that? mayor: san francisco had to deal with some of these challenges ahead of us. we have learned from some of the struggles. we have the most ambitious affordable housing program in the history of any the. 200,000 units built and for his -- preserved in the next 10 years. we are very much on schedule to achieve that. we are getting a great response from the private sector and our investments will increase to support the plan. i think if you find a net housing for .5 million people it is one of the pieces to keep the city as part of the economic group. the work never ends because we need a lot of market rate housing as well. one of the challenges is that we

have to make sure the highest percentage possible is for people in the lowest income. we need to ensure poverty level people have affordable housing options. we would like to get them out of poverty. we say we want 800,000 people out of poverty in the next 10 years. it will require an increase in the minimum wage. plus the afford will housing programs, plus training programs. as a city we are committed not only to affordable housing, but to matching it with a specific poverty reduction built. -- bill. kim: in san francisco we debate about what is the appropriate share devoted to permanently affordable housing. i get why we are doing it, there is not as much funding as there

used to be it seems to exacerbate the existing trend in the job market which is hollowing out of middle-class. it feels like there is a tension. in san francisco we grapple with percentages, what does that do to housing stock? mayor: one of the statistics i cited effectively at the end of the great precision -- recession , since the recovery officially began, a vast majority of gains belong to the top 1%. we have to recognize how intensive our efforts will be to address income inequality. we have an aggressive approach to inclusionary zoning. if some of those costs are

passed on to the highest income buyers i think that is fair. it will be a long time before we see fair federal funding. it is something we will work on energetically in washington. right now a society that stops working for middle-class people and for hard-working people, is that society stops, people have nowhere to go. we think affordable housing efforts done aggressively can be a solution. kim: earlier today people were talking about ways the tech industry can get involved in local government. do you have specific recommendations? mayor: i really appreciate what

fred wilson has done. i appreciate they are putting together real models for the community. i think it is healthy. that shows engagement. if you think in terms of economic sectors, that shows a level of enlightenment and engagement from the tech community. i think it is very healthy. i would say this, we have our center for youth employment as part of the mayor's office which my wife chairs, the idea is to by 2020 reach a level of 100,000 high school students each year who are either in a summer job or an internship, or mentorship program. we want to start that aggressively the summer. we will give you a deadline of may 15. [applause] no time like the present.

this summer we are asking everyone, if you can create a summer job for a young person, if you can create an internship or mentorship, we want that now so we can plug-in young people and build out over the next two years. secondly, in terms of the pipeline, all of the efforts to prop young people for opportunity, we beseech you to work with us to ensure you are hiring the maximum number of employees who get out of those efforts. we are constantly adding training resources and we are aligning the training to the community needs. kim: thank you so much. mayor: thank you.

[applause] >> on the next "washington journal," we will talk about the exclusion this week of a commercially built unmanned rocket on its way to the space station. author and new america foundation fellow peter singer will discuss his novel. "washington journal of quote live every morning on c-span. a look at the most recent jobs numbers. u.s. employers added 223,000 jobs in june with the unemployment rate falling to

5.3%. the unemployment drop this time as many people out of work got discouraged and give up looking. the government does not count people as unemployed unless they are actively searching. president obama talked about the economy in wisconsin pushing a labor department proposal that would make more -- his comments to students at the work -- university of wisconsin and la crosse ran 45 minutes.

[applause] president obama: hello wisconsin! [applause] president obama: i'm thrilled to be back in wisconsin. [applause] president obama: thank you. thank you so much. i am fired up. [applause] president obama: it is good to be back in god's country. [applause] president obama: i appreciate being anyplace that names in eagle after stephen colbert. [laughter] president obama: happy early

fourth of july, everybody. [applause] president obama: i figured i'd come here to kick off a long weekend. i'm looking for a brat. [laughter] president obama: it is wonderful to see your outstanding senator here. [applause] president obama: she is doing outstanding work in the senate and over in the house, you have a congressman who never forgets his lacrosse roots. [applause] president obama: your mayor -- [applause]

president obama: the former governor. [applause] president obama: and i want to thank your chancellor. [applause] president obama: everybody who helped to organize this, i'm so appreciative. i've heard good things about riverfest. we do a pretty good cookout at the white house it we are having a barbecue for the troops on saturday. [applause] president obama: nobody does brats like wisconsin. [applause] president obama: no matter where you live, this is a special time of year to be an american. food, fireworks -- if you have chairs, feel free to sit.

i will talk for a while. if you don't have chairs, don't sit down, because you'll will fall. >> i love you! president obama: love you. [applause] president obama: in addition to the fireworks and the food, this is a chance to celebrate a bedrock principle so deep that generations of americans have been willing to risk everything to declare it. the idea that all of us are created equal. [applause] president obama: that all of us are endowed with certain

inalienable rights. life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. it is each generations obligation to secure those rights for everybody. [applause] president obama: that's something i spent a lot of time thinking about. it's been a remarkable few weeks in america. [applause] president obama: health care is something everybody can get. [applause] president obama: by the way, it's not just a matter of making sure one has access to it. it's also an organization that

gunderson here that are doing great work, to increase quality and to control cost could that was a great affirmation. and the freedom to marry who you love. [applause] president obama: that's now open to everybody. that's a good thing. [applause] president obama: that is a good thing. [applause] president obama: and then, out of the worst tragedies, this country is responding with the generosity and the self-examination that can lead us to someplace better. some folks think all of this progress comes quickly. the truth is, progress only comes with the persistence dedicated effort of citizens.

people who are in their own small ways working hard, committed to the promise that has set this country apart. it doesn't happen because of a president or a member of congress. happens because ordinary people work hard and do extraordinary things together. the promise that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can shape our own individual dreams, but we still come together as one american family to make sure the next generation has opportunity as well. that is especially true when it comes to our economy. that's what i've come to la crosse to talk about on this fourth of july weekend. america has always done better economically when we are all in it together. when everybody gets a fair shot. [applause] president obama: when everybody gets a fair shot, everybody is

doing their fair share come everybody's playing by the same set of rules. when we feel like we have a common stake in our success, from the ceo in the corner suite to the factories on the floor. that's how we build a great american middle class. when you drive through la crosse and see communities throughout wisconsin where kids are thriving and committees are thriving, it's because everybody has a shot. everybody is working hard and pitching in. that's when we are at our best. this morning, we learned that our businesses created another 223,000 jobs last month. [applause] president obama: the unemployment rate is now down to

5.3%. [applause] president obama: when i came into office, it was around 10%. we have seen 64 straight months of private-sector job growth, a new record. [applause] president obama: 12.8 million new jobs all told. that is good. but we have more work to do. we have to get folks wages and incomes to keep going up. we have to make sure folks feel like their hard work is getting them somewhere. [applause] president obama: let's face it, there are a lot of folks who still feel like the playing field is tilted in ways that make it hard for them to get ahead. the challenge is facing working men and women -- it did not

start with this recession. it's been going on for a while now. health care was closed off to too many people and cost too much. our schools were underfunded. we were not preparing our kids for the competition from the rest of the world. our teachers are underpaid. [applause] president obama: just saying. that is true. [applause] president obama: the hardest job there is, the most important job there is an we should honor it as such. other nations have been raising

-- racing ahead on clean energy. even as we work to put people back to work in the short run, we've been trying to work to change some of these long-term trends to make sure that we are laying the foundation for future success. we worked to rebuild our economy on a stronger foundation for growth. in slow and steady ways, that work is paying off. we believe we can ship fewer jobs overseas and we retold the american auto industry. we are on track to sell more cars and trucks this year than we have in over a decade. [applause] president obama: we invested in american manufacturing. after a decade of decline, thanks to the support of folks like tammy baldwin and ron kind, we've added manufacturing jobs, growing faster than the rest of the economy. [applause]

president obama: we believed we could prepare our kids for a more competitive world and today, our high school graduation rate has hit an all-time high. more americans finish college than ever before. [applause] president obama: we believed we could reduce our dependence on foreign oil and do a better job of protecting the planet. today, america is number one in the traditional fuels but also number one in wind. we generate more than 20 times as much solar electricity as we did in 2008. [applause] president obama: thanks to lower gas prices and us setting standards to double fuel efficiency on cars, the typical family now pace -- saves $700 at

the pump this year. [applause] president obama: we extended tax cuts for 98% of americans and 97% of small businesses. we ask the wealthiest americans, who had been doing better than everybody else, not just relatively, but absolutely, we ask them to pay a little bit more. to help bring down the deficit. [applause] president obama: we put in place the toughest and wall street reform in history, to protect main street from another crisis. health reform it means the uninsured rate is now the lowest on record. [applause] president obama: i have these big recollections when republicans were saying

obamacare would kill jobs, crush freedom and bring about death panels. turns out we are still celebrating the fourth of july. [applause] president obama: the only difference is another 16 million americans can celebrate it with health care. [applause] president obama: that's worth celebrating. [applause] president obama: the republic survived. [laughter] president obama: what business owners pay out in wages and salaries is now growing faster than what they spent on health care. that's the first time that's happened since the 1990's. not only are more people getting health care, but we've slowed the growth of health care costs, businesses have more money left

over to start giving raises to their workers. [applause] president obama: i just want to play back the tapes. we were told all these measures would destroy jobs and explode the deficit. remember that? remember when they promised to bring unemployment down to 6% by 2017? we have a record streak of private-sector job growth, we cut the deficit by two thirds, the stock market has doubled 401(k)s for millions of families. this is progress. step by step, america is moving forward. middle class economics works. [applause] it works. [applause]

president obama: but, we still have more work to do. as will rogers once said, even if you are on the right track, you will still get run over if you still sit there. you have to keep running. [laughter] president obama: the question we have to keep asking ourselves is, where do we go from here? we still have choices. will we drift toward an economy were only a few of us do very well and everybody else is still struggling to get by? that's not the right way to do it. or, will we keep working toward an economy where everybody works hard has a chance to succeed? over the next year and a half, you will hear a lot of pitches from a lot of people. they will deny that any progress has been made. you'll hear a lot of folks try to sell you on their vision of where our country should go. they are going to be making a whole bunch of stuff up. [laughter]

president obama: when i say a lot of stuff, i mean a lot of stuff. [laughter] [applause] president obama: we have some healthy competition in the democratic party. i lost count of how many republicans are running. [laughter] president obama: they will have enough for an actual "hunger games." [laughter] [applause] president obama: that is an interesting bunch. [laughter] president obama: i have come here today, i figure why should i let them have all the fun? it is a good thing that this time around, you are hearing republicans joining democrats,

talking about the middle class and working families. that is good. i welcome them acknowledging that's an important issue. tammy, ron, me, we were talking about it before it was cool. [laughter] [applause] president obama: before it was trending. [applause] president obama: we were talking about it before the polls told you we should be talking about it. they talk the talk, but they don't walk the walk. their menu doesn't have a lot of options for the middle class. the one thing the bus full of people share is they keep on coming up with the same old trickle-down you are on your own economics that helped bring about the crisis back in 2007 in the first place.

i know some of them well, they are good people, but their ideas are bad. [laughter] [applause] president obama: i want to emphasize that. we are one country, all on one team. we are all one american family. we all go for thanksgiving and uncle harry starts saying something and you say that makes no sense at all. you still love him. he is still a member of your family. right? [laughter] but you have to correct them. you don't want to put him in charge of stuff. [laughter] [applause] president obama: that's all i'm saying. [applause] president obama: by the way, if there is an uncle harry out here, i was not talking about

you. just using harry as an example. here are a few of their bad ideas. eliminating taxes that the wealthiest americans pay on their investments while making you pay taxes on every dime of your paycheck. that's a bad idea. [applause] president obama: that's a bad idea. [applause] president obama: keeping the minimum wage worth less than it was when ronald reagan took office before most of you were born, that's a bad idea. [applause] president obama: to be accurate, at least one of them actually thinks we should have no minimum wage at all. every single one of these candidates serving in congress has supported cutting taxes for folks at the top while flashing

-- slashing investments in education. i know that sounds familiar. [audience groans] [applause] president obama: some of those members in congress voted to do it. every single one of them is still obsessed with repealing the affordable care act, despite the fact that, by every measure, it's working. [applause] president obama: you could make an argument against obamacare before it passed. something new, it's untried, you don't know. but now, where it's doing exactly what it was supposed to do and actually costing less than we expected and people are satisfied with the coverage they we're getting, it seems a little mean to say that you don't want

to provide coverage for 16 million people. you have nothing to replace it with. that is a bad idea. [applause] president obama: i want to be clear that these are really their ideas. i'm not making it up. you can fact check. i'm not asking you to select from this list to see which one is actually true they are all true. there is nothing new about this. it's a philosophy that believes if we give special breaks to people at the top, prosperity trickles down to the rest of us. we've seen what happens when top-down economics meets the real world. we got proof right here in wisconsin. you had a statewide fair pay law that was repealed. your right to organize and bargain collectively was attacked. education funding was cut. your minimum wage has been stuck in place.

meanwhile, corporations and the most fortunate few have been on the receiving end of hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax cuts over the past four years. that's what has been going on here. what happens when we try middle-class economics? just across the river -- [applause] president obama: a pretty interesting experiment. in minnesota, they asked the top 2% to pay more, they invest in things that help everybody succeed like all-day kindergarten and financial aid for college students. [applause] president obama: they took action to raise the minimum wage and passed the equal pay law. they protected workers rights and expanded medicaid to cover more people. according to the republican theory, all of those steps would have been bad for the economy. minnesota's unemployment rate is lower than wisconsin.

minnesota's median income is around $9,000 higher. the la crosse tribune wrote that minnesota is winning this border battle. [applause] president obama: it is true that, as the tribune pointed out, wisconsin does have the packers. even bears fans can respect the packers. [applause] president obama: wisconsin is an extraordinary state filled with extraordinary people. if you end up adding policies that cut education, help folks at the top, are not expanding

opportunity, it's not going to work. we need better policies. top-down economics does not work. middle-class economics works. [applause] president obama: it works. [applause] president obama: it works. this is also a matter of values. being an american is not about taking as much as you can from your neighbor before they take as much as they can from you. we are not a bunch of individuals out here. we are a community, we are family. we are all in this together. we have to work hard. i was taking some photos before hand with ron and a couple folks who got dairy farms. no one works harder than farmers. they know about hard work.

[applause] president obama: farmers know about hard work. they wake up early, go to bed late, worrying all the time about making sure things run. they also understand about being neighbors. and helping each other out. that is america. we have to make sure that this economy works for everybody who is willing to work. everybody who is willing to do their fair share. i want to spend the rest of my time talking about what that might mean for the 21st century. we have to help working families feel more secure in this constant change. that is why health care matters. if you have ever been locked out because of a pre-existing condition, those days are over. [applause]

you can now change jobs, chase that new idea and start a business. you have affordable insurance if you need it. that will protect a lot of people in the new economy. the same applies with wages and benefits. instead of treating childcare as a side issue or women's issue we have to treat it as a national economic priority. what we have families with a mom and dad work, we are putting together ways for them to make sure it is a secure place. we have a lot of young people who are not thinking about that yet and that is good. we have to make sure that we have sick leave in place -- if

somebody at home gets sick, you are not thinking -- do i give up my paycheck or take care of my loved ones? everybody should have that basic benefit. we need to boost the minimum wage and give america a raise. that is very straightforward. [applause] we have to protect and not attack a worker's right to fair wages and better benefits. folks forget sometimes unions helped bring about the 40 hour work week. the idea of a weekend.

helped establish worker protections, worker safety, a stronger middle-class. as i said in milwaukee last fall, if i were looking for a good job to let me build security for my family, i would join a union. i want a union looking out for me. we are stronger together than by ourselves. [applause] i would want congress looking out for me too, but you cannot always get what you want. [laughter] when congress does not act on behalf of working people, what i try to do is partner with cities and states and mayors and governors and i acted on my own. over the past couple years, 17 states 30 cities and counties have taken action to raise wages. just this week, we took action

to protect workers right to overtime. [applause] this is an issue of basic fairness. if you work longer or harder, you should get paid for it. [applause] some companies take advantage of an exception in the rule to make their lower wage employees who should be paid hourly, they are making them work sometimes 70 hours a week without paying them an extra dime. in extreme cases, it is possible for workers to earn less than minimum wage. they essentially label somebody as management instead of a worker even if they make $25,000, work them a whole bunch of hours that is a way of

getting around minimum wage. it is not fair. we are updating the rules. we are ending that exception. we are making more workers eligible for the overtime that you have earned. one of the most important steps we can take to help grow middle-class wages. you will give as many as 5 million americans, as well as many in wisconsin, the overtime protection they deserve. [applause] it is the right thing to do. the right thing to do. [applause] in america, a hard day's work deserves a fair day's pay. with the economy constantly changing, we also have to give every american the skills they need to stay competitive. that is why we need to be

investing in job training and apprenticeships. that is why we should make community college free for responsible students like tammy baldwin is introducing an the united states senate, no middle-class amalie's should be priced out of the education they need. [applause] -- middle-class families should be priced out of the education they need. [applause] we need to keep churning out high paid jobs for the workforce to fill. which means investing in research and development. we should put more americans to work rebuilding our roads, railways bridges forts airports. [applause] at a moment where the economy is in a position of global strength because we are growing faster

than most other countries advanced countries, we have to rewrite the rules before countries like china do. the other day i signed a couple of bipartisan bills that will help our company sell more goods made in the united states to the rest of the world. i will keep pushing for more trade that is fair that creates a race not to the bottom, but to the top. when the playing field is level american workers always when. they always win. we know how to work. americans know how to work. [applause] that is what we need for this new economy. helping hard-working families make and's meet. -- ends meet. keep our businesses the most competitive. stay on the cutting edge of technology. invest in research. rebuild our roads.

that is how we will help more middle-class families succeed. we cannot stop the economy globally from changing, but we can make short we are at the forefront of adapting to them. this is hard. if it sounds hard, it's a cousin is hard. -- it is because it is hard. when we were working on health care i had advisers in a meeting, and we were going around and around about how to get this thing done and he raised his hand and said, the thing is, this is hard. and hard things are hard. i said, thank you for that astute observation. [laughter] when he left, he left me a plaque that i put on my desk that says, hard things are hard. just in case i forget. [laughter] battling back from recession has

been hard. fixing a broken health care system has been hard. making our economy more competitive for the future is hard. the last seven years -- the last seven days. [laughter] should remind us that there is nothing america cannot do. there is no challenge we cannot solve. inspiring americans to improve every single day. nothing we cannot do. [applause] nothing we cannot do. [applause] i have to admit. this is a quick aside -- i have been president for 6.5 years. i do not watch the news. no offense -- [laughter] you would think, every day the only thing going on our shark

attacks -- [laughter] horrible things. but every day i do get letters from americans of all walks of life and they are doing such amazing, inspiring things. sometimes simple things. working hard. running a farm. looking after families. teaching a child. every once in a while, they do something that has a broader impact. steve kittrell lives right here in la crosse. i will use him as an example. steve? he is right there. he will start blushing, but i will talk about him anyway. in 2002, he started a small business out of his house to help manage data for our companies and dealerships. by 2007, he employed a handful

of people. then he was hit by a double whammy. the recession came and the auto industry almost went belly up. we refused to walk away from people like steve. that shot in the arm, steve says, was enough to keep his company confidence. during the worst years of the recession, he invested in new people and new technology, decided to double down and was confident that his business model was right. as the auto industry came back, things began booming. since 2007, his revenue is up 1000%. [applause] his company has gone from 18 employees to more than 120. [applause]

this business that began in his son's old bedroom, is one of america's fastest-growing private countries based in historic downtown la crosse. [applause] now, i guarantee you that steve worked hard. he put everything he had into it. he took enormous risks. he is also somebody who recognizes that he didn't do it by himself. he is proud of what he has accomplished. he also talks about how fortunate he has been to be part of a community like across. -- like la crosse. to be part of an industry that is better and smarter. he guarantees paid sick days. he helps pay for the tuition of those folks when they go back to school. he created a soccer appreciation program. when the business does better, his workers do better also.

most importantly -- free lunch friday. who doesn't like free lunch friday? [applause] look, steve said, you cannot always do everything you would like but if you treat everything like family, that is good for us. if you treat everybody like family, that is good for us. what is true for steve's business is true for america -- if you treat everybody like family, that is good for us. not just me. not just you. not just democrats. not just republicans. not just old folks or young folks. not black folks or white folks. it is good for us. we will not solve every problem in one fell swoop, but if we make things better for americans

we will be something better for us and for our kids. if we are walking down that road together, we will get there faster. that is what we are fighting for , everybody. that is what we are fighting for, wisconsin. that is what tammy is fighting for and rob is fighting for. that is what we all fight for. happy fourth of july everybody. god bless. [applause] ♪

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♪ ♪ >> former virginia senator jim

webb announced he is running for president. he is joining the field of democrats challenging hillary clinton for the nomination. there are now 14 republicans and five democrats. tomorrow we will show all of their campaign announcements starting with texas senator ted cruz all the way through new jersey senator chris christie. that begins tomorrow morning right here on c-span. here are just a few of our featured programs for that three-day holiday weekend. on c-span, saturday night at 8:00, an interview with arthur sulzberger junior on the future of "the times." sunday night at 9:30, former vice president walter mondale and gary hart on their

groundbreaking efforts to reform the intelligence community. on book tv, history professor harold birkin on why the bill of rights was created and the debates it spurred. sunday, live at noon, join our three-hour conversation with peter schweitzer. he has written over 100 books including "clinton cash," and on american history tv on c-span3 here are -- hear a brooklyn college classroom lesson on the revolutionary war and how timing often influenced the outcome of major battles. and on sunday, a look back at the 1960 feature film, the circus world museum's efforts to restore them in time for a july

4 parade in milwaukee. get our complete schedule at c-span.org. republican presidential candidate and former texas governor rick perry was at the national press club today talking about his plan to create equal opportunities. he said republicans have been content to lose the black vote and it is time to reclaim the gop's heritage as one of freedom for african-americans. governor perry: it was 99 years ago at a courthouse in waco texas. there was a mentally disabled 17-year-old boy. his name was jesse washington. he was convicted of raping and murdering the wife of his employer.

he pled guilty and was sentenced to death. jessie and no ordinary death. because he was black. after the death sentence was issued, jesse was dragged out of the courthouse, into a crowd of hundreds and thanks to the advent of the new technology called the telephone, word spread rather quickly to what was about to happen. soon there were 15,000 people watching jesse washington be tortured, to be mutilated, to be tied to a tree. someone lit a fire under jesse and raised him up in the air.

jesse tried to climb up the chains to keep from being consumed by the fire. someone started cutting his fingers off so that he could not climb the chain. one man castrated him. another used of pole to prevent himself from pulling away from pulling away from the fire. there was a prominent local photographer who took pictures of jessie's charred remains and sold them as souvenirs on a postcard. even today, we texans struggle to talk about what happened to jesse washington. we don't want to believe that

our great state could ever have been the scene of such unimaginable for, -- horror, but it is an episode we cannot ignore. it is an episode that we have an obligation to transcend. we made a lot of progress since 1916. a half a century ago republicans and democrats came together to finally enshrine into law the principle that all of us regardless of race, color, national origin are created equal. shedrick willis was a slave.

this was before the civil war. he had been bought and sold on the courthouse steps of mclennan county, texas. the same courthouse where jesse washington would later be drug down and brought to death. when i was the governor of texas, i had the proud distinction of appointing willis great, grandson.

to be the first african-american justice on the texas supreme court. in 2004, i appointed wallace to be the supreme court's first chief justice. you see, there were tens of thousands of stories like wallace jefferson when it comes to race. america is a better and more tolerant and more welcoming place than it has ever been before. we are a country with hispanic ceos, with asian billionaires with a black president. so why is it today so many black families feel left behind? why is that quarter of

african-american live below the poverty line? even after the impact of federal programs like to dance and housing subsidies the supplemental poverty rate for african americans is nearly double the rate for other americans. democrats have long had the opportunity to govern the african-american communities. it is time for black families, to hold them accountable for the result. i'm here to tell you it is republicans, not democrats, who are truly offering black americans the hope for a better life for themselves and their children. i am proud to live in a country that has an african-american president. but president obama cannot be proud of the fact that prevalent

in black poverty has actually increased under his leadership. we cannot dismiss the historical legacy of slavery, nor its role in causing the problem of black poverty, and because slavery and segregation were sanctioned by government, there is several for government policy in addressing their lasting effects. but the specific policies advanced by the president and his allies amount to little more than throwing money at the problem and walking away. police and $450 billion per year on medicaid. and yet health outcomes for those on medicaid are no better than those who have no health insurance at all. instead of reforming medicaid, the president expanded it under obamacare. in the city were left-wing

solutions have been tried over and over again. places like detroit and chicago and baltimore, african-americans are moving out. they are moving to cities like houston and dallas. as americans, i think we are all united by certain aspirations. we want access to opportunity. we want good schools for kids. we want to live in safe neighborhoods. we want to live in cities and states were housing in college and every day expenses are affordable.

we want to all experience the american dream. from 2005-2007 more to text than all but one other state. that state being georgia. many were coming from blues dates like new york and illinois and california. many came from louisiana where they had lost their homes due to hurricane katrina. but each one of those new residents were welcomed to texas with open arms. they came to a state with a booming economy. we kept taxes low, regulation low and frivolous taxes to a low. we worked hard to educate every child. let me be clear, we have not eliminated black property in

texas. we have made meaningful progress. in new york, the supplemental poverty rate is 26%. in california, it is 30%. in washington, d.c., it is 33%. in texas, it is just 20%. here's how it happened. we curtailed frivolous lawsuits and unreasonable regulations. it is far cheaper to do business in dallas or houston as it is an baltimore or detroit. the lower cost gets passed down to consumers, especially low income consumers in the form of lower prices. there is a lot of talk in washington about inequality. income inequality. there is a lot less talk about the inequality that arises from the high cost of everyday life.

in blue state coastal cities you have the strict zoning laws, environmental regulations that have prevented buildings from expanding the housing supply. that may be great for the venture capitalist who wants to keep a nice view of the bay, but not so great for the single mother working two jobs in order to pay rent and still put food on the table for her kids. it is not just about how many dollars you learn. though there is still pretty substantial opportunity in texas. it is also about how far each dollar you do earn can take you. after you pay your taxes from your dollar -- your rent, your grocery bill.

too many parts of this country black students are trapped in failing schools where union bosses look out after themselves at the expense of the kids. this matters, because kids who graduate from high school typically make 50% more than those who don't. in texas, we made sure the kids came first. texas high school graduation rates are 27 in the nation in 2002. in 2013, they were the second-highest in america. our most recent graduation rate for african americans, number one in this country. 13 percentage points higher than that matters.

we also found a way to reduce crime while also keeping kids out of jail. in 2014, texas had the lowest crime rate since 1968. at the same time, we closed three prisons and reformed our sentencing laws. too many texans were going to prison for nonviolent drug offenses. once i got out of prison, many of them found they could not get jobs as they had a criminal record. i'm pretty sure no one gets confused texas is a soft on crime place. but i also believe like texans believed -- believes in consequences for criminal behavior. i also believe in second chances and human redemption, because that, too, is part of the

american story. americans who suffer from an addiction need help, they do not need moral condemnation. a trading alcohol and drug abuse as a disease we have given texans who have fixed variance to run in with the law the help that they need. three of the rotation that many take -- the rehabilitation that many seek. now many of the individuals are living in recovery. they are in a in saving the lives of others that are trapped in addiction. the human soul hearings to be free, free from the chains of addiction. free from the chains of poverty.

i am running for president because i want to make life better for all people. even those that do not vote republican. i know republicans have much to do to earn the trust of african-americans. republican goldwater ran against lyndon johnson, a champion for civil rights. they know very goldwater opposed the civil rights act of 1964. he felt parts of it were unconstitutional. great supporting segregation in the south, they cited state rights as a justification for keeping blacks from the voting booth and the dinner table. as you know, i am an ardent believer in the 10th amendment which was ratified in 1791 as part of the bill of rights. the 10th amendment says the powers not delegated to the united states by the constitution nor prohibited by the state reserve for the states

respectively for the individual. i know that state governments are more accountable to you than the federal government. but i'm also an ardent believer in the 14 amendment, which says that no state shall the any person in its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law. there has been and will continue to be an important and legitimate role for the federal government in enforcing civil rights. too often we republicans, me included, have emphasized our message on the 10th amendment, but not our message on the 14. an amendment that bears reminding that was one of the great contributions of the

republican party to american life, second only to the abolition of slavery. for too long, we republicans have an content to lose black vote. we found we did not needed to win. but when we gave up trying to win the support of african-americans, we lost our moral legitimacy as the party of lincoln. as the party of equal opportunity for all. it is time for us once again to reclaim our heritage as the only party in our country founded on the print for freedom for african-american. we know what democrats will propose 2016.

the same thing, the same thing the democrats have proposed for decades. more government spending on more government programs. there is a proper and important role for government assist keeping people -- assistance in keeping people on their feet but few presidents have done more to expand government assistance fund president obama. today was and nearly $1 trillion per year's on means tested anti-poverty program. yes, black poverty remains stagnant. here is what i have seen in my time in public office. the best welfare program in america is his job. [applause] there is a fundamental reason why democratic policies have failed to cure property, because the only true cure is a job and democratic policies have made it too hard for the poor to find jobs.

just this week the president announced new regulations for overtime pay that will make it costlier for companies to hire full-time employees. companies are going to respond to this i hiring fewer people, simply because money does not grow on trees. my first priority as president of this country will be to reignite the engine of economic growth by preforming the tax code, requiring federal agencies to adhere to strict regulatory budgets. a growing economy will give those at the bottom of the latter more opportunities to climb, just like we did in texas. many more americans went to leave welfare, rejoin the workforce, but because of taxes and regulations it often makes more economic sense to stay on welfare then to take the

full-time job. furthermore, federal programs and posts of one size it's all approach to fighting poverty. think about this. in california you may be substantially more in need for money to pay for the cost of housing. in massachusetts it may be the cost of vocational school you are more interested in. instead, we forced the poor to enroll in the separate programs for housing assistance and telegrams. if i am an american president i want to send congress a welfare reform bill that will take the money we are ready spend on non-health-care related antipoverty programs and split them into two parts. the first part will be expanded

and reformed income tax credit so that anyone with a job can live above the poverty level. the second part will consist of a block grant so that states can put into place the safety net for their population in a manner that best serves their citizens. as i mentioned earlier, one of the most important things we did in tech as well i was governor was to reform the drug-related sentencing law, so that non-violent offenders stay out of risen. as texans got smarter about policing and crime prevention, we came to appreciate the importance of keeping promising young will out of prison.

just imagine how hard it is to get a job if you have a criminal record. we are working to stop the intergenerational cycle of incarceration where grandchildren meet their grandparents behind prison bars. we can reform the federal sentencing law. just as we have done at the state level to ensure more young or have a real shot at life. we can do so while keeping our low income communities safe from crime as well. we all know we have to improve our schools. this is where president obama has substantial approval but caved in to the demands of the labor unions.

it is a fallacy to assume the vastly different student populations across this country can be adequately educated with a one size fits all mentality and policy. we need to empower state lawmakers, school boards parents to implement policies that address the specific needs of their students, and to keep those schools accountable and efficient. enterprise and charter school teachers like eve of moscow with fashion eva moskowitz in new york should be read -- should be to replicate their success all across the country without the interference of the federal government. we also have to attack the challenge we have with the exorbitant price of a college education today.

one of the biggest barriers today into entering the middle class whether you are black or otherwise is the high cost of the college degree. a four year degree at the tip of private university in this country cost $170,000. compare that to the median home price at $205,000, we are literally asking for students to mortgage their future in order to gain a college degree, and that has to end, it must end. in tech this i challenge ours a universities to offer a four year college degree for less than $10,000. many thought that would be impossible. you just could not drive tuition and fees that low.

today there are 13 texas universities that have reached that target. [applause] we are on the cusp of an online revolution in higher education government rolls back the rules that makes it almost impossible for students to gain accreditation for a bachelors degree achieved from online instruction. we have to reduce the cost of living for those who need every dollar to be stretched as far as it can go. federal regulations like obamacare employer mandate are driving up the cost of hiring new workers. that means companies are hiring fewer people. it also mean price of a sick

consumer goods are going up. the competitive enterprise institute estimated the federal regulations cost american businesses as much as one point -- $1.88 trillion per year. nearly $15,000 per household. when you add state regulations the problem gets even worse. i will suggest we will do five things. if we create jobs, incentivize work, keep nonviolent drug offenders out of prison, reform our schools and reduce the cost of having, we will have done more where african-americans from the last three democrat administrations combined. at the american cemetery in normandy above omaha beach there

are 9387 american soldiers very. in row after orderly row. if ever proof were needed that we fought for a cause and not a conquest, an american general once said, it could be found in these cemeteries. here was our only conquest, all we asked was enough soil in which to bury our dead. some of those gallant dead in the cemetery are sons of the united states president, but

most were ordinary americans. simply doing what their country had asked them to do. some of the grades to not even have names. they simply armor -- in place are marked a comrade in arms known to god. some of the most compelling graves in normandy are for african-americans who served in segregated regimens like lily collins of the fourth battalion. he made the ultimate sacrifice for america, despite the fact that america did not always treat him the way he deserved. brigadier general theodore roosevelt junior and sergeant willie colin grew up in very different circumstances.

ancestors had a coat of arms. his ancestors came here in chains. ted and willie joined themselves together with a commitment that every generation of americans have embraced. the promise of leaving america and the world a better place then they found it. at ensuring a better future for the children in grandchildren of those to come. i am a beneficiary of the sacrifices of sergeant colin and general roosevelt and so many others known only to god. i grew up in this place called paint creek. when i was young we had an outhouse. mama bade best on the front porch of the number two washed up.

we attended paint creek cool. some of the teachers literally lived on the campus. their profession was literally their lives and they inspired me. i can assure you none of them knew, had any idea they would be educating future and the captain of the united states air force and certainly not a future of the governor of texas. the endless possibilities for students. it says no dream too tall for a school so small. many people today don't feel their lives are filled with the endless possibilities anymore. americans entering adulthood today have good reason to fear it will be harder for them to earn a living, to buy a home, to

pay off their debt is the parents did. but if there is one thing we can learn from lily collins of millions like him, from the tragedy of jesse washington and the triumph of what -- walter jefferson, it is that america has overcome far greater obstacles than the one we face today. lily collins is the belief america could become a greater country than the one he left home to serve, and he was right. it is up to us to be worthy of the country really collins generation gave us. it is up to us to lead our country better off than we found it. america has never been perfect. but there is no country that has achieved more than the united states of america. with new leadership in durable performance, america can be stronger, more prosperous than it has ever been before. america can be an incredibly

exceptional place where nothing in life is guaranteed but where we all have the opportunity to build a better life for ourselves, for our children and our children's children. thank you, and god bless you. [applause] >> over the next few hours we will hear about the new products and services in the tech world from leaders of interest in on-demand delivery service. 220 3000 jobs were added in june with the unemployment rate calling 5.3%. the associated press writes that it dropped mainly because many people out of work got discouraged and gave up looking. the government is not count

people is unemployed unless they are searching. former virginia senator jim webb announced he is running for president, joining the field of democrats challenging hillary clinton for the nomination. there are now 14 republicans and five democrats in the race. tomorrow we will show all their campaign announcements, starting with ted cruz, the first to announce, all the way through chris christie. that begins tomorrow at 10:00 eastern time right here on c-span. next, innovators, venture capitalist, and members of the media gathered to look at the latest technology startups. this first part of the conferences two hours. conference, held in new york in >> i think to start off, you

want to say a fewq words. >> yes, i think it is awesome the way the tech community sticks together. the moment of silence for david is very appropriate. here is a ceo who is a role model for all of silicon valley. humble, a great leader, a great manager, but better than that, a great friend. most important link, the father of two great kids. like everyone here and in tech, i am sure we will keep cheryl and david and the kids in our thoughts and prayers. everyone should do something nice today in honor of the david goldberg. >> thank you. to kick off -- iyou wrote a post yesterday about why tech should be cynically engaged. do you want to share?

-- civically engaged. >> not just civically engaged, i think people should be engaged in all sorts of efforts to help shape the world that we live in. people in the tech industry often think that they do that with their work by making products, by making companies. but i think that increasingly, the technology and companies rebuild are impacting -- we build are impacting life in good ways and bad ways. i think it is important to understand those impacts and work with local governments work with philanthropy and other people who potentially can help mitigate those negative impacts. and there are negative impacts. >> what is so interesting -- i think about investments you were making. some of the committees were purely software products. they are dealing with very

obligated right areas like housing and transit. and jobs -- one of the things i see, for example when i talk to robotics ceos creating machines that make hamburgers or machines that can work with factories. i asked them about invocations for the job market. they give me this look like, " yeah, that's really hard." it's going to be hard for the education system and workforce. what do you think their responsibility is, when you have this much impact? >> i don't think it is just their responsibility. i think it is collectively the technology industry's responsibility to give back. whether that is in terms of civic and moment -- civic involvement to help make changes that can potentially be better. we will talk more about it, but i think things like education and education reform -- things

like housing, i think things like making sure that we have internet access for everybody -- things like that that can help create opportunity for everybody and a lifestyle that everybody can sustain are important issues. technology is making these things harder, therefore we should work to try-- >> what does that engagement look like, though? ron, you are a founder and then you should go find relevant people in the city government, or do you go through an organization like yours? >> i think you should do what suits your fancy, as long as you get engaged. 10 years ago, the tech community was a tiny percentage of any city's population. today, the technology community is a much larger percentage of the population of the community.

so tech, because of that, has got to get involved in the community. they are a huge piece of the community. in san francisco, we started sf city which is basically the tech chamber of commerce of san francisco. we had tax issues that we got resolved on the ballot. >> you moved from payroll to gross receipts. >> we got that behind us. and we said okay, let's do the next most important thing, which is civ engagement -- civic engagement. volunteerism throughout san francisco. any tech company in san francisco could adopt a school. the principal of the school would become ceo. that principle tells the tech workers, here's what i needed done in my school. not us saying, you should do this and this. the principal says, i want you

to monitor the kids when they leave school. i want you to help them read, whatever that is. >> when i talked to san francisco district teachers, the fact that the district cannot pay them a living wage allows them to be able to have housing in san francisco, that is not a thing that volatility that that volunteering necessarily helps. when you think about schools it has a well intended affect, but is it really a long-term solution? >> circle the schools allows tech workers to get involved in it volunteerism. there are many other volunteer programs that other tech companies have started as well. the housing and income inequality issue are separate. you set a goal of thousand, one

third of them -- 30,000 units one third of them for low income. >> when you look at tech industry leaders, what do you think their role should be in conversations? >> i think the first thing is that tech industry leaders have the ability to educate and inform civic leaders about important issues. a lot of these civic leaders don't see the things that we see coming. they are getting ahead of these issues in the way they should be. they don't care about them enough. if the tech industry can say here's what you can do in your schools, europe things you can do about ubiquitous broadband here are things you can do about trent rotation, -- transportation housing. at least local governments might start to make more enlightened investments and create more enlightened policies. the most important thing is

getting into the conversation and educating them. >> when you look at new york city's workforce and you think about how the scale of the tech industry changes, it's quite fast. every year there are different linkages you need to know. -- different languages you need to know. >> think of workforce and develop it as two big pieces. it is the students in the public school system and making sure you are teaching them skills that they need for this century versus last century. then there is the adult education piece, retraining, taking someone who unfortunately didn't get that education growing up. the second one is harder. i think it is critical. you can't just wave off an entire generation. these your thing is k-12. -- the easier thing is k-12.

new york city is doing a lot of interesting things there. the mayor is speaking today. i don't want to get in front of him on anything, so i won't be too specific. but because the tech industry is in tight dialogue with the mayor and his team, i think this administration can do a lot of good things in that regard. >> we want to talk to you about housing. it is an issue raised a lot for techcrunch. >> you know a lot more. >> i know. it's like every day i hear a crazy story. there's a chart about a planning agency shared with me, 2 veterans has gone from 600 to $46,000 in 10 years. -- $46,000 to -- 26,000. its''s just wild. what is the city -- i look at

10-20,000 people and i don't think it is enough. >> not enough. edley is-- ed lee is an unusual politician. he doesn't overcommit. 30,000 is a lot. coming from zero to san francisco was not addressing housing at all. politician. at least he has planted a stake in the ground. this year's goal is 5000 of the 30,000 units. and that will happen. he wants to meet the commitment. in addition to that however he is putting on a ballot measure on the november ballot for a $250 million housing bond that, with leverage, will hopefully create another couple of thousand units for low-to-middle

income. this is important for school teachers cops, firemen, but also entry-level tech workers. they are faced with this very same issue. a lot of people make it sound like tech is unsympathetic to this. no, this is a huge issue for tech. for every engineer retired there are twfour entry-level workers that have to have housing. yes, we have to increase the 30,000, but at least we have a stake in the ground. >> how do you reconcile that tension in the market with -- it seems really hard. >> is this the notion that it is replacing renters? >> i think there are a lot of underlying causes to the housing situation in california over many decades.

>> i disagree with that. even the planning department in san francisco has released a statement that says, that an b&b host would have to rent out 257 days a year in order to derive more income than adjust renting it out. -- than just renting it out. the notion that b&b is part of the problem is false. it is a conjured up argument that the opposition to b&b and people that don't understand the sharing economy have come up up. -- come up with. >> it bases it on the market rent, and that only applies to 10% of the housing stock in san francisco. there are large swaths of people who are rent-controlled painting way below what the median is.

there is a strong financial pressure for them to be much more lucrative. >> keep in mind b&b got started in 2008 in the city of new york. the founders moved here during the financial crisis. this is where it got its initial growth and brand name. people in new york were going to be displaced and addicted from their homes and apartments if they couldn't augment their income. in san francisco, the same thing has happened/. we have elderly people, who if they were not renting out a room in their home, would be evicted from their home over not be able to afford it. airbnb is contributing-- >> to certain cases what do you think about caps on the number of days that airbnb rooms should be rented out?

>> i think it is a false ceiling. >> you think it's a false cap. >> why should the government be involved in that? whenever the government gets involved in things, sopa a and others. >> you are telling us to get involved in the government. >> when i look at the regulatory processes in san francisco the city is operating -- they or operating off of data that the new york state government has subpoenaed. you don't have a lot of actual transparency into how large the short term rental market is in san francisco. what do you think about data sharing? >> once again, i think the government does not have a right to send in some of bureaucrat to examine the records of airbnb's hosts.

we talk about the nsa now we have a municipality citing, -- municipality saying, we want to inspect the records of your host. >> aggregate? >> it was aggregate and anonymized, maybe that was reasonable. but with this, they want every ounce of data about airbnb hosts. >> just for context, it looks like airbnb will be on the ballot in november. it will be very interesting. >> private companies should not be forced to hand over data about their users. that is an invasion of privacy. on the other hand, they did willingly hand over the data to a lot of these concerns about airbnb that are miss founded. companies can use their data and actually -- actively share it to

make clear to people that these fears they have about a service are unfounded. i would encourage companies to be proactive about sharing their data as much as possible. i understand the issues about revealing specific data about specific customers because then you've gotten in the way of a trust relationship between a company and customer, but the more that a company can disclose data on an anonymized aggregated basis, they can use that to make a specific case on doing some thing good or not. >> airbnb has been disclosing, just in the last week they disclosed a whole bunch of new anonymized data about their impact in the market. >> that's -- what you're touching on is a really interesting senstension. it's also playing out in los angeles. at these companies get very

large, they have insight into things that affect public systems. for example sharing data with the city of los angeles was about helping understand how to mitigate or manage traffic. people were using the app to go on all these side drugs and neighborhoods -- these side roads and into neighborhoods. is there a rule of thumb when you have a lot of data, you should collaborate with someone vs not? >> we would encourage our portfolio companies to be as public with their data as possible. however, wave can take an individual user and share that data with government. that user would feel their trust was violated. there is a limit to what

companies can do without violating the trust that they have with their users. the more that they can be public with their data on an anonymized basis, where they are not counting any specific person, i think that's very lovable. -- very valuable. >> one model you have been planning on is the 1% pledge model. do you want to talk about what that is? >> i think it's very exciting that the pledge 1% is teaming up with the robin hood foundation in new york to lunch the 1% pledge campaign in new york. what that involves is a ceo commits 1% of the company's equity and 1% volunteer time. and if act -- if applicable, 1%

of the company's product to polenta be. -- to philanthropy. this has been opted by google, yelp splunk, many other tech companies. we want to bring that whole campaign to the city of new york. that launches today. we can put our money where our mouth is. with volunteer ours and pledging 1% of equity. once you go public, that 1% is what, indicate both -- in the case of yelp, it was half a million. the company decides what charities they want to donate that money to. it becomes part of the culture of the company. i have two ideas. one which the three of us discussed backstage. >> the attorneys who service the start of founders, whether that is gunderson or wilson or wh oever, there are lots of them, if they put thosis 1% founder

stock to a foundation as an option that founders could select right at the beginning when they form their company you would see a lot more founders doing it. a lot of founders don't know how to do it, they are want to spend money or do paperwork. but this is something they can just add without any cost. that is a callout to the legal community. the second is that is a it is important that each city, tech community, create some kind of volunteerism system. the people who wants to volunteer know what the opportunities are to volunteer. a lot of problems people have with volunteering their 1% is that they don't know where they can use their skills to the highest advantage. for example going into schools and helping teach computer science is a pet project in mind.

there are 3-4 programs in new york that do that. we still have problems getting enough software engineers to do that each year. that is because there are good systems like linkedin or indeed.com to match people who have the skills with nonprofits and other calls based organizations. -- caused-based organizations. >> the other thing we are doing for the adopting pledge 1% is acting -- asking all venture capital firms, when your company asks about pledging 1% equity, we endorse the 1% pledge. >> why would they not to do that? >> we are just making sure. many firms have already said "yes yes yes." >> thank you guys. >> thank you. ♪ >> alright, they keep yelling me to not stay to close to the

stage. so you can all see me. our next guest -- she's not gay, but she does take a huge interest in women. she actually knows how to capture our attention, unlike i do. please welcome to the stage to when robert -- joanne bradford of pinterest. >> thank you for joining us joanne. this is kind of fun you made an announcement this morning that people can read about on techcrunch.com. but it don't do that yet -- what was the announcement? joann: we are building out the developer platform and moving to an open api. we are going to have-- if you would like to get on the wait list, go to pinterest.com

and get on the wait list. we think developers can build everything from education and disruption to vacation planning to meal planning to places he wants to go and travel. -- places you want to go and travel. we are happy or our -- for our users to access the app-based it vibrant. >> api has been open to developers before. >> 2 other apis that we announced last week -- we have a content api that is used for publishing content for people that are pinning. then we have an ads api used for biting and -- buying and pr omoting pins. the one we announced today is the most open, for app

development. >> your job is focused on the business side and on plans and partners. you joined pinterest backing a 2013. -- back in 2013. there was this idea at the time that you were brought on to accelerate and turn pinterest into a real business. was that a fair characterization of your role? >> yeah, i think it was a fair characterization. i think prior to joining, the team had 100% been focused on the consumer experience. we have something we call "pinners first," which is the idea that the pinner experience matters more than anything else. when i got there, we started to work on the promote a pin product, which is basically a pin that you can scale up with media. the other thing is that businesses are welcome on

pinterest. brands are a very big part about what pinterest does. we spent a lot of time educating partners on how to think about their pinterest presents. i can show you some of examples. -- pinterest prece presence. >> who hasn't seen pinterest out there? no hands that's a good thing. this is a pinterest board. we want to give you a fuse examples -- a few examples about using pinterest. once you start pinning, you get more options to pin. just think every time something is originally penned, it is pinned 11 more times. that is a lot of earned traffic. everyone should have mobile sdk integration to what they

have is a partner. britain-- this is pretty aggressive treatment with the pin up button, but it pays off for them. you can see how beautiful it looks. it is about putting that pin up button where people can easily do it from a photo, which is awesome. the other thing everybody should have is something called ridge pins when something gives you data when something is in stock or the price point. this is awesome because i was just sitting backstage talking to someone, and they said, i want to know if it is in stock and how much it is, and if the retailer puts in a pin, they can do it. that puts in a different functionality. this is conde nast traveler pin

integration and facebook, which they considered to be the top 2 sharing tools for them. just some simple things brands can do. finally, target has done an amazing job of building their boards and the presence. i want to give a shout out to people that do great work on pinterest. >> do you find that most of the brands, when you first talk to them, are ready? not that it looks incredibly collocated. -- incredibly collocated. --incredibly complicated. >> it starts off in two ways. they are somewhat passionate in the company. it touches a commerce solution, it touches content teams, social media teams, media spending teams. it is very easy to do. its lightweight. everything i just showed you is

free. you can do all of those things and not spend a dime with pinterest. if you would like to make it better and scale more, you can buy some promoted pins. we have a set of analytics that gives you information about what people are doing, what they are pinning your stuff to, other interest, etc. we spent a lot of time talking to people just how to take advantage of all of the things they can do on pinterest for fr ee. >> you talk about how that is all free -- when you came on, was it clear what was going to be paid, or was there some figuring out? >> we always try to figure at the business model and what is best for us in the long-term and the best thing for pinners in the long-term. all of those things -- like

price, is it in stock, can people make their pins better can brands do better things? we think of those things as helpful to pinners so usually those things are free. >> so you don't see any tension if brands can get utility out of pinterest without paying anything, does that make it difficult to monetize? is not a problem? >> no, i worked in a lot of large companies where there is a lot of tension between that. like i said, a brand is welcome. it's not like we are try to stuff a banner ad in the middle of a story. this is very mobile, very organic to the experience. you can promote a pin that is performing very well. that's tension doesn't exist. we are pretty careful about the quality of promoted pins.

we look very closely at their performance. for us it's all about that user experience in being a creator to it. >> earlier you were talking about, when you came on, pinterest was just focused on products and user growth. we have seen similar growth with facebook and twitter, what you think, oh my god we have so many eyeballs, and it turns into a more serious conversation about revenue. where is pinterest in that transformation right now? >> we have been selling promoted pins for about 2 years. we have learned a ton from that and will be refining those offerings as we go forward. we have a full solution for marketers, and we want them to think about us as having a full solution. that we think about partners and helping them plan and help

consumers think about the future and be more creative in their lives. that message really resonates. there is no marketer that doesn't want to be involved in consumer features. people on pinterest plan every day what they want to eat, what they are going to go on vacation, what their dreams and aspirations look like. someone backstage told me, i just wanted to tell you, i started a secret engagement ring board, don't tell anybody. i don't know if she has a fiance or is going to be engaged or anything, but i will not out her on stage. i think she is laughing back there. the good news is that there are a lot of women back there, so you won't be able to figure it out. [laughter] that is clearly an indication of your future. my daughters start going to summer camp. i don't a -- i built a board

for summperer camp. one is going to laser cutting camp. she saw it on a pinterest board. believe it or not, i saw the northern lights in iceland on piontnterest. i'm going there this summer because i thought that a school. i took my daughter on a back road trip. -- i thought that was cool. i was inspired by that and ended up there. pinterest has a much longer life the consumer than anything. when you search for something it is more of a debate. -- i want is now, i want an answer. interest is so much more about your future in putting creativity into it. maybe we can help people do more fun things in life, the way that

they want to do the. marketers really seem to love that. >> in terms of what marketers are doing on pinterest -- are they at the point when they are spending really significant amounts of advertising budget on pinterest, or is it still in an experimental phase? >> we have many partners this year that committed a significant upfront amount to us over the course of the year. it went from nothing last year to a significant amendment this year. --significant commitment this year. many told us they are the only partner they made in upfront commitment to, because they are happy with engagement on the platform and are happy with the performance. they are also getting an early look on our roadmap.

we have a very aggressive roadmap for the rest of the year that includes lost of fun things that i will not tell you about today. we are working on measurement new products offerings. we are pleased with their commitment. more importantly we are pleased with not just the dollar commitment, but they commitment to the partnership. we have seen people do marketing in-store. we have had nordstrom target, walmart, that have done in-store promotion and have shown a significant sales lift because of that. nobody else can really be a merchandising partner to people as an insights partner and eight promoted pin partner. the conversations we are having our amazing.

never have the discussions been at such a integrated level. >> so you are not going to tell me about the roadmap for the rest of the year. maybe you can just talk about -- are there areas of revenue that pinterest now has opportunities for in the future? >> we think about a whole bunch of things in making a pin more actionable. we think about targeting capability. there are 3 pillars of pinterest from the product perceptive. the first is that you can discover things. visual search is different than anything else. then saving, which is the organizing principle. 50 billion pins have been saved. if like 50 billion pages torn

from the magazine where your friends can see them. that is pretty powerful. we are working on organizing principles of how you save. and then do, can you actually go to do these things? >> you also mentioned mobile. can you give me a sense of where pinterest is in terms of mobile usage? >> we are about 75-80% mobile usage in the app of our total base. a couple years ago, we decided to double down on mobile before i got there. in weeks, mobile usage had surpassed desktop usage. we focus on that first and foremost. we ship everything that. -- everything for that. desktop is important, but those numbers. we see people pinning at all hours of the day.

anywhere you go, if i wear a pinterest t-shirt, people just stop you and profess their love for the product and passion. it's quite amazing. i've never been involved in something where people say, i just love it. i sort of call them on it. i say, see your board. -- let's see your board. and it's usually true, you can find out something amazing about them. i have a 16-year-old daughter and found out she had a real passion for working. -- woodworking. i thought she just wanted and easy a. but it turns out she really likes it. she would not do it on instrument or staff chat -- on instagram or snapchat because she thought it was too geeky. it is about their vulnerability and what they want to do in their futures. people have a real passion for it.

it is excited to be involving. >> people get excited when you walk around with a demand t-shirt? >> they loved e-how. even livestrong. that was a community that was super passionate about it. cracked was one of their titles. they were super passionate about cracked. but people were not crying in the streets with t-shirts. >> people crying in the streets when they see your pinterest t-shirt? >> people will say, oh my god, i just love pinterest. i have sent people t-shirts and have been very excited. >> do you get uncomfortable? [laughter] >> i do have to say, i lit erally was in a city in the

midwest. i finally got to the place where people were so passionate about it, where you're just like, ok ay, i get it. they are really excited about it. >> what are the next big growth opportunities for pinterest? is it going international, is it getting more men on the site? >> are you a pinner? >> i had to create one for presentation and every woman in the office went to me and said, did you just create a pinterest account? >> pinterest is about anything you are passionate about. the idea started with ben's bug collection. when people have a collection,

the only thing they want to do is look at others collections. that's the first thing you do. that you want to save and do more of it. that was the principal of it. if you have anything you are passionate about, whether it is a hobby, and idea, a place anything. >> do think people will think i'm cool if i have a comic book board? >> absolutely. pete from leslie ---- pete from nestle, he likes skiing. you can collect anything on the topic of comics and become an influencer on this topic if you'd like. >> do you have a lot of men on pinterest right now, or is the perception of women inaccurate? >> in the u.s. it