation. if we want to have a better future for our kids, we have to invest in their future.

that is why affiliate's around the country works so hard to promote the real jobs act. it would provide funds to prevent layoffs and modernize school buildings, pay for jobs for our youth, and support the infrastructure jobs that will put hundreds of thousands of construction workers to work. it amazes me that there are so many forces who are determined to keep working people down. these politicians will say it is limited government. what we are really talking about is limited voice. there's no economic reason to take away collective bargaining rights or to push hard for voter suppression. we know we cannot fight these political battles on our own. we cannot do it with money.

our strength and our success has always been the passion and voice of our members and allies alike you in the ability to mobilize. the other side knows that too. let's focus on how we can continue to work together as unions and communities to expose those groups and people working so hard to protect the 1% by taking power and resources away from the rest of us. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. collective bargaining has clearly been a very contentious issue over the last year or two. in wisconsin, we had seen its strip workers of their collective bargaining rights. we saw a similar law in ohio

later voted down. we have seen a right to work path. with this environment, i would like to ask our panelists how you make a case for collective bargaining right now when it seems to be under such a large attack. tell us why collective bargaining is so important and what happens when groups of workers lose. >> collective bargaining gives us the ability to sit down at the table and to be treated fairly and equally by negotiating over wages and conditions. if you look at those who are trying to take collective bargaining away from us, they are in ohio. they are friends and allies of the same people who are trying to take our voting rights away.

they are attacking women's rights, and the same people. this is why it is so important for us. we may have some differences. be played by the rules every single day. our members are being used and sacrifice. we cannot let that happen. it's in the state of wisconsin, the governor did take away collective bargaining. we did not bury our heads in the sand. we fought back. we fought back and worked in coalition with our community partners. we fought back. we made our voices heard. we targeted four senators for a

recall the supported the intent to steal a collective bargaining away from us. he did. we recall two senators. did this year we still have not stopped. we are recalling the governor. in june we will recall him and he will be out of office along with the lieutenant governor. we have to continue to build our salvation. under the constitution you cannot recall the ohio constitution. you can have a referendum. we went to the citizens of in of ohio. we collected over 1.3 million signatures. all we needed was 250,000. we put it on the ballot in november and guess what? we beat them by a two-one margin.

this is what it is all about. sometimes it takes a bat over the head to wake us up. we have to understand what is going on in this country. it is economic and class warfare. when you have the one term it tinting to gain more power and wealth at the expense -- 1% attempting to gain more power and wealth at the expense of others, that is a problem. they think this is extravagant. our average pension is $19,000 a year. gimme a break. we cannot be a country that rushes to the bottom. we have to be a country that

moves forward. my parents taught me that your life should be better than the life that we have. right now that is not happening. we cannot take it anymore. we have to come together. [applause] >> while we are talking about public sector work, we see workers of all kinds often demonized by the right. they like to blame public- sector unions for budget problems. how to make the case to regular folks that unions are important to the working class tax those that are protecting the narrow interests of the wealthy and the privilege are out to divide us. part of that strategy is to separate the public sector

workers. you're doing this in order to gain their viewpoint. tactic to split allied forces. public sector workers -- i do not think there is a person in or room who hasn't been one known one. we are at the heart of delivering services in this country. many of you know a teacher. he had teachers and your family or you can think about and the name quickly pull the teeth sure that made a difference in your life. -- and quickly the teacher that made a difference in your life. it's about taking away resources from public employees who over

the years have been able to establish, through collective bargaining -- it is a stable income, and a decent a dignified retirement. as that erodes, and the middle class erodes. the buying power erodes and the stability of communities. especially true in large cities throughout this country. i am proud to be a teacher. we had used collective bargaining not just for the traditional kinds of wages, health care, a pension, but we took to the table proposals to improve schools. to bring better curriculum resources, to create better

conditions to -- so learning can occur. the spot light goes on teachers because there are those that do not want the spotlight to go on those that are not providing the financial resources that are not distributing in an equitable way resources so that all children have equity in education. who don't want to shine the spotlight on poorly-managed schools. it is easier to sign it on teachers. with our allies in the larger community, we must work together to defeat those who want to suppress us. thank you. [applause] >> people think that when we negotiate we are just negotiating for ourselves and benefiting our members.

workers are able to negotiate a fair share of the wealth they help to produce. if you leave it to the employers on their own to have the complete authority to decide whether workers are going to get a pay raise, a halt care, pensions, whether they will have any other benefits, history shows us that that never happens. it is a very small metal class. -- it was a very small middle- class. when the labor class began to organize , workers were able to negotiate. that created the middle class.

it was not just the workers that benefit it. when we go out and negotiate, that money recirculates to the community. they may go to a movie. and they may go buy a car. that all recirculates. it benefits everybody. when workers are poor, that community is pork. it is not -- is poor. it does not do as good to have a bunch of billionaires' because they are not the ones going out supporting our community stores. we have seen a lot of places we did see what happened to those towns. these communities suffered. when the rubber industry, then

auto industry jobs, were exported overseas, they suffered. the other thing i would say, we have this problem of wealth and distribution. the well in this country is concentrated more and more on the top and the middle class is shrinking again. we have a situation that is with a tax system that allows for corporations like ge and wells fargo to pay no taxes. each and everyone of us pays more taxes than ge. how is that fair? what we need is a tax system where everyone pays their fair share. the we will not have a problem with the school budget or the state budget.

we will have enough resources to provide the public services we need. >> i just wanted to piggyback on what he said. for some people who do not have a lot of labor history, what happened in wisconsin and ohio fell through the sky. it did not. this change has been happening for a long time. especially on the private sector, the union density has been dropping for years. it peaked in the late '70s. it as been on a decline ever since. it is many of the industries you mentioned. this not just that the dodd said disappeared. the went overseas. many of those communities have been decimated. then the telecommunications

industry, how many of you have called to connect phone service or a lot of things? to you think you're talking to someone in this country? no. that is jobs. when you take jobs out of this country, this is what has created a lot of the issues. if the government in the position in cases where you wanted to make that by humans. and then they turned a argument around. they blamed it on public sector employees. they did not really addressed the real problem. we do not have enough jobs in this country. that action get tax incentives to move it out. how about if we got tax incentives in the country to rebuild the countries?

[applause] i think that labor cannot do this. not by itself. it is working in groups. we really have to rise up out of the ashes and fight for that distribution of wealth and maintain the middle-class and build a stronger economy. workers and people in this country have rights in the right to have a good lifestyle. [applause] >> i hope you can talk a little bit about right to work. if you could tell us a bit of a unionized worker for a company might boeing and what they would make. can you tell us a bit about why

you think is right to work measures are popping up of what you think they can do to workers in the state? >> having had the fortune, i do not think it was good or not, to be the president of a large union who took on the largest exporter in the world for punishing their employees for exercising a right to strike in seattle and portland and wichita in 2008, they said they would build a new plant in south carolina where they have right to work laws. we can pay them less. we do not have to provide health-care benefits. to take that on as a violation of law and wonder if our government will stand behind the workers of america who chose the union and to exercise their rights to collectively bargain, was a real stretch.

we found a person who should be given a presidential medal of freedom for the relations board. they took on the leadership of both political parties in america. they went ahead and made that case and forced the boeing company to deal with the issue on how they're going to treat people in sites that have a union and where we can get job security and the commitment for 20-30 years down the road all the projects would be done at those plants. at no time do we ever proposed closing down that new site at north carolina despite what the press said. that issue of collective bargaining and the right to work sums it up as to what that experience was about we see governors of politicians and presidential candidates

attacking public-sector unions as the cancer upon society that is going to drive american down. nothing could be further from the truth. they fear the power of people who might belong to a union. especially in public sector where they are connected closely with the economy of their states and their existence. on the private sector, which is the largest part of the union i represent, we know that if they beat down the workers in public sector, we are next in line. that is why we saw indiana becoming a right to work place. and in other places it is cropping up. it is the second wave of attacks upon working people. and in a funny kind of way, it is our government. and it does not matter.

i am an equal opportunity criticize our of the political parties we have. because what i see my brothers and sisters in the public sector trying to fight against is a result of a thing called the regulation. -- deregulation. we deregulated health care, transportation. my favorite is the banking system. and what a great experience america has lived through by the deregulation of this nation. thus, we were blamed. the reason we have to be regulate is to make it easier to send our jobs overseas. and we got blamed for being the competition. deregulation now has found its way into right to work. they are making us feel like we are guilty of something we are not. we are the protectors of this society. where we come into play in the

attack on right to work, the attack on people's rights as citizens, their voting rights, it is all one big attack. on america. and both parties have some culpability in the state we are in today. i would hope as we move through conferences just like this one, we find ways to unite people once again, like the civil rights community and the labor community. in the 1960's, i lived through that. i was a kid. i watched labor unions marched hand-in-hand with the civil rights seekers. and we stayed hand-in-hand until we pass laws and the president signed it. 1965 and the civil rights act and the voting rights act, and we stayed hand-in-hand until we pass laws and the president signed it. 1965 and the civil rights act and the voting rights act, and then we let go of each other's hands and went our separate ways and declared victory. and that killed us. we've got to get our hands back together again so that never

again does the 1%, or the politicians, figure they can divide the nation that is united. [applause] >> in a little bit we are going to take some questions from the audience. but first, we will hear from the labor secretary, hilda solis, who is here with us. [applause] >> i'm not secretary solis. [laughter] let's thank the panel and give them a hand. [applause] let me say it is probably no more important to us that the state where labor in this country is, and clearly, it's

built -- its alliance with the right to movement in general and in particular. these saunders has a real commitment to reigniting -- leigh saunders has a real commitment to reuniting labor. so goes labor and so goes our community. everyone talks about the 1960's, but very few people realize that the 1960's would not have happened had we not had this alliance of labor and civil rights. this is why it is very important that we reestablished and realign that. also, i think the present administration under president obama has been very committed to that. i think that one of the first

things we saw as a result of the 2010 election is that the right wing went after labor rights. the week ended in wisconsin and ohio and indiana, and when after public workers. they went after -- after the right to unionize. this is a civil rights. one of those who fought this battle to protect workers and to protect the job market was the secretary of labor. ever since she has been in office, we had nothing but complete access to her. she and i were just laughing. she has been attacked for even marching with us. you would think she was marching on somebody. [laughter] we had a re-enactment of dr. king's march 4 voting rights that got us the vote -- the right to vote that we all participated in, and because we

said had we not had this march in 1965, then many of us would not have had the right to vote. we formed a coalition and we re-enacted the march. and we marched 11 miles a day from selma to montgomery. we also raise the issues of today -- immigration, the right to work. and secretary solis came down because she said it was that march in 1965 that gave her the right to vote, and women the right to vote. it helped reinforce that. it shows you how desperate they are. i'm sure there will have a picture of her today and it will look like she is holding of a barricade rather than at a convention center.

it gives you a picture of her commitment that even though she is distorted, she is here, because she knows what she believes and she knows how she wants to serve the american people, all the american people. i'm happy to present to you the secretary of -- the labor secretary of the united states, the hon. hilda solis. [applause] >> thank you. and good morning. bien venidos to all of you and especially to my brothers and sisters who have joined the action that workmen -- convention. and i want to thank the rev. for that great introduction, and i also want to thank him for keeping it real. that is right, keep it real, reverend. [applause] i want to thank him for leaving

the network in the spirit of the civil rights movement. but before i begin, i want to recognize every single person at this room -- in this room and in attendance at this convention. that includes business leaders, community leaders, allies, advocates, and yes, my union brothers and sisters. and what i want to know is, is later in the house? [applause] and i want to thank you deeply for working alongside president barack obama and his administration. and i want to thank you for being the change agents you are, helping our communities day in and day out. i cannot tell you what a pleasure and honor it is to be with you this morning. the last time, as you know, i saw the rev. al, we were out marching. and i was proud to march on that warm, sunny day in alabama, and i felt right at home. i cannot tell you how good i felt. we marched, as we say in spanish, mon y mono, hand in

hand, arm in arm. i'm happy to be here with my brothers and sisters to show that we are the civil rights movement because all of us in america have gained from that. i saw dan here with all of us -- i stood with all of them and i cannot tell you how proud i am to be there. in addition to my friends from california who came out, and at the tender age of 82, the lords what was there to represent the people in the field who still work with their parents picking our fruit, taking care of the american fruit and vegetable baskets for all of the people in this country and around the world. i want you to give them a round of applause.

[applause] each of us came together on that occasion to walk for different reasons, but most importantly, it was to honor those who faced violence and injustice who marched on the same trail we were on 47 years ago. we marched for respect, for minorities, for senior citizens, and for, yes, the right to vote and to be heard. and we marched for health care and for safer workplaces and for fair wages and for dignity and respect in the workplace. and we did not forget about marching for our young people, who are right now experiencing a high rate of unemployment. it is ridiculous in a country that is so bountiful. and we fought for education, because we know that with good education will come good jobs. and i know that many of us here march toward our immigrant

brothers and sisters. i as a daughter, first generation of immigrants who came to this country years ago with their sweat and tears to try to have the best for their children experience the american dream, to have a taste of that apple pie that welcomes people here to this country because people do not come here always with a silver spoon in their mouth. they come here because they know they have to come with hard work. and with sacrifice. and that is exactly what on harrington did and taught me. i was so proud of them and i was proud to be marching with other brothers and sisters in alabama before the same reasons we are here today. there are so many things that have happened in our country over the past decade. and one that hits home for a lot of buzz is that we know there are -- for a lot of us is that we know there are some doing very well in this country.

and you see those that are not doing very well. is that haves and have-nots. but we marched in selma and montgomery in alabama because we know when we have strength when -- that we have strength we work together. solidarity helps create that basket. we know when we rise and fall as one community, we know that we have a lot that we can do if we come together as one nation. these are fundamental issues that all of you know about. i cannot emphasize how hard it is right now, the fact that we are going through some hard economic times, especially in our communities of color, especially where there is high unemployment. i know this is unforgivable, what we are going through. this is worse, perhaps in some ways, for some of our young people and for some of us reso many storiest experience of when he went through the

great depression in the united states in los angeles. i know there are still a lot of families that are hurting still today. i see those families when i go out on the road and i talked to people. and i know how our economy can come back and i realize that all of us have our own way of making a difference in this country. i know the president believes that. that is why he is putting forward an agenda that says he wants to see an america, an america that helps every single one of us, not those that are privileged, not those that can afford fancy lawyers and lobbyists, but people, everyday people. and america, as he said that, that is built to last for every single one of us, for our children and grandchildren. president obama has said that in the face of our challenges we will have to answer is central question as a country. can we succeed in a country where shrinking numbers of people do increasingly well, while a growing number struggle to get by?

and that number is small. or are we better off when everyone gets the same shot and everyone does their fair share and everyone plays by the same rules? that is what is at the heart of this national debate that the president has brought us into. and on the other side of the aisle. because this is where we know we have to go. we have to have this discussion. and we still have a lot more to do to make sure that every person, every individual in every community -- and i mean every community -- is thriving. that is why the president has invested millions of dollars into job training programs. and especially into vulnerable communities like ours, african- american, latino, asian, low income white as well. he has called on employers, community organizations and community colleges to come together and provide direct and

meaningful pathways that lead to good, paying jobs. in my department, the department of labor, we continue to have -- invest in job training directives, vertically in low-income and underserved communities. -- particularly in low-income and underserved communities. and i am proud of our veterans. and i'm talking about those men come back at higher rates of unemployment, that come from those neighborhoods. they are coming back right now thinking, where is my next job going to be? will i have a roof over my head? will my family be able to bring me in? i have met with some of them already and i am disheartened because i find them in shelters. their own families cannot take them in because their families are struggling. what has happened to us? i know we have to do more. we have to help women, particularly women of color, who still do not make the same rate of pay as a comparable man does.

she makes 70 cents on the dollar for african-americans. it is about -- she makes 70 cents on the dollar. for african-americans is about 60 cents. and for letty that is about 50 cents. we have to make sure everyone gets their fair shake. and we cannot forget about the long-term unemployed. and i am not just talking about the 99 years. i'm talking about people out of work for three or more years that have been looking. some of us know that this recession did not just start when the bureau of labor statistics and other economists were saying there was a recession. some of us knew it long before then. as a congress member, i recall in my own city where i grew up, before the recession was called, the unemployment rate was anywhere from 9% to 12% and our jobs were leading. they were leaving a long time ago because of bad policies. they did not take care of people here.

i also know that what we've got to remember is that right now is not the time to give up on protecting other vulnerable communities that are also sacrificing a lot and not having their voices heard. i'm talking about those vulnerable individuals who represent our immigrant workers. they happen to be countries like the caribbean, latin america, ethiopia, india, south america. there are a lot of brothers and sisters that are faced with discrimination and oppression in the workplace. but we are all suffering. one suffers, we all suffer, both in terms of safety and work place. we know that people have to get paid better wages. wages have not kept up over the past decade. and i continue to stand up for those who want to continue to be a part of and be associated with a labor union and have the right to collectively bargain. that is how we get people into the middle class. that has been our american history and tradition.

i stand proudly by my brothers and sisters who are fighting to get into a union and remain represented. i know that my own father, who worked hard coming into this country, did many dark -- many jobs. he was a farm worker, a rail worker, even at one point a janitor. but one of the proudest moments i had was when he became the shop steward for his teamster union and organized immigrant workers that could not speak english. my father could speak english, so he knew how to talk to the bosses and negotiate and he knew what was right and wrong. he stood up. he had no shame and said i will stand up for these workers. and because of that, so many families in the community were affected. their families got better wages. they had a roof over their head, health care benefits, retirement. some of us could even go to college for the first time in our lives. i was one of those

beneficiaries. i was the first one in my family of seven -- and i'm not even the oldest. i am a middle child. but i was able to go to college. after that, all of my younger sisters went to college. and some of them even benefited from scholarships from this -- from the teamsters union. i'm proud of that because that is what is put our foot in the door to be in the middle class. we had fine schools that all of us pay taxes into. and my father and thus stood tall. we were one of the first in our neighborhood to own our own home. that gave us so much pride, having a piece of the american dream, the property, a house, the feeling that you somehow along. but as i got older, i saw things changing. and i heard so many negative things about unions, people talking bad about what unions were doing the wrong way. my life did not show me that. i saw good things happening. i saw that i could compete and go to good stores and good neighborhoods and be safe,

because that is what the union provided us. and when my father went out on that picket line, we did not have to go out begging for food because our father ... supplemental health -- help because my father got a supplemental help from the union and we were able to stay in our house, thank god. we did not have to put that up. i learned a lot growing up in a household that is very close and knows that nothing is going to be given to you, but much is always expected of you. that is something that is with me now even at the department of labour. i will tell you, one of the things that we need to remember is that we cannot forget our young people. our young people need us more than ever. they need role models. they need to see that all of us are working together and that we can stand up tall and say that they can also have that piece of the american dream that so many people out there with like us to forget and say, you know, tough luck.

if you cannot pick yourself up from your own bootstraps, that is too bad. i do not believe that this division as president wants. that i want. that the rev. once. and that you want. our dream is a dream for everyone to be able to stand up tall, to be self and howard, to have dignity and respect, no matter where you come from, what that code, what school you graduated from, or what college you attended. it is not about that. it is about the character of the individual. it really is. and we must never lose sight of that. [applause] i don't think i have to tell you, but there are some folks in town right now that want to do away with the safety net for a lot of folks that i'm talking to, that i'm speaking about. they want to get rid of assistance for veterans.

they want to cut the heart out of our job training program when we have 12 many people still looking for work and people in dead-end jobs that want to move up the ladder. they want to cut financial aid for students. there are programs that are particularly set aside for low- income families. if i was not able to get the pell grant, i would -- i know i would not be standing in for the u.s. the first latina labor secretary because my parents did not have money to set aside and say, here is $1,000, here is $100 for you to go to college. my father could not afford it. he had other things to contend with, like a roof over his head for seven children to pay for our meals, to make sure that we had a decent place to live, that we have adequate space, and that we could share in this american dream that he so aspire for all of his children to have.

there are people proposing cuts to medicaid and they want a voucher in our schools and health-care programs. they want to get rid of the health care reforms, which the president has put every effort into to help provide assistance for well over 32 million people. and why now? why now, when we have fought so hard? i want to tell you that we need to stand up and we must not forget that at this critical moment in time, we have to understand what the president is fighting for. he is fighting right there with you and i. it is about fairness. it is about fairness in the workplace. it is about fairness in education, and it is about fairness in terms of what services are provided by government. if we cannot have a say so in that, then this is the dream that all of us have aspired to be a part of. if people are paying their

taxes, those that can afford it, the billionaires' and millionairess, even the folks that you heard yesterday that are in the white house that agreed to pay more, they want to pay more because they know it is their obligation. because that is what we stand by, those principles. that is very important for us to understand what the president is fighting for, for fairness. so that we are not overtaxed, so the person that has to go to the small grocery store in east l.a. or in the bronx does not have to pay more than the person who lives in beverly hills. that is what this is about. it is about fairness. that is what the president is striving for. let's not forget that. let's make sure that we continue the fight, the struggle, and the movement. and i want to ask you to help us, because the president is held -- is going around the country right now asking about -- talking about about the role. i do not need to go into the details, because you should know what that is, and before you end of this convention you will note what is. it is about fairness.

i want to ask you one final thing, i want to ask you if you are ready to help this president and his administration and the american people. [applause] and i want to ask you in the spirit of cesar chávez, who also fought very hard for worker dignity and respect, just as martin luther king fought for that dignity and respect and put his hand out in support of the search chavez -- cesar chávez when he was all alone, feeling like nobody would care about the poorest of the poor. but these two men came together spiritually and keep became one power, one on different sides of the united states, but bringing us together because in unity there is strength. in diversity, their strength. the president knows that and we know it. i want to ask you if you will help us march again.

i want to ask you if you are going to help us organize. [applause] and i want to make sure that we are accountable and that we are out there. we've got to fire ourselves up. you know, get excited, but i mean give it all we've got. i want to ask you, are you fired up? [applause] and i want to make sure that when we talk about the budget that is being proposed by the other side of the aisle, that you do not forget that your voices are very important. send those e-mails. get on flicker. get on the website of those members and let them know on facebook. let them know where you stand and the communities you represent. if they do not hear you, nobody else will step up to the plate. the on this, again, is on us. and i will not -- the onus is on us. and i will not take no for an answer.

and i know my president will not take no for an answer. [applause] i will ask you to keep us keeping us living the dream that martin luther king shared with us, the hope and inspiration that people like caesar job as and people in this room have dedicated their lives to. so many of you have sacrifice. when we sacrifice we gate -- gained so much more and it makes it so much fun. i'm so glad to be here with you and i thank you and i thank the rev. sharpton and i'm proud to march with him on any occasion. thank you. , [applause]

>> were going to be seated and were going to finish with a brief q&a and then at 11:45 a.m. we will switch to our health panel before we break for lunch. let me recognize the incoming and vibrant leader at home, george aggression of 1199. -- george gresham of 1199. give him a hand. [applause]

you are going to moderate the q&a, right? thank you. labor secretary solis, thank you. [applause] >> i think we have -- i will ask one more question to dry out there and then we can go to q&a with the audience. one thing i did want to cover before we wrap, we do have an election coming up. citizens united really changed the field, as you all know. corporations can now spend unlimited money on political issues. and unions are calling to do the same now. citizens united activities are for unions as well, they can now nonunion doors and households. -- knock on the union doors and household.

generally, the powers do not like citizens united. this fall, how are you making sure the democrats, including the president, are not taking the labor vote for granted? >> i think the first thing we've got to accept is that we will never be able to compete, as far as resources, with the corporations and the ultraconservatives who are pouring money into these super pacs. if you look at the amount of money that has gone in since 2012 alone, it is about $100 million. that has gone toward the republicans were running for president. we will never be able to compete money-wise with them. but one thing we have that they do not is people power. that is a grassroots

organization across the country where we are now not able to -- not only able to knock on union doors, but we were restricted at one time. we could only knock on members stores. but now we can knock on member stores and non-members doors alike. we can community blanket those streets, making phone calls, knocking on doors, handing out leaflets, educating folks and organizing people to make sure they understand the importance of these elections in 2012. we cannot make the same mistake that we made in 2010. let's face it. we've got to be honest with the one another. we did not believe these elections were that important. and look what happened in 2010 when we lost a lot of governors races, what happened here in washington d.c. when a lot of tea partyers and were elected. i've got to wake up, and believe we have a weekend. we got to work in our communities.

even though we disagree with all this money being poured into politics, we got to take advantage of the loss of that we can educate and mobilize our members, but also our communities. that is exactly what we are doing. >> let me say i agree, but i think we know and we have all been saying that we cannot do it by ourselves. we need to occur -- to create alliances with everybody in this room. let me say how i think we can win. they have lots of money, but there are a lot of people in this country. african-americans and latinos and asian-pacific islanders are well over one-third of the population. then labor. then women's groups. and conservationists. we are the majority. the problem is, we have never worked together. we have always fought in

isolation of each other. there is the rule of divide and copper. note -- divide and conquer. what we need to do for this election, because we need to reelect the president. but we have to make sure that everyone has affordable housing, everybody has access to health care. there are so many things. we need quality schools. there are so many issues that we need to win. when we get together, i think we can not only re-elect the president, but make sure we get a progressive agenda. [applause] >> the american federation of teachers, our workers are all about economic opportunity, dignity, democracy and full participation of all of us at the ballot box and civic affairs. that is what this election is about. as union leaders and eunice, is

about educating our members and mobilizing so that they go out and mobilized as teachers, for instance, parents of students in our classrooms, neighbors. we all have influence with people beyond our own movement. and that is what will happen this fall to re-elect the president. >> we have about 10 minutes left. why don't we go to questions from the audience? >> i'm from belleville, new jersey. i would like to thank each and everyone of you for personalizing this. i've got to say i've never heard it personalized in the manner you just described, how union workers when they are stripped of their rights as workers, how that impacts the local communities as it relates to not only the government operations, but in terms of our

own personal community, our homes and so on and so forth. i would like to encourage you to drive that message home a little bit more, because as much as i'm a friend and advocate for labor, you got me really fired up now. my next question is cannot what are the -- is, what are these specific strategies and what you would like done in terms of the folks in the community that may not be members of the labor union or do not have labor jobs. they're just regular, everyday people. that is my second question. third question, just looking at the 2004 election, we had about 45% of hispanics that turned out eligible to vote. 45% voted. african-americans, or blacks, only 65%. with the voter i.d. lot in place that was trying to strip about 5 million minority votes, what is the strategy?

how can we work with you to make sure that we get out the vote and reelect this president? >> getting out the vote, who would like to take that? >> i'm going to use this question as a segue to talk about something the machinists union created called youcue. it is your union of unemployed. what about the americans who do not have a job? how do we communicate with them and why it is important to participate in this election? 160,000 disabled americans unemployed. 1.9 million college graduates today do not have a job. 976,000 teenagers. 1.2 million black men.

984,000 left in us. 1.3 million high school graduates do not have a job. 4.8 million white guys do not have a job. 1.1 million black women are unemployed. an associate degree or a college attendee, 2.9 million cannot find a job. asian-americans, 506,000 cannot find a job. 1.3 million -- i'm sorry, 3.5 million white women cannot find a job. high school dropouts, 1.6 million cannot get a job. these people all have something in common from a wide array of life. they do not have a job. and when people have jobs, they have hope and they have skin in the game and these are the

folks we have to reach out to in this election and help them understand why going and casting a ballot, and defying all the obstacles and barriers to doing that is important for them. then i think we make a difference. we unite those people. from all walks of life into a common cause and is one where at the end of the day, we win. and it would be nice if the peoplewon one for a change. -- if the people won one for a change. [applause] >> i want to go back to the voter suppression issue. that we care a lot about the people we directly represent, but we also care about the greater community that we are part of. that is why we are involved in legislative and promoting

things that do not just impact our people directly. we were all involved in the health-care debate. if you go back many years, we were right there at the forefront to get the eight-hour day, which then brought about the weekend, against child labor laws. once again, labor will be there on voter suppression. we know it is a huge issue in 38 states. and there are states that are trying to institute laws and statutes that will make it harder for people to vote. and we know in our hearts that is not right. we will be fighting for that. the reality is that we know those votes are likely going to make a difference in many races. we want to make sure that the greater community that we are all about has the right to vote our unions are involved -- our union's is involved and aside

from doing a regular election work, and for us, that is connecting to our members at the workplace because we believe we have the greatest amount of influence with the people we know the best. but it is also looking outside and working on issues like voter suppression. >> thank you for your question. our union has been working on creating a national table and we have about 30 national health local community organizations and unions working together in the latino community particularly. there are about 20 million latinos that are eligible to vote. in 2008, about 10 million voting. that does not sound like a lot, but that is about 2.5 million more than voted in the previous election. it is expected in 2012, and our goal is, to have 12 million people vote. if we accomplish that by all of us working together and we maintain the same ratio of voting for president obama, he

will get 1.3 million votes more than he got in 2008. we also happen to be concentrated in many of the battleground states, colorado, nevada, florida, new mexico, arizona. we can make a big difference. in these other states, ohio, pennsylvania, there is a huge latino and african-american -- latino and a huge african- american community. we can turn these numbers out in greater numbers than in 2008 and maintain support for the president and he will win. but we got to make sure we do it. [applause] >> as reverend sharpton mentioned, a board member on the action network. one of the things that we have been doing is travelling across the country and going into urban areas and local communities and bring together

labor, bringing together the faith-based community and other civil rights organizations and sitting down and talking to them about developing the necessary coalitions that will be effective in achieving our goals in 2012 and beyond. this does not happen magically. it does not. this is our world. while we are committed to doing is not speaking from washington d.c. and expecting it to magically happen in detroit or cleveland or los angeles, but going into the community and sitting down with our leadership and with all the community partners and saying, you've got to put your issues aside and work on the issues that confront all of us. those issues are too important and establish a link in the local communities because that is where the grass roots effort is going to be. it is going to be a grass-roots effort to deal with the issues that confront all of us. we've got to have a structure in place of individuals and organizations that are comfortable with one another

and each one -- meet on a regular basis of they can move a positive agenda forward. [applause] >> thank you for hosting this panel today. democrats, who are the party of jim crow, the complex clan, filibustered the civil-rights act of 1960. 94% of senate republicans voted for the civil-rights act of 1964. all the democrats opposed it. isn't it disingenuous to suggest that the republicans want to disenfranchise the black and hispanic vote? are you playing the race card for political advantage? and secondly, voter i.d. lot is suppressing or discriminating, are you implying that minorities are not smart enough or too lazy to go and get an id card? >> who would like that one?

>> if the republicans were that good in the old days, we wish they would come back to their roots. here is the problem. republicans right now endorsed supported and passed a racial profiling law, a a law that takes us back to the hole -- the old days. they supported the same laws in north carolina and supported and passed the senate bill 1070 in arizona. some of their political candidates, like candidates from the -- mitt romney, said that his agenda is to make immigrants miserable so they support themselves. the bottom line is, we are not leading the republican party. they do not want us. if they had an agenda and actually speaks -- if it were

for workers' rights, a living wage, health care, immigrant rights, and if they supported us on voters' right, i think they might get a fair hearing. the problem is that as long as they continue with that kind of agenda, it will be hard for them to be us up and then expect us to vote for them. it is not going to happen. [applause] >> can i get an answer from the panel on this one? >> what you mentioned was then and this is now. we've got to deal with what is happening to us right now. i mentioned this earlier. there is a coordinated attack by the ultraconservatives in this country to take our rights and steal our democracy away from us. more you get collective bargaining rights, voting rights, women's rights, civil

rights for americans in this country, there is a coordinated attack by those in the republican party to support the 1% who have wealth and power in this country and ignore the other 99%. as far as the varieties, this is an attack on the -- the voter i.d., this is an attack on the people that died to get the right to vote. when they talk about problems with the voting system, when they talk about problems -- and that is so disingenuous. if you look at it, you will see that fraud within the voting system is less than 1%. but they want to take away and it wants to -- want to institute these voter i.d. laws. that is going back to the jim crow laws of yesterday. we want to go forward, not backward. [applause]

>> we do not have much time left. moving along. >> i wanted to ask a question in relationship to the voters id. if we're wanting to make sure that this law will be nullified by us getting identification, i wonder if we can create some plan so that first of all, the general public understands there are some new rules. i think a lot of people are not aware that they will have to bring in id to vote. i wonder if there is a way in which we can systematically get this information out to the public and then mobilize, maybe, in churches, community centers, where ever we need to do to mobilize people and enable us to get idps -- id for those who cannot afford it. >> i actually believe there are lot of efforts going on to do exactly that.

the naacp is very involved. many labor groups are involved and we are partnering up. nan is involved in working together not only at the polls, but to get information out ahead of time and educate people. there are a lot of efforts going on because of these new laws that have popped up. i think you will see an effort > never before on education -- greater than ever before on education to get people to the polls to be able to vote. >> the new world order, that is the dumbing down of america. and challenges going to be the next superpower. the things we are going through now are preparing for the new world order. >> on not sure if there was a question in there.

we just have time for one more. >> my name is anthony tyrone, and i've been a longstanding member with the national network and reverend sharpton. how is it that we strategizing to keep the jobs in this country? because any hill said something very important to my does not happen overnight. it is very strategic and by the time we get there is devastating. how can we keep the jobs in this country, and what can our communities do to keep the jobs in this country? and the second question would be, when unemployment falls, does it fall because of the reason of the person that is -- because the person is acting out, or they are just not able to find a job? >> and it will start with keeping jobs. i can relate with what was said. when i dialed 800 to order

something borrego to rent a car in the city i'm going to and it is obvious the person is not in this country and i ask, where are you located? and i will pay more to get a car to get somebody located in this country, who has a job and our country. [applause] we also have to look at where we buy. do we buy american made goods? because that is how we keep jobs in this country. check out the label. check out where the product is made. and support and buy goods that are made in our country. [applause] >> the jobless rate that we were told last week that fell by one 10th of a percentage point is now back up this week because up claims have gone back again. the fact of the matter is, people have quit looking. they have become so discouraged.

they have quit looking for jobs and day are no longer looking. it would not talk about the real unemployment rate in america, which is twice the number reported by the department of labour. if you use actual payroll statistics every week, that would tell you the number. we play games with this notion of unemployment. we have 23 million americans without a job today. that number alone of unemployed people make all the difference in the next election. that is why we focus on organizing unemployed workers. not under the banner of any union. we used you cuba only as a ploy to get people to look and see what it is about and then help them to create their own structure and leadership models

in their own communities. they have the common issue. they are now talking to one another. it 92,000 people signed on as you cubist leaders. they reach every day, 23 million unemployed workers. we have all the computer technology that allows us to follow who did talk to. they are talking to one another. we have to get that focus clearly established in their minds that they have a job to do. they have -- they are unemployed, but that job occurs on election day of this year. and it is go to cast a ballot in this election and help us to do have jobs turn this country back in the right direction. we need everybody's help on that. that is why i cannot help but go back from my own experiences. we win when everybody works together. i want to get back into the winning column again.

and where people have hope and something to look forward to. [applause] >> a quick question. it is good to see several buckeyes on stage. i'm from ohio. i have one question regarding card check and secret ballot. in some states, you have to sign a card and once the majority of the cards are collected, the employee union is informed. in other states, you have cards and you can pala for union information. some argue on the right that some opposition to union ballot indicates you fear actual employees not to unionize. i guess in the spirit of openness, i was wondering if all of you as union leaders have actually come to support a secret ballot so you can make it clear that you do, indeed, support individual employee's rights to choose whether or not to be in the union.

>> i would go on record on the condition that is against blogger -- against the law and is enforced, and employers cannot terrorize employees that have organized for a union. [applause] that becomes the issue. we can all come -- set up here and tell stories. it probably happens a little bit less in the public sector because they have to disclose where the funds come from. but that -- there are employers that spend millions of dollars to keep unions out of the work force. why? how many ceos do we know out there that would go to work without a contract? that is the real issue, what happens between the time that employees express a wish to have a union through signing cards, and then when the election occurs. that is the real issue. >> you can see where the concern is, if you sign your name to a card, then you're -- then the union knows whether or not you voted to unionize.

those who did not sign the card itself for the repercussions. >> that is a blatant lie. >> you can see the line of reasoning. >> that is a blatant lie. what you just described. citing a union card does not indicate how someone votes in a conducted election. >> i agree with everything you said, but let me just say on card check, i got married by signing a piece of paper. i bought a house by signing a piece of paper. i bought a car by signing a piece of paper. i enrolled my kids in school by signing a piece of paper. why can't i join a union by signing a piece of paper? >> i have one brief follow-up. with all of you be willing to enter into a voting booth and expose your ballot for all of your neighbors to see so that they can is see how -- they can see exactly how you voted? >> carta check.

>> that is not card check at all. because your name is affixed to a piece of paper indicating. >> that is not it at all. our object is to provide an opportunity for individuals to sign a card at their discretion. nobody is forcing them to do so. to join a union. that is what our position has been. or a secret ballot election. what is happening, and a sister talked about it -- what is happening is the playing field is so one level. -- not level. we tried to change the law to reflect a better playing field, is stronger plain field where you have employer intimidation whenever someone wants to join a union and you have people been fired if they want to join a union activist to talk about joining a union, where you have employers who delay the contract negotiations until folks are gone so they can have another election. that is what this is about.

do not just focus on card check, whether an individual has the right to sign a card or not. let's look at the complete. we are talking about labor laws and relations in this country and the unfairness that exists. >> this young lady has been very patient. >> just to add one more comment -- my country and my government accept the piece of paper i signed to take up a battle rifle and go defend the interests of this country any place in the globe they would send me. and i did that by signing a piece of paper. and yet somehow it is wrong for me to be able to sign a piece of paper and say i'm proud to also be a member of the union. there is something fundamentally wrong with the mindset that says people, workers do not have value and worth. that is what this is all about. lee was right earlier about

class warfare. this is some people in our society saying there is an underclass of people that happens to be the majority that are not worth as much as a select few. i reject that. and any other apostle or disciple that they might send to try to convince me otherwise. >> we have 15 minutes for this last question. -- just a few minutes for this last one. >> i'm asking if you can share this with people when you are asking them to work on the grass roots level. i have an 18-year-old. he went to get a job. they allowed him to use his student i.d., but they said you need a state issued id in order to get the job. he could not get the job until he got his state issued id. he left there and tried to go to the bank. he could not -- he tried to establish a bank account, but

could not do that until he got a state issued id. he went to dmv. he could not just use his birth certificate and a social security card. he needed something that only my husband's name would be on, utility bill. >> do you want to wrap it up? >> a government issued id. he went to his college. he could not use his tooten id. they are turning all of this back over to needing a state issued id peridot -- state issued id. we need some agreement and either write a letter and get that notarized for him to get a state issued id, so maybe at the level of the church or whoever is going to be helping with the voter registration, maybe they need to have notary publics there and the older family members as well as the gambert people to have somebody in the family to give them a letter tuesday that they live there

and have that notarized. that is the only way that he can have the state issued id and how he can vote and have a job and a bank account and all of that. it is not just a simple as somebody going out to the dmv. >> anyone want to briefly address voter i.d.? >> he goes to prince george's community college and this is the dmv in maryland. >> does anyone want to briefly address it? >> that is true. there are many other examples as it is not as simple as people think. there are people that they're trying to get to vote, but there are examples of people who have voted for years and have never been questioned and now are being asked to get a different type of identification. some people do not have a birth certificate.

people focus in on whether they are lazy which was implied. it is not because they are lazy. they are presenting being issue wrong. >> i understand. >> thank you. we are going to briefly do some closing statements. we're going to go down the line. i am wondering what you would tell the audience they can do in terms of helping unions in terms of the election. >> let me rephrase that. it is not only helping unions but each other. the issues that concern all of this, and we have talked about those issues these are all being challenged. we cannot let it happen.

we have got to come together like never before, develop those coalitions at the local level. we have to make our voices heard. the 99% are being smacked around every single day. the 1% what's more power and wealth.

>> thank you, very much.

>> thank you. thank you. thank you. [cheers and applause] thank you. >> it sounds to me like the revolution is alive and well in texas.

thank you for that very nice welcome. i want to thank stacy and amanda for the introduction. i want to thank my family for being here, and my son, robert for giving us this very nice introduction, and jeremy kicking it off with details about how you can win delegates. that is pretty important. tobben reckitt cheers] . it looks like to me like freedom is still very popular. i'm glad of that. i think one of the candidates cannot remember his name, but i think he -- one of the candidates, i cannot remember his name, but i think he dropped out of the race yesterday. [cheers] that day i was asked quite frequently by the media what it means. i said, out there were 12 lead one time. we are down to three. it looks like we are cutting the field down. [cheers] and then they say, when are you going to quit? and i say, i thought we were just getting started. [cheers]

we have a revolution to fight, a country to change. we need to change what is going on. we might as well get our balanced budget before we quit that kind of stuff. there is a lot of enthusiasm, and i welcome the enthusiasm and the encouragement, because there were a few years when i would go around the country talking about the same issues. the crowds were a little smaller than they were always polite, but the crowds now, when people ask now about what i'm going to drop out, i say, when nobody wants to support the cause of liberty. [cheers] but i say, in our case, we do not have a $4 million deficit in our campaign. our numbers are growing. [cheers] and the money is coming in, so i take that as a stamp of approval. there are a lot of people who care about freedom, and freedom is still popular. we will keep going until we have victory.

[cheers] but it is great to see the enthusiasm and so much support from the young people. there was one time in 1960's they would talk about the young people and they would say if he were 20 years old and you were not a liberal, you did not have a heart. but they also said if you're 40 and were not a conservative, you did not have a brain. i say, why can't you have both and believe in freedom and the constitution? [cheers]

something rather amazing is going on, especially in the last several years. things have changed quietly and steadily in a positive way. although, over the last 100 years is pretty much down to the cause of the republic. in the last four years, something dramatic has happened. many of the things we had been talking about and warning about, the austrians had been talking about the danger of printing out money and running of debt and all of the things with crises and watch out for the housing bubble. the one that came about, the people suddenly started saying that is what the austrian free- market economists had been talking about let's talk more to them and people were paying attention. who would have dreamed that five or 10 years ago that we would ever make the federal reserve an issue in a presidential campaign.

a [cheers] ok, that is simple. when the election and we will end the fed. how about that? [cheers] actually, next year would be an appropriate year. the fed has been around for nearly 100 years. 1913. and they destroyed nearly 100% of the 1913 dollar.

let's not let them do it to the 2% left. let's have a repeal of the federal reserve act as a celebration. [cheers] but it has impressed me very much going to the college campuses and talking to people and seeing how many people understand exactly what the monetary issue is all about. and they understand by looking at a little bit of history and why the fourth -- the founders warned us about the money issue and why they put in the constitution that congress could not print money. if they could only use gold and silver as legal tender. and that is what we should do. only gold and silver. [cheers] but we did not follow those rules and the fact that the federal reserve can print money and create money at will, and a buyout debt, what do the politicians do when they can

accommodate the big spenders? they spend a lot of money, run up the dead, tax to the maximum, bar to the maximum, and they still do not have enough. and they have this ravenous appetite for federal government and then the federal reserve comes in and accommodates the big spenders and a print the money and, lo and behold, it destroyed the value of the money. some people say that is difficult to understand, but more and more i talk to people in eighth grade, ninth grade and they say, you print a lot of money and is going to lose its value. [cheers] but it is also the mischief that occurs. government spending money is one issue. but there are two problems. one, they take the money from us. they may take it directly to taxation. they may put the burden on a later generation by borrowing. they may just print money. but it is always a burden because they take it out of the economy and our ability to produce wealth.

but when we really get punished is when they spend the money. what good do they do when they are spending the money? [applause] they might feel compelled to go start a war that we do not need and get us into trouble that we do not need. [boos] that has been a big problem. as a matter of fact, the problem as i see it, whether it is financial, foreign policy, an attack on our civil liberties, we have lost in the last 70 or 80 years is a respect for our constitution, a respect for our rule of law. [applause] if we got into trouble by allowing our representatives and residents to ignore the constitution, and we get in trouble, why wouldn't the solution be only sending people to washington who read the constitution, understand it, and live up to their oath of office? [cheers]

very simply, that means we would not have a federal reserve system because it is not authorized under the constitution and it destroys the value of our money. think about how many wars we have been in since world war ii. none of them have been declared, not one. how many trillions of dollars have been consumed? how long do we stay in the country and not wake up and say enough is enough? right now, the american people have awakened and not only are they looking at the federal reserve and saying, we have been in afghanistan long enough and it is time, all. -- time to come home. [cheers]

war in defense of one's country is proper and necessary and the president has a responsibility to be commander in chief. but the president does not have the authority to star wars without the proper permission coming from congress. [applause] and even today, we have a president -- he sends his secretary of defense over to the hill, and secretary panetta explained that we do not have to do that. we do not have to get permission from the congress. [boos] he said, we can get legal permission from the united nations. [boos]

and of course, this is how we have gotten ourselves into a way to much trouble. but great nations are generally not destroyed by mittal -- military means. if we did not -- fortunately, we did not have to have a nuclear exchange with the soviet union. i was drafted in 1962. there were missiles in cuba. [cheers] i served five years in the military. but even under those circumstances, with how dangerous it was, at least our president at the time called a kershaw of and said, may we talk this out -- called thiskruschev and said, may we talk this out and have an agreement so we did not have to have a nuclear war. [cheers] my humble suggestion is, why can't we have a country that isn't even building a nuclear weapon? [applause] this is what the founders of advice in order to get along in the world.

you should offer friendship and trade. just think how much better off we are doing with vietnam. how many people did we lose? 60,000, and hundreds of thousands, if not a million, vietnamese died. the french were there for years out of fear that the country might go communist. what happened? we lost the war and left. they did not go communist. they have been weather -- westernized and we invest over there and others do as well. just think what could be achieved -- what has been achieved with peace that could not be achieved with war. [cheers] war is always a drain and there are explicit ways to go to war. we should never get the principle of preemptive war. preemptive war means we start them.

we do not have the right to start wars. [cheers] we have an obligation to make our country safe and secure and have the fence, but you do not do that by starting wars. we have talked too long of the status court and the conventional wisdom is that war can get you out of a depression. [boos] that is exactly right. it is not right. it is wrong. even if it did do that, it never justify that type of killing, but it does not work. wars are always of economic cost to a society.

a [cheers] not only do i look to the constitution for decisionmaking when you go to war, but also to the christian job core principles. if we followed those, we would see a lot less fighting and killing in the world and we would be much richer. in the last 10 years, we have accumulated $4 trillion worth of debt due to the wars we are fighting. think of how much that money could have gone into society here, how much better off we could be. today, we are a poor nation and we have the greatest debt in the history of the world, both foreign and domestic. it is the foreign policy that brings people down so often. the soviets went down not because we had war, but because they finally went bankrupt and had to go home. this is the day our greatest threat -- the one thing i can assure you of with my experience in service and in washington and knowing a little bit about

military power, we do not have to worry about people touching us militarily. we have the strongest military defense in the world. [cheers] but i wish i could assure you with that much confidence that we have nothing to worry about. when we take an oath in office, we take an oath to defend against all enemies, foreign and domestic. i am more worried right now about the domestic problems we have than the -- and the lack of following the constitution. [applause] think of how our civil loyalties -- liberties have been under attack in the past 10 years. there has been fear and you can understand, but it does not justify it. and we have this notion that it is okay to sacrifice some of our liberties to be safe.

[boos] that is correct, it is never necessary to sacrifice liberty for safety. and the founders said if you do, you will not be safe and you will lose everything and you will lose your liberties as well that is what happened. immediately after 9/11, within a week or two if we pass this thing called the patriot [patriot [boos] i know some -- the patriot act. [b faughoos] i know some members of congress, who said it sounded good. it just came up an hour ago, and i said you had no time to read it. he said, i know. i said, what are you voting for it? and he said, i cannot go home and explain to market -- constituents why i voted against the patriots act. and i said, that is your job.

go home and explain it to them. [cheers and applause] i know what -- i bet is the patriot act had been called the repeal the fourth amendment act, a lot of your people would have voted for it. next year, we will also put on the list of repeal the pay trade act and get your civil liberties back. [cheers] we will call it restore the fourth amendment act and maybe people will vote for it under those conditions. our liberties are being systematically undermined. we have essentially lost our privacy and it has been eroding for a long time, but it is essentially gone. it also gives the authority to this agency of government, which i hope is not a friend of yours because it is not a friend of mine, that is the my tsa at the airport and how they treat people. [boos]

the purpose of the members of congress and the president is not to make a save. the second amendment is to make us safe. [applause] but the oath of office is -- and we do not take an oath of allegiance to our political party. the oath of office is to obey the law and obey the constitution. there has been a bit of an uproar in the last couple of weeks, and it is justified, to a large degree, about the president lecturing the supreme court about what they should do with obamacare. the easy answer there is to repeal the whole thing and start all over. [applause]

as an ad as it was, the president interfering with -- as bad as it was, the president interfering with the supreme court, what about the president declaring unilaterally with executive order that he could be the prosecutor, the judge, jury and executioner, and that the law of the land says that the president should make the decision to assassinate an american citizen? [boos] if we are not an allied enough about what we see at the

airport, with our military being able to arrest people, with the president deciding who can be assassinated, i will tell you what, we are not deserving much. but i will give you some good news. the people of this country are not going to put up with it and they are going to make up their minds and get some change. [applause] you know, when i think about economic policy, monetary policy, civil liberties, i think about individual liberties and the importance of individuals. i think that is what makes america great, the individual. the declaration of independence is very clear about where our liberties come from. they come from our creator, not from our government. [applause] of course, the founders understood what the consequence of that would be. if you have the right to your

life, let your liberty, the right to take care of yourself, -- the right to your liberty, the right to take care of yourself, you ought to have the rights to the fruits of your labor. the income tax came in the progressive era of 1913 along with the federal reserve. we will add that to the list too, repeal the 16th amendment. you know, there is always an excuse. you know, for all the laws. this january 1st, we have 40,000 new laws placed on the books. once again, i would really enjoy being the first president that eliminated 40,000 laws. that is what i would enjoy. [applause] [chanting] thank you. you know, the theory behind all the laws is that those in charge, the bureaucrats and politicians, believe it is for your own good. that is what they are cleaning. and i have had members, when i say, why are you voting on this?

you are in trading on the decision making of the people. they say, well, the people are too dumb to do it. they truly believe they do it for your own good. if governments believe they can improve personal behavior by regulating you, believe me, we are in big trouble. that is where we are.

that is why we have some in laws and regulations and the courts now are so out of control as well as the executive branch. think about all the regulations. they are not legal. executive orders, almost all of those are illegal, from the president. a couple of weeks ago, the president wrote an executive order and he took the defense production act of 1950 and renewed it with an executive order. he changed a few words. the emergency powers, which should never be granted, grant that if there is a war, the president can take over industry.

he changed a word so that not only in times of war, but in times of peace the president can do that as well. i have a simple solution. let's have a constitutional president who understands that executive orders can be used in a very limited fashion. one thing you can do is use an executive order to repeal of the executive orders that are illegal. [applause] so often, those who oppose what we are talking about, what we do, say you guys want to go back to the dark ages. you know what the dark ages is? big government, and tyranny. that is the dark ages. the future is a free society and looking to improve upon it. [applause] and of course, that is why we live in a very fortunate time in our history. we live and still enjoy the blessings of liberty. the big question is, how long

are they going to last? we live in probably the freest country ever and the wealthiest country ever, but in the last 75-80 years, there has been a steady erosion. just recently was recognize that we are not producing enough and it is difficult borrowing, difficult just printing money. therefore, for the first time in our history, our middle class is shrinking and getting poorer. the people know about it. they talk about the 99% and 1%. that is a mixed bag. you have to be careful about that. i talk about it, but we should not be resentful of the people in the 1% if they made an honest living without the government. we shall expand as numbers. -- we should expand those

numbers. but if somebody is in that tax bracket, that income bracket making millions if not billions of dollars and they do it because they get bailed out and work the system and they get their contracts and special privileges, that should not be tolerated. but this is what has happened. the powerful special interests have been benefiting by the pretense that we are helping poor people. the housing program is the best example of this in recent times. it was designed to help poor people. everybody deserves a house. you do not have a right to what you want or desire or demand. you have a right here liberty. you do not have a right to somebody else's property. you do not have a right to a free house, free food, or anything free. nothing is free. the government cannot provide

it. they have to steal it from somebody. and that is fine. that is fine for a while as long as we are wealthy and can borrow, as long as the trust our money, but eventually it all changes, and that is what we're witnessing today is the change, the change in attitude because we know we cannot continue. we're living off the fact that people still trust our dollar are around the world. but it is fast fading. there are plans being made to have an alternative world currency. this will be very damaging. and we can work on an as so many of us have in this country to restore the constitution unsound money in commodity money, but the other side -- and sound money and commodity money, but the other side is talking about creating a restoration of the imf. what we need is a restoration of the concept of liberty. it does work. that is where we have come up short. we have lost our confidence in

ourselves and we have allowed this idea that we can become dependent on government, that now the productivity has gone way down and we are a much poorer nation. one of thing that is really bothersome in another way, if people become dependent -- and it seems like we save them and take care of them -- actually, when they become totally dependent, they lose their sense of growth. i think that is what happens so often. [applause] we lose the idea of what freedom is all about. for me, it is seeking excellence and virtue. whether it is in caring for ourselves and our family, caring for our intellectual pursuits, caring about our spiritual life, it is up to us. our creative energy comes from liberty.

when we lose our liberty and the government curtails us, we destroy that and destroy the sense of worth. i think it is a lot of anger out there. right now, they're fighting and screaming up in washington, why don't you guys get along together? one side spends money on one thing, as the other side wants to spend it on something else. they compromise and spend it on both. it is not compromise we need. it is a definition of what truth and minuses. and then bring people together on these issues -- truth and rightness is. and then bring people together on these issues. if you bring people together because of freedom, everybody might come together for a different reason. everybody may want to use their freedom in a different way, but

we should all join in supporting freedom. we except this all the time. we set this all the time on our -- we accept this all the time on our religious values. if we believe in freedom, we allow people to do that. it should be that way in social affairs as well. for so long, we have had this concept of freedom divided into pieces. the founders had it right. personal liberty, social liberty, economic liberty was all one in the same period now we have a group that says, economic -- economic liberty to a degree, and we put a limit on that.

it is one and the same. when you see this come about, it is not going to be a republican revolution or a democratic revolution. it is going to be all of the people coming together and saying freedom is the issue. [applause] for those who say that this is going to the past, going backwards, only the beginning, the understanding of liberty is only a couple hundred years of a real test. if they are the past, we are the future, as far as i'm concerned. [applause]

but good things are happening in the country, and one is that people like you are very numerous and growing in numbers. they are all over the country. you know, last week and continuing this week, we have been talking on the campuses and bringing people out, and we get usually these small crowns of 3000-8000 people. -- crowds of 3000-a thousand people. -- 8000 people. one day when we had a very nice rally in california, i looked at the internet the next morning, and the article, the headline was, where has ron paul gone? where is he? well, sometimes they would like to ignore us, but i think they are going to hear from us loud and clear. [applause] [chanting]

and i think you all know the quotation i use a lot, and that is, "an idea whose time has come cannot be stopped by any army." ideas are powerful and they have consequences. bad ideas have bad consequences. we put up with a lot of bad ideas in the 20th-century, a lot of fighting and killing needlessly. we need a new century where we can talk more about peace and prosperity and the rule of law.

that is what we need to be talking about. so many are coming to this conclusion that these ideas are alive and well on college campuses. but there are a lot of people who come now, and even at the media is recognizing, it is not only teenagers and young college kids. it is a lot of people coming together now. a lot of people worry about it because they take a vote and they say, we do not have 51% to pursue these beliefs. the founders knew this and they understood that may be 7%-8% of the people really knew and understood what freedom was all about, what the revolution was all about. but today, our numbers are growing. benjamin franklin said that

what you need is an irate, tireless minority to burn the brush fires of freedom in the minds of men. that is what we need. good ideas are becoming pervasive. they have been around now for 30 years or so. i get a lot of credit, but many more individuals have done a lot more work in the intellectual community. it has to happen. just as keynesian azzam was an intellectual revolution that reet -- keynesianism was an intellectual revolution that wreaked havoc for 100 years, behind the scenes, the intellectual community was saying no, it is fascism, communism, socialism, interventionism, welfare, inflation at the central banks.

but they're losing out because their system is obviously failing in the people know it. -- and the people know it. [applause] but we do need to change our policies. we need to change the spending. i am for cutting a lot of spending, as i said. but even under those conditions, i still have priorities. if we work our way out, if we could have priorities and take care of those who need to -- who have to have been taught to be so dependent. i do not think you need to start with food stamps. i think you need to start with foreign spending and cut all of that first.

there are still a lot of people that think we have a necessity to go about the world spreading our goodness. they call it spreading our exceptional azzam. this has been going on since woodrow wilson, make the world safe for democracy. this idea that we can force people to be good. well, i will tell you what. we have an exceptional nation. we understand property rights, monetary policy, limited government. today, we have lost that. but if you are in exceptional nation, if we are to be an exceptional nation, people will want to emulate as. they will want to copy yes. you cannot go overseas and say to this and we will give you money. if you do not do it, we will bomb you. that is not the way to change the world.

so often the argument is used against legalizing the freedom of choice in society. when people heard each other and damage each other, that is the purpose of government to take care of those problems. but when people have a lifestyle you do not approve of and you say the government has to come in and change it, all of a sudden, what we do is just getting into more and more trouble. people say, i cannot allow people to spend their money. they may not do it wisely. they may become a gambler. it will be all my fault. but you know, by legalizing freedom of choice, you do not endorse it. because people use their religion in a way you do not want to, you do not endorse their religion. probably the most important thing for me personally is

thinking about striving for excellence and dealing with spiritual life. that should not be in the business of government. under those conditions though, government should just a out of it. if we can except that for our -- accept that for our spiritual life, why do we think we need the fda to tell us everything we will ever do about what we put into our own body. i have talked for a long time about the war on drugs. i think the war on drugs has been a total failure. [applause] i think drugs are horrible. i think the addiction to prescription drugs is a lot worse than the addiction to illegal drugs. i also know that addiction

should be a crime -- should not be a crime and we should not throw people into prison who did not commit a violent crime and turn them into violent criminals. [applause] our country tried prohibition back when they passed the 18th amendment. just think of the difference in that period of time. they amended the constitution to give the power to the government. it was a total failure. people woke up and said we have to repeal prohibition. today though, i think we are making great progress. when you see pat roberts in coming out and saying, hey, let's look at this more carefully.

and he, like i, was very reserved. drugs are dangerous. but who is responsible for changing you against yourself? when the government thinks they can do that, they will tell you how much all you can put on your food, how much exercise you've -- salty been put on your food. how much exercise you can get. it is one of the excuses for the violation of our civil liberties. guess what? guess who is against a change in the drug laws? alcohol companies. drug companies. what if you started using something you could grow in your backyard in did not by all those expensive drugs? -- and did not buy all those expensive drugs. the issue for me is not the drugs. the issue for me is liberty and who makes the decision.

one thing leads to another. today, if i decided i wanted to drink rondel, i would be prohibited by the federal government -- drink raw milk, i would be prohibited by the federal government. today, there is a commercial product that we used during world war ii, but today, we are prohibited from growing hemp. they say it looks like marijuana. but if somebody wants to get hot i -- high on hand, as they would have to smoke a cigar as big as a -- high on hemp, they would have to smoke a cigar as big as a phone pole. if we assume, just like in economics, that the government is always the lender of last

resort, if the government is the protector of last resort, if you do something that makes no sense, you should not be able to coerce your neighbor to take care of you. freedom doesn't bar responsibility. john adams argued the case that if we became an immoral society -- and in moral society cannot have liberty because we abuse it. i think a lot about the abortion issue and the problems we have there. abortions were done in the 1960's illegally.

the law was not changed. what happened is the attitude changed and then the law changed. so often, the laws are a reflection of our moral behavior. there is a lot of responsibility on individuals. assuming the responsibility is crucial, but to assume that the government is always going to be there for is to take care of us, it does not work. the more the government is involved, well, if you do such and such, that will be a cost to government. the government is nothing more than a thief in the night that comes to redistribute wealth. [applause] think the most important thing we do to carry on this revolution is to recognize that we live in dangerous times and recognize that there is a larger number than ever who now are joining in the freedom movement

and believe in individual liberty, believe in the rule of law. therefore, we have a responsibility. individuals like you that would come out and listen to talk like this are different than the average person. the average person is home doing something else. they may vote, and if they do, they may not decide until the day before they vote. but individuals like you to become knowledgeable and understand the problems, i believe you have a great responsibility. if you have your head in the sand, you can i get blamed for a whole lot. if it cannot -- cannot get blamed for a whole lot. i think the most important thing is to become knowledgeable, believe in it, and if you are prepared to understand what liberty is all about and you want to participate, people ask me, what should i do?

where should i go? if you are prepared and you have credible evidence that you are convinced, somebody will make use of your talent. we all have different talents. we all have different responsibilities. if nothing else, we all have responsibility for ourselves. if everybody took care of themselves, think what a wonderful place this world would be. we have responsibility. we have responsibility for ourselves, our families, our neighbors. local government is permissible under the constitution. we have responsibility in our churches. there is a lot that can be done. there is a much goodness out there that we really want a healthy economy where there are more rich people. what are they going to do with their money? they are going to help people. the money will be there but there will be a greater amount of wealth.

we have destroyed the wealth machine in this country. i do not think there are very many people i know in washington who understand how serious it is. they think they can borrow and spend and print money and it will last forever. i think you know differently. i think you know how desperately whinnied a change, and i thank you very much for -- we need a change, and i thank you very much for participating. thank you for coming here. thank you. [applause]

so again to summarize, we welcome any steps taken on the path to a sustainable peace and long-term stability.

>> thank you. human rights watch. today, they have not seen the need to detain a -- the u.s. seems to contemplate such a regime. is afghanistan adopting a regime of withholding people without trial? >> afghanistan is subject to the treaty of 1949 and 1977, the second addition to the protocol, too. for two years, i think the

process has become a part of the law. it has gone through both houses of the parliament. it has been signed by the president. and it has been printed in the official government. so it is now part of the law and we will implement it. we have already developed a procedure. at the moment, it is a temporary procedure been how to implemented together those procedures with the international community. when that was the reason that we were able to sign that mou, that we were able to sign the protocol. so it will be implemented it will -- it will be implemented and practiced in the future.

>> much of the external investment, the u.s. investment, has been in your two ministries. are the other ministries, energy, water, health care, transportation, ready for transportation? if not, what needs to be done? >> there is no doubt that we have received the bulk of the assistance. but all the other ministries have received aid in the past 10 years.

but the reason for that is that security is a prerequisite for a rule of government and infrastructure. i think there is good rationale for what has happened. initially, when we have developed a plan for transition, i think we have already made a precondition for an area to be transitioned. one was that there should be decreasing violence, as far as the security. second of all, there should be a good number of the national security process. and the third one was that there should be good governance in these activities of building infrastructure and economic

development. but there is no doubt that we are a little bit more head of the of the sectors. >> there is no doubt that your information is quite precise. we have been the main consumers of that investment. as that, i think any defense ministry and a similar conditions would have the same level of consumption. but you do understand that an afghan national army and an afghan national police which was completely destroyed and wiped out prior to the efforts started during the last decade is a big task. i had the honor to fight against the soviet invasion and resist against the taliban invasion. i am still proud to be a soldier for my country.

so i have seen all of this for many years. my assessment is that, during the past 10 years, perhaps i was afraid that we would not reach the number of security forces to the tune of 150,000. but it is a tremendously big deal because we had to stand up from the ground up and the afghan national army and a national afghan police, this monumental task required an equally monumental investment. but we're quite optimistic that this will decrease as time goes on.

now we are in a phase of sustaining the capabilities and those numbers in our security forces. we still have enablers. but we are at the point of sustainment. and as his excellency the minister defense mentioned, in the field of agriculture, in the field of health services, the field of energy, possible water, many great steps have been taken, strides have been made, and in the field of education. frankly, those are not enough. we still have a long path to travel in order to obtain those goals. >> was talking a little bit about the question of sustainability. obviously, security forces are enormously expensive and the capacity that the afghan government has to raise revenue with in afghanistan is limited. some of that gap will be filled by the international community. how confident are you that the resources will be available to sustain both the police and the army? >> actually, at the moment, i think we're through the negotiations for the last month

or so on this question of sustainability. from the beginning, i think it was quite obvious that the afghan economy was not able to sustain the troops. but in the meantime, we were telling the international community from 2002 that the only sustainable way to secure afghanistan is to enable the afghans themselves because, as far as sustainability is concerned, it was almost 70 times cheaper than the deployment of large formation of international forces. as i mentioned before, unfortunately, i think, from 2002 to almost 2009, i think

there was not much investment as far as the afghan security forces were concerned. we have always argued with the international community that it would be much cheaper and political less complex, as i stated before. and it would save the lives of our friends and allies. the reason was that coming in our history, this is the first time in our history that our friends and allies are shedding their blood on our side to defend our security. that goes against our honor because, throughout the history, the only thing that we were the most proud of was that we had been a country against overwhelming odds. so right now, with the transition, the dividend at the moment, the international community is spending about $150 billion a year roughly to do

that. we just wanted to wish for 5% of the money to sustain our security forces. as a mentioned before, the future prospect for the afghans, if we pull it through and we get it right, i think we can be one of the richest countries in that part of the world because of all that has been discovered and the great potential in different sectors, primarily the ground resources. we can harness the water for agriculture and hydroelectric. and i think we also need improvement on how to collect revenue and taxes. >> minister. >> thank you.

the afghans are very proud of their security forces and both the minister of interior and the minister of defense, you are not only longstanding fighters for afghanistan, but also the founding fathers of the new afghan secret forces. i will be very specific about my questions. both of you have mentioned the issue of mentors, enablers, and trainers. what are your needs as far as enablers and mentors in the long run considering all the discussion that is going on in the reduction of the troops and others? and what is the role of the -- what is the role the trainers are playing in enabling you and your ministry? and how crucial is it that they're missing continue, especially in the face of the recent challenges in

afghanistan? and also from discussions here in washington? >> good question. thank you. >> thank you for your compliment. as we go to 2013, the role of nato will change, including the u.s. forces. it will change from actually fighting. they will be just training, advising, and assisting. and how we get the enablers, i think they will have a role in enabling, too. but the question of the neighbor is one of the most crucial questions -- of the enablers is one of the most crucial questions all of these years, that the afghans should be able to conduct independent operation with less reliance on international forces. that is the only way that we can relieve the international forces from the brunt of fighting with the infrastructure that has been

developed, there are some enablers and some are needed to make us capable of conducting independent operations. the most serious ones needed for transportation, reconnaissance, the support of the ground troops, and also in the absence of the ice the forces -- of the isa forces and the afghan air space. that is the biggest one. the others need improvement, as far as fire support is considered and the ability with

integrated fire power. since the enemy is also relying heavily in itt's and mines -- in ied's and mines, more focus on that area will also be required. >> i do thank you, sir. you touched on a valid point and i do thank you for your compliments, but also for all of the efforts that have been brought to bear by the international community. undoubtedly, they have gone to a great deal of trouble during the last 10 + years. the conversations we have had in

the past two days with the secretary of defense of the united states and the chief of joint staff has only reiterated the information they previously had, which is the need for continuity in the number of enablers and an increase in the number of trainers and advisers. in the process of transition, it does not mean a complete exit from the picture. it only means a supportive role. of course, the minister of defence touched upon what falls under the jurisdiction under the umbrella of a mod. within the ministry of interior, we have had many of our personnel come to the united states and receive training for counter-narcotics efforts. we have also had some intelligence training exchanges. as far as budgeting, the age that will be brought to bear after 2014, that will be part of the afghan budget.

i do wish to reiterate my gratitude and appreciation for all the help of the international community. >> thank you for your question, a master. -- ambassador. this gentleman here. >> my question has to do with a news item that came out of kabul today where president karzai indicated that he is thinking about probably holding elections prior to 2014. from a security point of view, can both of you tell us whether the army and the police will be ready to handle the elections ahead of scheduled time on the one hand? secondly, what is your overall

view of what you consider as being a peaceful and successful political transition in afghanistan in the couple of years ahead? >> you heard -- we heard the news also as you heard it today in the morning. [laughter] and then we made some telephone calls. [laughter] the result was, even before the news came, in the past, i think we did discuss that there was so much to be done in a 2014 and then there's the political transition, which is the election. it was just an opinion and

something called discussion. will it be more feasible to bring it forward? from the security point of view, since the transition will not be completed if it comes a year ahead, we will have some support from the isa countries. so it will be much more easier as far as security is concerned, as far as the security of the elections is concerned. but as far as the army and the police will secure the elections, it will depend on the level of violence and threat in that span of time. we do hope that we will be able to do that this year and part of next year, to be able to further degrade the capabilities of our opponent. then it will make it much more easier to secure the elections.

we do hope that, based on our constitution and based on the principle of democracy, which has been wholeheartedly accepted by the afghan nation, that there will be a very peaceful transition of political power when the time comes for the elections. but the whole thing will be dependent on the level of violence. if it is degraded and is less and is manageable, then everything will go positively. >> is the elections are held in 2013 incentive 2014, will the police here? -- be ready?

>> i think you, sir, for your question. his excellency, the minister of defense, touched upon that we heard about this when you did. we inquired with our ambassador. he clarified that it was not an end all and be all statement that the president issued from kabul. it was only a point of discussion to gather feedback. in any way, it is irresponsibility, the responsibility of the afghan national police, to provide security at all times, not just during elections, whether they take place in 2013 or in 2014. we're proud that, during the past, a great events in afghanistan, whether they were parliamentary elections,

presidential elections, we brought a lot -- we contributed a great deal to the security of those elections and to the successful voting process in afghanistan. up to today, thank god, all of these historic occasions have taken place very successfully. even though in the past, let's keep in mind, we were much weaker from a security standpoint. but we have gained much more experience in the meantime. we have become much better equipped. but to the point that i can say, based on what i know, what i have come to understand and know and a screen which of our secret forces, i am -- and distinguished of are secure forces, i am optimistic that our security -- we will provide proper security for any election. during the previous elections,

you don't see as having gone to the nato forces for back up because there was lack of self sufficiency in providing security. we are in the process, as you know, of going to the third phase of the transition process. we will take the place of the nato forces, the isa forces, but we must move on the path quite carefully. again, it must be an irreversible process. we plan very carefully so that, with the gradual withdrawal, we will not take too long to fill in those vacuum's professionally. altogether, we seek to avoid the creation of any security vacuum's. >> i would like also to add that the actual fielding of the

360 two thousand army and police forces will be completed sometime in the middle of 2013. that is according to the plan. >> high and with the embassy of poland. thank you for being here with us thank you for being here with us. you stated that it is very possible that the strategy partnership with the u.s. will be signed before the nato summit. are there any other things that you have to carefully worked on?

>> what are the final hurdles, when you said nato conference -- >> i meant nato. yes. i had in mind the need to a summit in may. the partnership will be signed by that time. >> actually, the two main issues concerning the strategic partnership, which was the detention and also the special operations, those have been solved. so we cannot foresee some major impediment to conclude signing it. and the second thing is, yes, there is talk and negotiations that we will have as a strategic partnership with nato.

we have already made arrangements with nato, which we have signed several years ago. but at the moment, i think we are negotiating and they're going through the details of that nato partnership with afghanistan, which i think part of it will be discussed in this coming week. i think it has been the intention of the afghans and nato to have an enduring relationship for the future. >> these are the points that you touched upon in your question,

specifically the two mou's. those issues are no longer issues. they're not as it -- they are nonexistent. from now on, until chicago, if we do reach a point where there is some finalization and a signature on these documents, we certainly -- you will certainly be amongst the first to know. >> we have time for two more questions. right here in the front. >> you spoke a little bit in your remarks about the conceptual planning model. the recently announced that the afghan securities number would

be reduced from the pete size of 350,000 to about -- from the peak size of to a 50,000 to about two hundred thousand some. you will be laying off about 80,000 soldiers. that is a big number. can you talk a little bit about what will happen to them and what will they do? >> actually, i think the downsizing will take place gradually. it will not be very immediate. and then i think we will also take into consideration those people be taken care. some of them will get reduced to the normal process of -- and the contracts will be over.

so the majority of the numbers you are talking about, all of them will not be a burden on us to take care. but still, you're thinking that we will come up with ways and means to transfer them and give a lot of them vocational training so they can have a job to make a living. >> final question right in the back. >> a question for the minister of interior. about two months ago, two u.s. officers were shot in the back of the head, murdered, inside the ministry building in afghanistan.

i was wondering if you could update us on the search for the person responsible and if you believe anyone will ever be brought to justice for these crimes. >> the incident, the bitter incident that led up to the brutal murder of two u.s. officers inside the ministry of interior is building was the source of great sadness and i did give my condolences and sentiments to the government of the united states and the family members of those martyrs, those who had come here with a great deal of sacrifice for the development of the afghan police force did not deserve this at all.

again, i would like to reiterate my condolences and prayers to the families of those who were martyred. that is something that should not have taken place. you have to understand that it was an accident. you do recall the incident prior to that of the koran burning inside blogger airbase -- inside bagram air base. let's not forget that, as a result of the corps on burning during the demonstrations that ensued -- as a result of the koran burning, during the demonstrations that ensued, 250 people were injured.

again, the afghan national security forces were able to gain control and the afghan national army and the afghan national police were shoulder to shoulder. this incident was related to those brutal murders inside the ministry of the interior. there were a direct result of the koran burning. we started a serious investigation and inquiry into these murders. three-four people who were -- three to four people who were shown to be accomplices into these brutal murders were apprehended. but the main culprit is still being ensued. we have not arrested him yet.

>> we all agreed that we must draw lessons for future use. i am certain that these incidents, or any other types of events or misunderstandings will not succeed in driving a wedge between the french took and the partnership that afghanistan has with the international community and the u.s.

cracks minister comment you have any final thoughts? minister, do you have any final thoughts? >> tomorrows goal is in sight. the costs have been high. the stakes even higher. the could news is, the help has been the place by progress. -- replaced by progress. we go through that letter part of our final quest to bring

stability to afghanistan and as well to the region. and also the security for the entire world. >> please remain seated as the ministers accept the stage. exit the stage. [applause] i would like to thank both of you for coming. >> thank you. it was a pleasure to be here. many friends we have met in the last year. thank you. >> please remain seated.

former president clinton is calling on congress to renew the export-import banks charter. >> paul ryan talks about the federal budget and a world economy. on washington journal, we will see the state of the u.s. senate races. >> mitt romney and newt gingrich today. we will have live coverage on c- span at 2:00 p.m. eastern.

>> id struck bells three times. as a warning saying there is some object ahead of the ship. it does not say what kind of object. he went to a telephone and called down to the officer at the bridge, tell them what it is that they saw. the phone was finally answered. the entire conversation was -- what you see? the answer was -- iceberg right ahead. the response was -- thank you. this is part of american history tv on c-span.

>> a last attempt to renew the charterer blocked by senate republicans. mr. clinton also weighed in on the current tax debate in washington. this is 45 minutes. >> while president william jefferson clinton certainly does not need an introduction, i get to give him one anyway. i am very pleased to do so, because the president has always been a steadfast supporter of business and the export-import bank. he recognizes the trade is the source of our productivity and our standard of living. for the government to the regulator of this, it is just as important for government to

be the enablers of this. one of the best ways to build a peaceful and prosperous relations between nations is through commercial ties, that we live in an interconnected economy. our ability to do things domestically and internationally is derived from the strength of our economy. as president, this was not just an intellectual exercise, but an understanding that manifest itself in deeds. in the 1990's, it brought us from deficit to surpluses and economic expansion. it provided mexico with help with their financial crisis, help that the american public did not support and a put the american president at significant political risk, especially if it did not work. the loans were paid ahead of

time. completing nearly 300 trade agreements, including nafta and securing permanent normal trade relationships with china. the act in 1994 that supported overseas private invests men and strength and intellectual -- investment and strengthen intellectual property. the small business act and the small business lending enforcement act. and of great significance to the audience, support for numerous bill supporting the export- import bank, most importantly the reauthorization act of 1997. not a bad run, mr. president. his impact did not stop with the presidency. the william j. clinton foundation converts could intentions to good results by foster in relationships between garments, ngos and private business.

-- governments, ngos and private business. the clinton climate initiative works with 40 of the world's largest cities to reduce greenhouse gases, and raising money for relief efforts around the world. in our own small way as a country, we have it is the company, we have been able to support mr. clinton -- in our own small way as a company, we have been able to support mr. clinton, strongly supporting the crime initiative with our focus on energy and rebuilding a 40,000 square foot school in haiti. we are very proud of our association with you, mr. president. so, when you have a president who demonstrated support for american business throughout his presidency, who has stayed

hugely impact fall on the world stage after his presidency, and who wants to continue helping american business and the american economy, what is a good way to make that happen? the answer, of course, is to give the keynote speech at this annual conference. please join me in welcoming our keynote speaker, president william jefferson clinton. [applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. thank you very, very much. first, i want to thank you for the introduction. we have become an unlikely group of friends, he and i, small

group, big eyes. i and the clinton climate initiative, energy efficiency -- on the clinton crime initiative, energy efficiency and global products -- projects, i really appreciate his support. i hope that after the election, the bulls-simpson commission report will be dusted off -- bowles-simpson initiative will be dusted off because i think it is the best proposal we have seen. i want to thank members of the diplomatic corps and other people who are here. i understand vice president of

nigeria is here. welcome. i love your country. i have done a lot of work there. i want to thank my friend fred, who i think has been a great president of this bank. vice chair, board members, thank you very much. this audience is full of people who once worked for me, and i hate to start mentioning them, but i want to thank kevin varney, who is marshalling people through the back. you'll always have a special place in my heart because you're so kind to my late stepfather. he passed away at the age of 92.

support for the bank used to be a bipartisan deal, and i hope it will be again. i would like to talk a little bit about this in the context of where the american economy is, not just where the reauthorization bill is. the president set a goal of doubling u.s. exports in five years. that can clearly be done. in eight years i was president, we more than doubled exports, 168% increase, so that is almost 100% in five years.

this can be done, but it has to be done with a strategy that includes a lot of things. and i want to kind of set this in some context. first of all, ever since the landmark study by two n.y.u. economists a couple of years ago, more and more people have noted that america's income stagnation problem may have the multiplicity of cures, but one of them is to have a higher percentage of our employment in the tradeable sector of the economy. i remember when i was pushing nafta and all those trade agreements through, the creation of the world trade organization when i was

president, it was obvious to me that we had to do that because export related jobs then -- i am sorry i do not have the current figures -- export related jobs then paid on average 35% more than nine-export related jobs in the -- non-export related jobs in the united states. since president obama took office, there have been a whole raft of studies that show that americans who work in the charitable sector of the economy are likely to not only get jobs with higher starting pay, but pay the increases with the growth of the company. people who work in the non tradable sector are much more likely to get jobs with not only lower starting pay but without pay raises that keep up with inflation and economic growth. i say that because most of the discussion here in washington -- and i have participated in it,

and i'm a democrat, so you know what side i am on. but a lot of this has been about tax fairness, income inequality and the extraordinary gains of the last decade, in fact, the last 40 years, according to those of us who are in the top 1% of earners. i think that is an important debate, but wherever you come down on that, the most important thing is to keep growing the economy. if you do not grow the economy, it does not matter how you divide the shrinking pie. in the end, our hopes that to build the country and in fact a world of shared prosperity, will fail. so, we should begin with that premise. and if america once again wants to lead the world for shared prosperity, we have to be able

to change the internal dynamics of growth in this country. and one key component of that must be to increase employment in the tradeable sector, which means increase exports. in more common language, that would be well appreciated in my native state of arkansas, if you've got 4% of the world's people and you want 20% of the world's income, you had better sell something to somebody else. [laughter] let me put the issue at hand today for a the ex-im bank in some sort of larger context. if we want this to work, we want to double exports in five years and then keep growing as a trading country, and do it in a

way that is fair to our trading partners and helps them to grow their economies and to generate employment for their people -- because if you really look all over the world, the thing that people are crying for everywhere in the world is a decent job with a reliable income that allows people to support their families. we have to start with an economic policy that deals with our long term fiscal challenges and still makes the necessary investments for a productive future. we have to produce competitive interest rates. they have been zero now, but when economic growth resumes vigorously, not just in america, but everywhere, interest rates will not stay as low as they are and will not remain competitive if we do not have a long-term plan to reduce our debt. we need enough regulation to avoid future financial crises, which include adequate

capitalization requirements without choking people's willingness to take risks. what happened in the last decade, and one of the reasons we did not have much job growth and had stagnant incomes in the united states was because we had both way too much debt accumulation and too little investment in the areas where the jobs would grow, and we had insufficient oversight, which added so much uncertainty in the economy that the thing collapsed on us. so we need some balance there. the second thing we have to do is to have, as i said, adequate investment, including from the public sector, in the things that are important to our competitiveness, research, development, education and training. and we have to have investment in the modern infrastructure, not only in our upgraded ports and airports, roads and water

systems, but in the infrastructure of the 21st century, in a modern, sustainable, energy infrastructure and in energy technology. these things are critical to our future. we also have to be prepared to reform our systems. let me just back up and say that if you believe as i do that the major challenges of the world are basically subject to three catheterizations -- there is too much inequality in income and access to employment, in the ability to start a business and in health care all over the world, there is too much instability for people to take a risk with a reasonable result, and the way we consume energy has made our growth system unsustainable in the 21st

century. we have to change that. the challenges of doing that are very different in rich and poor countries. i spend most of my time in places with very low incomes. we have eight operations where we either sell -- eight operations where we either sell aids medication, -- aid organizations where we either sell its medication, malaria medication, tuberculosis medication, or rebuild systems -- we build systems where we teach people how to do it. in poor countries, they do not have the systems we take for granted in richer countries. think of all the stuff we're sitting here taking for granted. you would be shocked at the

microphone failed, if the lights went out, if the screens went dark for those of you like me who do not have 20/20 vision anymore. you know you can drink the water. if you get bored with my speech, you can get up and use the restroom. i have spent a lot of my life and places where people cannot take any of that for granted. we were looking at reforestation and agricultural development programs a couple of years ago. it took us an hour-and-a-half ago 18 kilometers -- to go 18 kilometers on the road. now, it takes to an hour-and-a- half ago 18 kilometers in d.c. today, but for very different reasons. in both cases, you have to build systems with predictable, positive consequences to good behavior. in of the old rich countries, which is the u.s., europe and japan, we have systems.

that is how we got rich. we have to reform them now. if you go back through the history of civilization, you see that all societies get along in the tooth. people running of reorganizations, public and private, become -- running all organizations, public and private, become more interested in holding onto current positions of power than maintaining the standards for which the institutions were organized in the first place. we're in the process of trying to reform our health care system, our k-12 education system, our system of financing and access in higher education for people, and our energy system. we need to look at our finance system and our budgeting system. we need to look at our immigration system too, and i

will say a bit more about that in the future, but the point is, when you are a wealthy country that comes up against limitations of the way you are doing business, you either reform and get back in the future business, or you do not, and if you do not, you get penalized. that brings me to the export issue. one of the reasons we need to do a better job with our training programs is so that we can get more workers into the tradeable sector of the economy. one of the reasons we need more trade agreements is, you know, we take forever and a day to decide to approve one of these trade agreements, and meanwhile, the people we're trying to make a deal with have made five other deals.

there is only so slow you can go in until you make the perfect the enemy of the good, and that bothers me. look what happened with this correa deal -- korea deal. i applaud the approval of that, the colombian one, the panamanian one, but it took us five years to get the deal passed with korea, during which they entered into an agreement with the eu, america, and others, with a whole network that we then entered into. so, we were falling instead of leading. the following -- following instead of leading. we have to see the export import issue in the context of that. if you want to be competitive, you have to be. is as simple as that. you have to do what it takes to make sure that americans who are

able to sell goods and services around the world have a chance to do so. i did not agree with those who said that our country is in permanent decline. it is still a highly entrepreneurial place, one of the easiest places to start a small business. we still have these hotbeds of innovation. silicon valley is booming again. high-tech and massachusetts its booming again. san diego has the largest number of nobel prize-winning scientists in america and is the center of the human genome research. orlando, thanks to disney world, universal, a global entertainment arts, video games, as the pentagon and nasa has 100 computer simulation companies. the cleveland clinic in cuyahoga city college are working to train the toughest of our long-term unemployed, middle-age non-college-educated people, to work in emerging health care jobs that they never would have entertained a few

years ago. we have is innovation centers. they are important. not only that, present company excluded, we are young compared to our long established competitors. our work force is younger than europe's and japan's. unless they change their one child policy and immigration policy, in 20 years, we will be a younger work force than china. and we will accelerate that if we stop some of our net the immigration practices, let people who can create jobs for others come into this country. for those of us who no longer have it, we know youth is worth something. [laughter] if they are educated, prepared, organized and supported, that is a very, very big deal. so, we're still the largest exporter of goods, services and

capital through remittances, but china and germany to export more merchandise than we do right now. germany particularly has a much higher percentage of its gdp in exports, partly because it is probably the most successful country in the world in involving small and medium-size businesses in exporting. that is another reason we should support the ex-im bank, because of what they did there. there are places where we have fallen behind. the quality of our infrastructure is no longer competitive. we rank 24th in the world in the computer download speeds of the internet.

24th. south korea ranks first. there download speeds are four times americans. we rank 15th or 16th in the world and the percentage of our young adults getting university degrees. that is partly because of the way it has been priced out of the market. i do believe that the student loan reform which congress passed and the president signed, will remedy part of that because it will allow all graduates to pay their loans back as a percentage of their income for up to 20 years so that people can stop dropping out of college because they are afraid they cannot pay the loans, and then they can take jobs based on what they want to do and need to do, not based on the salary they have to have in order to repay their loans. but we have challenges. but we have advantages. meanwhile, we have all these companies, from big to small and companies, from big to small and america, who are doing great