time. the courts said that back to us. they said thank you, we have a dress that issue. i feel -- addressed that issue. i feel confident on that. alex: what is your short-term plan? tom: not to lose. that is our short-term plan. alex: going back to the reform, there are a number of bills propose right now to change the way you operate. you say that is ok. tom: i said what? alex: it is their purview. tom: right. alex: are the bills currently going around, do you think those really conducive to the fcc working well? or will it harm the functioning of your agency? tom: what i said last thursday

was that i had serious concerns that these proposals, which are described as transparency, actually our delay. introduced delay. alex: during the rulemaking process? tom: delay in the fcc getting to the point where he can make decisions. the public interest is served by getting to decisions. we shouldnt be buildig roadblocks -- building roadblocks along the way. what is going on here is specific things that the fcc has to look at, both during my tenure and all the years to follow and the question is -- will there be a traditional kind

of process? which is open, transparent, and somewhat rapid -- that is my point. that is why i said somewhat. the alternative is to slow down even more. where talking about will that activity that are necessary to enforce the open internet rules be slowed down by the imposition of new processes that clog up the existing administrative process? alex: these would do that right away? tom: that is what i said to congress. i think the republicans were not too happy with me. alex: five hearings in eight working days? how fun was that? [laughter]

tom: um, i think you know the answer to that. alex: do you think they're called is anything? or are they you for doing your job -- chastising you for doing your job? tom: i respect the congress of the united states. i will show up. alex: you respect the congress? holy shit. [laughter] i want to get to a different topic. you are a venture capitalist for about 10 years. one of the questions where talking about amongst ourselves our valuations out of control? from your perspective, how overvalued do you think tech is right now? tom: you have a conclusion in

your question. alex: in this case, i am congress. tom: i hung up my spurs on that when it of the old of office. -- oath of office. all i know is what i read. alex: oh, good. are you going to go back? tom: i don't know. i truly don't. i am not exactly a spring chicken. i'm 69. i will be 71 when i leave this job. alex: would you be open to being the chairman for the next president? tom: she hasn't asked me. [applause] alex: that is popular. tom: fine.

alex: there enough. -- fair enough. you worked as a lobbyist for the cable and wireless industry. i'm curious, do your old friends called you up and ask if you lost her mind? tom: they used to call me up and asked the question back in the old days. i'm serious -- alex: i'm serious. you really turned it on its head. tom:you kn -- you know, when i was an advocate for the cable industry and the wireless industry there were a couple of important things. i was in cable 30 years ago. alex: i was negative five. tom: it was over a dozen years ago that i left.

it was a very different business. we were fighting to stay alive. that been said, i was an advocate for these new innovative services. i hope it was a good one. i was a lobbyist, and i hope that i was a good advocate for them. i have a different assignment today. my clients today is the american people. i want to be the best damn advocate i can possibly be for the american people. that is how a look at the issues. alex: we will bring you back next year then, and see if you're right. extra coming -- thanks for coming tom. [applause] jordan: how cool is that? direct from the source.

i took a newspaper class when i was a senior in high school. my first ever mentor, jamie, was here supporting me. kimmitt different round of applause -- can we give her a round of applause? [applause] thanks. made in china stickers on everything. these guys did not get that memo. we have people building stuff in downtown manhattan, and detroit. it will talk to us about how hardware is eating the world. please welcome them, along with our moderator. ♪ >> you really sink down into these chairs, don't you?

matt: thank you for joining me. i am clearly not the mayor, as you can tell by my height. we're talking about hardware today. we have three people here with us today. thank you so much. i will let you guys talk in a minute. when a look at your company, you are all radically different but a fundamentally similar stories. you are based in detroit made in detroit is the big thing. you make leather goods, watches, and he told me a couple weeks ago you're making motors in detroit. really tiny motors, i thought that was neat. and you have a family business making some of the worlds best headphones.

their handmade right here in brooklyn. that is really neat. you guys are in the business of selling things that are used to make things. let's start first with the question of why do people make things -- tentacle objects? -- tangible objects? >> everybody, like all humans, we love to create. whether it is art, writing we love to do things with our hands. so, whether making headphones, or watches, or software, i think it fulfills this deep need to be creative. matt: and your family has been doing this for how long? >> 62 years last month. matt: you was a brief history of your company. >> in the early 50's, my great

uncle started building cartridges. four turntables -- for turntables. he realized that he really liked doing it. we also own a fruit store at the time. he closed down the food store and said we were going to get into audio. from 1953 until 1990 we make cartridges. just cartridges. at the end of the 80's were doing 10,000 a week. one you're just changed to 10,000 -- 12,000 the year. there are more things that are practical than turntables. my dad him a doing day-to-day business since the 70's, he bought the company. within the top floor from 1990 until 1999. it was my mom, and dad, building all the orders.

it would be a party. matt: while i was building legos, you were building headphones. >> i was building legos my family were building headphones. matt: what makes you keep doing this? >> that is a good question. my great uncle was a master watchmaker. he started tinkering with cartridges, and fell in love with it. my dad trained with him. he also fell in love with it. he focus on building headphones. -- focused on building the headphones. no other parents were building these things. on career day i would be the only one coming with headphones around my neck. know what understood what was going on. i stop telling people. i just woke up and said i am so

dumb. i jumped into it, maybe because i was never forced. they still tell me you should go out to do something else. i said this was really what i wanted to do. matt: and your company, in detroit, how many do you employ? >> about 400 people total globally. 2/3 of the people are in detroit. matt: what is the reason people come to you to make the movements inside of watches? >> let me clarify. the made, and the make, and the terminology can be misleading. without the clear but how we present what we are doing. we are building movements, and watches, and bicycles in detroit. our leather goods are made in the united states. given the industry, and where we

stand in terms of making componentry for watches we have source components in from all over the world, as we do with bicycles. our movement components come from switzerland. we assemble everything in detroit. matt: start with a process. he made in detroit part. you build a watch factory recently. >> it can be argued that was the dumbest move ever. we did it anyway. it is been incredible journey. we were able to train local detroiters to make watches. to build watches in detroit and to build movements in detroit. it has been very exciting. the industry left upper shores about 50 years ago. today, it is alive and well in detroit, michigan, of all

places. matt: when you're looking for a place to house the company you did a nationwide search. was there practical reason in choosing detroit? or was it marketing? >> we are making motors. our motors power our watches. if you want to make a motor in this country, there is not a better place than the motor city. when you meet the people in that town, you realize there was something special there. the city, and the community, has really given us the good old bearhug. the people there want better. they want to move ever country down the road, and bring back manufacturing at a level of

quality that we like to represent. matt: you make your headphones in brooklyn. why do you do high-tech manufacturing in brooklyn? >> we are -- people come and expect to see the entrance to something bigger. at the end, i said that was it. there is nothing more to that. yeah, i think it is that my dad is really happy being in that building and being that close to the product. he still goes in 6.5 days a week. he is a big fan of the machines that don't have software, because he can fix it. we have one machine that works of software, and we have to call in a specialist. he gets frustrated. he still gets in there and fixes it.

it is our family. matt: a better question would be to the headphones be made elsewhere -- could the headphones be made elsewhere? >> we consider the sound, but the story would be different. matt: how many people do you employ? >> about 20. 17 are in brooklyn, three work remotely. matt: you sell your product based on story. what do you see as your competitive edge? >> i think, by far, the competitive edge is what you learn. the story behind it. we do have the best

electronics. we teach you and then you follow our tutorials, and then at the end if you like the tutorial you can click to add your cart. we get to focus on the quality of instruction, and quality of the goods. they have to work out of the box , it cannot be difficult. once people have the first and boxing experience, they say it is not so hard. they become addicted to it. >> who do you see as your key customer? >> a lot of them. the growing market is cosplay, a lot of people who do cosplay -- i don't know if you do comic-con

>> --, there are young people into fashion. we have made wearable electronics. >> you brought toys. >> yes. you can so this on to your costume -- sew this on to your costume. you can learn this on the weekend. >> how much do you contribute success to your company as you being out there and be and be visible face? >> i think it is important to be a face because for every company, the culture comes from above. even though we have 85 people or so, what i set up 10 years ago is what people see.

it is also what the employees see. i think it is important for the ceo to set the culture and disseminate it. >> let's talk about crowdfunding . it has exploded over the last two years. people tried to crawl fund -- crowdfunding. josh, would it be possible for a company to raise enough money from crowdfunding to build a watched mystically -- domestically? >> i guess it depends on the skill. >> how much do you think it would start -- the start of would cost -- up would cost?

josh: you could started in a bedroom -- start it in a bedroom. there are some makers here in the united states. there is a guy in pennsylvania making in an old bank. i don't know. i don't know what kind of money you would need. probably a little too a lot. >> jonathan, do you see a situation where you would turn to crowdfunding to start a product? jonathan: i don't think so. we've never taken any kind of funding. never some big kick starter success happens, my mom asked -- asks me why we can't do that.

>> crowdfunding has exploded but there has been failures. people prototype a lot. >> i see a lot. electronics, easily .5% -- 25%. >> what do you think people are doing wrong with it? >> a lot of it is right, i don't think it is a mistake if you do it, the people who use crowdfunding as one tool are the ones who can get the most out of it. i think of the successful kick starter's, it has been people who have something to manufacture that they already made. maybe new headphones have bluetooth.

they designed headphones, now they know how to design further. those succeed. the ones who struggle are those that look at the electronic market and say, how hard could that be to make a watch. they do not realize decades of experience required. i think crowdfunding is the first part. if you have experience from design with manufacturers you can do it properly. if you and your campaign think all you have to do is hire an engineer, you will have a bad time. >> what do you see as training points to build your product?

jonathan: most of our staff has been with us for overnight decade -- over a decade. i think you need to sharpen that skill. we put diamonds on hours, if it does not go on correctly, the entire piece has to be scrapped. >> you guys have the same, microscopic -- i have been to your factory. it is in detroit, you have a clean room where people assemble microscopic parts. how do you train people? josh: there is a visual test

dexterity, aptitude. the beautiful thing is, we have been able to train people to assemble watches. we look for a steady hand. we really look for people that have character about them. we look for people that are willing to learn some thing new. that is what we found in detroit, people who have this incredible will and desire to make things. they have the patience, i don't know people -- that people understand how difficult it is to sit and do the same thing a thousand times a day. if you have never been in a factory, it may be hard to understand. seeing someone to be same thing 1000 times a day helps to understand how challenging it is. for me i don't know if i could do it.

we have been fortunate in finding people who poured their heart and soul into each watch or bicycle, or leather good that leaves our factory. >> what are you working on now that you are excited about? josh: we are working on expanding our capabilities of leather manufacturing in detroit. today 50% are made in florida and the other 50% are made in detroit. we would like to expand our ability to make tech accessories in detroit. we need to train people to do that. >> will we see a watchband for the apple watch? josh: our stance is our watch is so smart he can tell you the

time just by looking at it. that's all i have to say about the apple watch. >> jonathan, what are you guys working in -- on? jonathan: we don't come out with new headphones every eight-12 months. >> how many have you made? jonathan: our first one came out in the 90's. this past june was the third-generation. we are look -- working on limited editions. our next limited edition headphone is being made from trees. that is the most brooklyn we will get. josh: the hipsters alike that -- will like that.

jonathan: only one person knows what hipster means. >> thank you so much for joining me. [applause] ♪ >> ok. i just got yelled at backstage because i didn't mention a giveaway. if you like go pro, everyone knows what that is, right? we have one hand. you all know what a go pro is. we have a new black one, it is literally everything you could need with a go pro. our winner will be selected in a way that i don't understand. put a selfie of yourself on instagram using the #pc disrupt and we will choose on the third

day. i am excited about this next panel because it is a taste of the future. we will talk about modern commerce and that will be changing in the future. what i am excited about is we are about to bring three incredibly successful and strong women and one token male. get ready for that. please welcome julie fredrickson , jennifer hyman, david tisch and the moderator colleen caitlin. [applause] >> have fun. colleen: willie have 20 minutes and each of you are fantastic. for the benefit of time i will do a >> -- quick rundown of your companies.

david is the cofounder of spring, a mobile marketplace for brands to sell directly to consumers on phones. david is a well-known investor. in the middle we have jennifer hyman, the cofounder of rent the runway. it is the online destination for designer apparel and accessories for rent. they also have a subsection business and all of card business -- ala carte business. and then we have the founder of a makeup company. colleen: i want to start with you. what is interesting in the past

couple of years, rent the runway was so established as a e-commerce company, you guys have some showrooms, what made you decide to do that? jennifer: i think building a brand is multifaceted. you need to think about all of the channels for which you will acquire customers. we found physical retail stores accomplished two things. one, it is one of the most effective ways to market because we have the strongest brand impact on the customers. especially when you're trying to serve a new customer behavior like renting clothes. the second thing is by having a retail store in a market like

chicago or d.c., i am able to use that store like a mini distro vision center -- distribution center and provide aid better experience to all of the women and that market. there is a chance he will not like what you perceive as a customer. now that i have a store in the gold coast of chicago, if you live in that area and let's say you receive an order that does not fit, we can offer more options. using the store as a operational hub is incredibly important to solve problems and also allows last-minute business. around 30% of fast fashion is

from people having a last-minute need and going into the store. now we can compete with fast fashion. calling: is that something you always -- colleen: is that something you always knew you wanted to do? jennifer: having sores is something that came up later. we have seen the success of our friends companies. we see how that ignites the brand. we are still in the e-commerce business. people love to see and feel inventory, try things on. the difference between us and a traditional retailer is we see a strategy of potentially long-term having 15-20 stores and major metros. we never see a strategy of 100

stores which is what a traditional retailer would do. colleen: do either of you think a brick and mortar shop is in your future? david: i think what is super important about offline is extending the brand and service. you need to provide customers with fantastic service, if that means the ability to exchange something because it does not fit, that is a vital piece of the pie. we are working with other brands , so our partners have stores, we are not looking to compete in the channels that they exist. we are trying to help the brands go to consumers. if you're a passionate brand evangelists you may download their app, if you are a casual shopper, how are they going to

reach you on mobile? that is where we fit in. for brands to sit out a communication and a sales channel where they are able to control the entire experience, that is what spring is. i think there are marketing opportunities to take your brand and put it into places where consumers can find it easier. jennifer: since 2009, 1 of the major changes in shopping is a huge portion of discovery of new products is now happening on instagram and centrist for women -- interest. those serve as virtual malls for every woman around the globe. the business of spring is smart and how they are using instagram as hl.

-- as hl -- as a channel. >> i think it is important to remember direct to consumer and what it is. that means any channel where i can have a direct conversation with you we will explore. whether or not we do a store is far in the future, all i care about is reaching consumers in the mediums that make sense. david: there is a margin involved. when you're a wholesale brand and you give up half of your margin to that retail partner versus a brand like h&m, they are selling direct to consumer which brings down prices.

it is helping online brands build websites. on mobile that channel is hard to develop. raise your hand if you have an individual brand apps on your homepage. no one raised their hand. seriously, there is no when waking up and downloading that brand apt to go shopping. they may love the content and community, they will not download each brand at -- app. >> the future of retail is the end of wholesale. the wholesale profit is bad for brands. i am thrilled to be able to go to rent the runway and knowing those expanses are going to be

the future. it makes more money for everyone. david: everyone benefits. both the brand and consumer benefit. technology is supposed to remove mittleman -- middle men. >> i would imagine it would be hard to turn down -- if so for a came to you, would you say no? >> i have. not from the four of, but -- not from sephora but from other. how many of you have finished an entire lipstick? none. when you go wholesale that means they are manufacturing an indoor miss sizes that no one finishes

-- enormous sizes that no one finishes. we're not planning to have that from a distribution perspective because it is not a customers. . ? ? david: there are two being -- two pieces, it is the service and experience that the brand delivers. when you look at a retail experience, the retailer takes ownership of that is you -- of that experience. i think a piece that is important is to give the brand the ability to sell products the way they want to.

>> there has been a point of view in the tech world that e-commerce is better. why would you use a physical store? from a customer point of view yes, it is easier to order your commodities and essentials on amazon, but there are still reasons why you would go to a physical location. it could be the discovery of something new or fun. because startups are a technology first company most of the people that work at rent the runway work in engineering or logistics. i can re-create what a retail store is to service the needs quicker than a department store could. i could understand customers

coming into my store for customer service personalized styling, and a unique experience. one of the things you will see from a retail stores in the is a huge part of our business is subscription. imagine a world where you could come into a retail store and take the necklace that julie is wearing and say, i'm tired of this. i want to steal two things out of a store. the store is effectively an extension of this dream closet. i can do that because i can build out that functionality and disrupt the industry before an established player. colleen: you have seen this firsthand, you pioneered this concept, i feel like what we have seen in recent years is

these incumbents starting to hustle and try and appear more savvy because of this threat. what has that experience been like from being the first here, and now it seems like more pressure from big companies. jennifer: i think it is better for customers and everyone upstairs game -- ups their game. i welcome anyone who wants to try and get in. david: i think when i started spring, in the tech world everyone who sells something is grouped as competitive.

anyone in e-commerce is overlapping. if you go out on the street and cross 34th street, there are hundreds of stores. we are not directly competitive with each other. there are nuances with each offering. i think in the tech world there is a broad assumption that it is everyone against amazon. if you're selling anything, your competitive with anyone else. >> i totally agree. jennifer: on average our customer is a nine years old -- 29 years old. which is younger. i think there has been a change where the incumbent five years ago may have thought i was competitive, now they think i am adding to the market.

to build on your point, not only are many of these businesses not competitive, but one thing that benefits us is the existence of netflix, birch box anything where you would change the model in which you consume that helps my business grow. a creepy mentality around access and rental, and basically new ways of getting what you want. david: anyone selling things on mobile and teaching customers buying something nice on your phone and showing up the next day is benefiting the business. i think there is a broad education that is happening in the market around new ways of buying things and new ways of getting those things delivered. colleen: have you seen a shift in how investors talk to you?

you must be competing with amazon, i imagine some of that comes from the investment community. has that shifted? >> of course. when you have real numbers backing up your investments. jennifer: they were investing on the success of what we had done rather than the dream. rentals is a higher gross margin business then if i were to just sell a product. i also think having more female founders and having many of those founders be extremely successful has also had a real benefits in our fundraising. hopefully we are a part of that i went to see as many female founders succeed because that list -- lifts all boats.

it helps everyone in new york to see successful businesses. we have to think of ourselves as a community. colleen: what has been your experience? julie: cosmetics will be as suit was last year. -- as food was last year. 70% of the industry is conglomerated into 10. when technology comes into space , that's great. from our perspective fundraising was a breeze. i anticipate that it will be competitive. shaving is killing it is a category online.

we realize there are two being trends, commodified or brand. branding has better margins. no one will compete racing to the bottom, but we will all do very well when we establish something that means something solves a problem, and makes lives easier. jennifer: the word fashion in the tech world is being -- has been viewed as a dirty word. the fashion industry is the second largest on planet earth. it is a $1.7 trillion global industry. the only thing larger is the transportation and automotive industry. it is one of the few things people have to do every day. you have to put on clothes. at least i hope so. let's also understand where the stereotypes are coming from.

five years ago when i went out to raise funding around fashion, people thought it was a mission -- niche thing for women. david: we do not touch in there -- inventory, we are working with brand partners. anyone from marc jacobs to ever lane, two estee lauder -- to estee lauder. we are building a model. these models are being built in countries that have not been successful. if you start with mod -- mobile and brands being able to

logistic leave bill themselves it should deliver a better. sprint -- experience. colleen: i want to thank you all for coming. [applause] ♪ >> token male, three brilliant females, leavitt -- love it. go new york. i am proud of new york, proud to be from here. i know that our next guests feel the same. the success or failure of this ecosystem with regards to tech startups is largely due to him. please welcome mayor build logic

of -- they are bill de blasio. [applause] maher: -- >> thank you so much. i want to thank jordan. she is one of my favorite kinds of human beings, she is a brooklynite. are there brooklynite secure -- here? thank you. it is a great honor to be here. everyone knows it is a -- an extraordinary opportunity to talk about not just what is happening today, but where are we going in the future and what it means for new york city. we are so energized by the growth of the tech community and this city. it is quintessential to the future of this city.

there is tremendous opportunity for further growth here. a could make us a stronger city economically but also make a better city. i am thrilled to talk to you about some of the ways i want to work together. i want to take a moment to acknowledge some folks who have done a lot of great work and are part of this growing community and deepening of the tech community pot involvement with the city -- community's involvement with the city. i would like to shout out to the academy. give them a round of applause. [applause] extraordinary effort being made to pilot efforts in our schools around software engineering. it is great to have young people from these schools here to connect with this industry and

deepen their opportunities. they of course will be the leaders of the tech industry in the future. i know you had the chairman of the sec here earlier, tom wheeler, who i think has been extraordinary things to protect the freedom of the internet. i give him a lot of credit for standing up for open access. i want to thank the members of my team. we are very proud of the team that we have put together at city hall and the focus on a tech community and what it means for the city. i want to thank my counsel. i want to thank our know -- new coo. i want to thank our digital director. they are all doing and extort and her a job linking this community to the broader work of the city. i will be quick but i must start

with bragging. sometimes it is tempting to feel competitive with other places that are well known for technology. maybe california would be an example. this year, new york city has surpassed california in startup funding requests. we are proud of that. [applause] the tech ecosystem here provide nearly 300,000 jobs, making it one of the biggest employers in our economy. it generates over 30 billion -- $30 billion in wages annually. it is having a transformative effect on other industries including food, fashion, and entertainment. the speed with which this has happened is breathtaking and

energizing. it is a positive example of good change happening to the city. there is a lot more where that came from. i see the strength of this community being the ability to open up opportunity for more new yorkers including those who have not had opportunities and quality of jobs that you provide. i think that is why this community has transcended not only the way we think, but also in creating a different economic paradigm that could open doors to so many more people. from the beginning we knew in our administration that we had to work with the tech community to make it a five borough community. i love what i am seeing in terms of growth. we knew we had to expand access to tech education in public

schools and universities. we knew if we wanted to achieve larger goals of combating income inequality the tech community would be a crucial ally. i have seen a willing and energized ally in the fight against income inequality. let me talk about three key areas, talent is first. our goal is to help this community by building and extort near a pipeline of talent for the ever-growing needs of the community. our hope and belief is if we do our work well and partner properly, over the next decade a majority of tech jobs will be filled by graduates of our public schools and universities. that will be transcended for the city -- transcendent for the city. we know these are quality jobs. that's what we want for our people. we want to make sure every kind of new yorker knows that this

community is for them. we have been investing in a public-private partnership to create a tech pipeline. we went to shape training programs that get young people the right skills, and get into the jobs. we are about to announce in our city budget thursday an additional investment especially for our community colleges. $29 million will be invested in the upcoming year and that will be increased in the next year. i have to tell you so much of that came from leaders of this community who said we love some of the tremendous things that are happening, we need them, but we also need a broader approach that gets more and more people, especially young people the skills that would give them

opportunities of all kinds. this is the perfect tool for realizing that vision quickly. we are focused on giving all new yorkers broadband access. we want to defeat the digital divide. we are investing for $70 million over the next 10 years in broadband infrastructure. it is a much greater investment than from other places. we believe it is necessary. one of the key realities is we know this city cannot be a place of inclusion, cannot be successful if so many of our fellow new yorkers do not have internet access. we are going to have the world largest, fastest, free municipal wi-fi network. in terms of the devices speed it will be the largest and fastest in the world.

over 10,000 hotspots connecting, potentially all 8.5 million of us and growing. we know this is something that has to happen to realize our vision. we just put out a plan in the last 10 days called, one new york. it is a plan for the future of the city. it looks at the future of economic growth, sustainability, and adds that we must approach income inequality. it has to be economically sustainable for the people. our plan hits both note that once. that is why broadband is so crucial. the third item is innovation. this community understands that innovation has to be a constant, it can never be feared. in government, we have not always have the best track

record when it comes to innovation, in fact a lot of us have been frustrated over some of the bureaucratic roadblocks. not just on a macro policy level, but how we do the day-to-day work. what we have found with the tech community is we're finding out quickly ways to do things better. we are listening to the community when they say here is how government can work better. we are trying to respond to that energetically. that is why we appointed the first ever cto for new york city . we understand that we could do something different and better and we want to be pushed by this community to be better and different and to innovate. the fact is there are so many examples already where members of the tech community have found

better ways of doing things. we have pulled together a broadband task force. this is a group of experts who are going to help us close the digital divide. we put out calls for innovation places where we believe the community could help specifically salt nagging problems the government has not resolved. we believe all of these efforts will help reshape the city. i will and where i began, i stronger city. a better city, we have to do it in a way that is more inclusive and warfare -- more fair than the new york city from yesterday. that is our vision and we see this community as one of the allies in the effort. thank you very much. [applause]

jordan: another round of applause. we are going to bring out can -- kim. kim: thank you for coming. former mayor bloomberg was a big proponent, after the financial crisis that strategy helps pay off in terms of the job market. what is your -- what kind of mark d want to leave on tech new york? mayor: i think he built a good foundation. obviously it was native to the work he had done in the private sector. he reoriented government policies towards the tech community. he gets credit for cornell.

we take a more populist approach. we are trying to build to all five boroughs. we want to see a diverse tech center. we want to see the opportunities available to every kind of new yorker. we have a muscular effort in terms of training, in terms of the efforts we want to undertake any college schools and universities. it all adds up to creating a bigger talent pool. we are proud of the fact that the only way we get there is a strong government role. the goal is to make this community a transcendent part of the efforts to fight income inequality. jordan -- kim: one of the differences between finance and tech tech has offices in bushwick, how

much do you think rezoning these boroughs affects things? maher: -- >> it is becoming a reality to spread to all five boroughs. i think there may be some specific areas where there would be smart rezoning, for example live-workspace. we are trying to build a superstructure around that in terms of creating a formal housing. -- affordable housing. i think we don't need to get a rezoning. kim: since google released diversely numbers -- diversity numbers a year ago, it is predominantly white, male, when

i talk to tech industry leaders it is a pipeline problem. to what extent do you think the gender and racial makeup of the tech industry has to do with culture is coming to the industry itself, versus what is coming out of the public schools? >> that moment was a wake-up call for all of us. i think part of the approach we have taken where you could argue some of the same historic issues have been raised in terms of pipeline, i am very much of the if you build it, they will come school, meaning if you have a message of inclusion if you have maximum opportunities for inclusion, you find more success with inclusion.

our entire tech team happens to be women, including those of color. our administration as a whole is 53% women in senior management roles. i think it is quite available if the mindset of what is valued changes. i would argue it is not about social responsibility, i think it is smart in terms of recognition of markets. it will be the biggest markets -- who will be the biggest markets? we are in a society that is increasingly people of color. i think the further integration of a sector is good for everyone. we will try to do all we can through our public schools and universities and training programs to improve that pipeline. i think one of the things people

in the tech community can do is meet us. lean in to hiring people that come out of our public schools. kim: you have done this pipeline , the $10 million effort, when i look at the past several months i have gotten to know a lot of different community groups in the san francisco area and also organizations here, they are often run by dedicated wonderful community leaders. $10 million seems small in the face of what tech companies want to hire. >> i think it is one of a number of pieces we are putting into play.

of the investment, $29 million this year, more after that, it continues. we continue investing to ensure that the university system is a constant generator of talent. i would say if you think about all of our private universities and training programs, not just the ones we sponsor, when you think about internship programs we want to emphasize that we want people participating. i think it build a healthy and sizable pipeline. in the spirit of this community we want to constantly see of it is working. this is one of the greatest opportunities to get our people good, quality jobs. if we think there is more investment necessary, that is something we are open to. kim: what is the best way to

give feedback. >> the pipeline is an example. the groups working with us will give us that feedback to what kind of training is needed. we are thrilled that our team is in constant dialogue of the folks doing hiring. we went to constantly adjust the training approach to the specific needs of the community. that is something that was not the way government handle things in the past. i am a firm believer to look at the jobs of today and tomorrow -- we do a half billion dollars in training. we want to do that now. kim: i grew up in the bay area i think about when i started i remember when i started in tech

journalism it was about real-time search, every year it has changed so much. one year it is drones and bitcoin, the next it is the on demand economy. i have a hard time understanding how institutions can be as flexible as some of the vocational schools. have you think about your allocation of time and resources to some of these boot camp programs versus your system. mayor: i don't pretend we will always be at the exact cutting edge. i think if you look at it in terms of the core skills people need, and the connection to the tech community, that is not necessarily -- does not necessarily imply that we are doing everything perfectly. it does suggest if you churn out

generation upon generation of young people with a sense that they belong and the exposure, i think that will achieve a lot of the outcome. i think within the community itself, what i call the fine-tuning can occur. kim: one of the other central pieces -- both of our cities have crazy housing prices. can you tell me about 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]

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>> it was 99 years ago at a courthouse in waco, texas there was a mentally disabled 17-year-old boy convicted of raping and murdering the wife of his employer. he pled guilty and was sentenced to death. jesse died no ordinary death. because he was black. after, he was dragged out in

front of hundreds. due to the adhaven't of the telephone, word spread quickly about what was going to happen. soon there are 1500 people watching jesse washington be tortured, to be mute lated, 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 that fire. jesse died no ordinary death. because he was black. someone started cutting his fingers off. so that he could not climb that chain. one man cast rated him. another used a pole to prevent him from pulling himself away from the fire.

there was a prominent local photograph who took pictures of jesse's charred remains and sold them. s.u.v. mirs on a post card. 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 horror. but it is an episode in our history that we cannot ignore. it is an episode that we have an obligation to transcend. and 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, of national origin, are created equal. shedrik willis was a slave. this was before the civil war. he had been the principle that all of us, regardless of race, bought and sold on the courthouse steps of mcclenen county, texas, the same courthouse where jesse washington would later be drugged down and brought to

death. when i was the governor of texas, i had the proud distinction of appointing willis shedrik willis' great great great grandson to be the first african-american justice on the texas supreme court in 2004 i where appointed wallace to be the supreme court's first chief justice. you see, there are tens of thousands of stories like wallace jefferson's. when it comes to race, america is a better and more tolerant and more welcoming place than it has ever been before. we're a country with hispanic

ceo's, with asian billionaires. with a black president. so why is it today so many black families feel left behind? why is it that a quarter of african americans live below the poverty line? even after the impact of federal programs like food stamps 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 results. i am here to tell you that it

is republicans, not democrats who are truly offering black americans the hope for a better life for themselves and their children. i'm proud to live in a country that has an african american president. but president obama cannot be proud of the fact the prevalence of black poverty has actually increased under hids 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 a role for government policy in addressing their lasting effects. but the specific policy advanced by the president and his allies on the left amount to little more than throwing money at the problem and

walking away. we spend $450 billion a 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 cities where left-wing solutions have been tried over and over again, places like detroit and chicago and baltimore, african americans are moving out and they're moving to cities like houston, and dallas. as americans i think we are all responsible.

if we want to live in cities and states where housing and college and everyday expenses are affordable we want to all experience the american dream. from 2005 to 2007, more african americans moved to texas than all but one other state, that state being georgia. now, many were coming from blue states 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, regulations low. we kept frivolous law suits to a minimum. we worked hard to educate every child. and let me be clear. we have not eliminated black poverty in texas. but we have made meaningful progress. in new york the supplemental poverty rate for blacks is 26%. in california, it is 30%. in washington d.c. it is 33%. in texas it is just 20%. and here's how it happened. we curtailed frivolous lawsuits and unreasonable regulations. it's far cheaper to do business in dallas or houston than it is

in baltimore or in detroit. and those lower costs, they get passed down to consumers, especially low income consumers in the form of lower prices. there's a lot of talk in washington about inequality, income inequality. but there's a lot less talk about the inequality that arises from the high cost of everyday life. in blue state coastal cities you have these strict zoning laws, environmental regulations, that have prevented buildings from expanding the housing supply. and that may be great for the venture capitalist who wants to keep a nice view of san francisco bay, but it's 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 earn -- though there's still pretty substantial opportunities for that in the state of texas -- it's also about how far each dollar that you do earn can take you, after you paid your taxes, you paid your rent, your tuition, your grocery bills. in too many parts of this country blacks students are trapped in failing schools where union bosses look out after themselves at the expense of the kids. and this matters. because kids who graduate from high school typically make 50% more than those who don't. in texas we made sure that the kids came first. texas high school graduation rate, 27th 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 the national average. [applause] that matters. we also found a way to reduce crime while we're 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. and once they got out of prison many of them found they couldn't get a job because they had a courage record. i'm pretty sure nobody -- criminal record. i'm sure nobody in here thinks texas is a soft on crime place. but i also believe like texans believe in consequences for criminal behavior. but 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 don't need moral condemnation. by treating alcohol and drug abuse as a disease we've given texans who have experienced a run-in with the law o the help that they need, the rehabilitation that many seek. and now, many of those individuals are living in

recovery. they're engaged in saving the lives of other whose are trapped in addiction. you see the human soul yerns to be free. free from the chains of addiction, free from the chains of poverty. i'm running for the president because i want to make life better for all people, even those that don't vote republican. i know republicans have much to do to earn the trust of african americans. blacks know that republican barry goldwater in 1964 ran against lyndon johnson who was a champion for civil rights. they know that barry goldwater opposed the civil rights act of 1964. he felt part of it was unconstitutional. states supporting segregation

in the south, they cited states rights as a justification from keeping blacks from the voting booth and the dinner table. as you know, i am an ardent believer in the tenth amendment, which was ratified in 1791 as part of our bill of rights. the tenth amendment says that the power is not delegated to the united states by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states or reserved for the states respectively. or the individual. i know that states government are more accountable to you than the federal government. but i'm also an ardent believer in the 14th amendment, which says that no state shall deny any person in its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. there has been and there will

continue to be an important and a legitimate role for the federal government in enforcing civil rights. too often we republicans me included, have emphasized our message on the tenth amendment but not our message on the 14th. an amendment, it 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 been content to lose the black vote. we found we didn't need it 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 principle of freedom for african americans. we know what democrats will propose in 2016. the same thing -- the same thing that is democrats have proposed for decades. more government spending, on more government programs. and there is a proper and an important role for government assistance in keeping people on their feet. but few presidents have done more to expand government assistance than president obama. today, we spend nearly $1 trillion a year on means-tested anti-poverty prasms, and yet

black poverty remains stagnant. here's what i have seen in my time in public aufert. the best welfare programs in america is a job. [applause] there's a fundamental reason why democratic policies have failed to cure poverty. it is because the only true pure -- cure for poverty is a job. and democratic policies have made it too hard for the poor to find a job. just this week, the president announced new regulations for overtime pay that will make it costlyor for companies to hire full-time employees. companies are going to respond to this by hiring fewer people. simply because money doesn't grow on trees. so my first priority as president of this country will be to reignite the engine of

economic growth by reforming the tax code, requiring federal agencies to adhere to strict regulatory budgets, a growing economy will give those at the bottom of the ladder more opportunities to climb, just like we did in texas. many poor americans want to leave welfare. they want to rejoin the workforce. but because of taxes and regulations it often makes more economic sense to stay on welfare than to take that full-time job. further more federal programs impose a one-size-fits-all approach to fighting poverty. think about federal this. in california, you may be substantially more in need for money to pay for the cost of housing because of the high cost of housing in that state.

in massachusetts it may be the cost of vocational school that you are more interested in. instead, we have forced the poor to enroll in these separate programs for housing assistance and for pell grants. if i am elected president, i am going to send congress a welfare reform bill that will take the money that we already spend on nonhealth-care-related anti-poverty programs, and split them into two parts. the first part will be an expanded and reformed version of the earned 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 care and put into place that safety net for their population in a manner that best serves their citizens. as i mentioned earlier one of

the most important things that we did in texas while i was governor was to reform our drug related sentencing laws so that nonviolent offenders could stay out of prison. as texans got smarter about policing and crime prevention, we came to appreciate the importance of keeping promising young people out of prison. just imagine how hard it is to get a job if you've got a criminal record. we're working to stop the inner generational cycle of incarceration, where grandchildren meet their grandparents behind prison bars. we can reform the federal sentencing laws just as we've

done at the state levels to ensure more young people have a real shot at life. and we can do so while keeping our low income communities safe from crime as well. we all know -- we all know we have to improve our schools. this is an area where president obama had some substantial potential. but he caved into the demands of the labor unions. it is a falsy to assume that the vastly different student populations across this country can be adequately educated with a wun size fits all mentality and policy. we need to empower state lawmakers, school boords, parents, to implement policies that address the specific needs of their students and to keep

the schools accountable and efficient. enterprising charter schools teachers like eva up in new york, they should be able to replicate their astounding success all across this country without the interference of the federal government. and we also have to attack this challenge that we have with the exorbitant price of a college education today. one of the biggest barriers today into entering into the middle class whether you're black or otherwise, is the high cost of a college degree. a four-year degree at a typical private university in this country costs $170,000. now, compare that to the median home price in the n this

country, $205,000. we are literally asking poor students to mortgage their future in order to gain a college degree. and that has to end. it must end. in texas, i challenged our state universities to offer a four-year college degree for less than $10,000. now, many thought that would be impossible. you just couldn't drive tuition and fees that low. but today, there are 13 texas universities that have reached that target. [applause] we're on the cusp of an online revolution in higher education. but only if the federal government rolls back the rules that make it impossible for

students to gain accreditation for a bachelor's degree achieved from online instruction. further mor college tuition, 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's employer mandates, they are driving up the cost of hiring new workers. that means that companies are hiring fewer people. it also means that the price of basic consumer goods are going up. earlier this year, the competitive enterprise institute estimate that had the federal regulations cost american businesses as much as 1.88 trillion dollars per year. that's nearly $15,000 per household in this country when you add state regulations to it the problem just gets even

worse. i would suggest to you that 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 living, we will have done more for african americans than the last three democrat administrations combined. at the american crementy in normandy, above omaha beach there are 9,387 american soldiers buried. 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 galant dead. some of those galant dead in that cemetery were sons of a united states president. but most were ordinary americans. simply doing what their country had asked them to do. some of the graves don't even have names. they simply are marked here rests an honored glory a comrade in arms known but to god. some of the most compelling graves in normandy are for

african americans who served in segregated regiments, like willie collins of the 490th. willie collins made the ultimate sacrifice for america. despite the fact that america didn't always treat him the way that he deserved. briggeddir general theodore roosevelt, jr., and sergeants willie collins grew up in very different circumstances. see, ted's ancestors has had a coat oth of arms. willie's ancestors came here in chains. but ted and willie they joined themselves together. with this commitment that every generation of americans have embraced. the promise of leaving america.

and the world. a better place than they found it. of ensuring a better future for the children and grandchildren of those to come. i'm a beneficiary of the sacrifices of sergeant collins 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 bathed us on the front porch in a number two wash tub. we attended paint creek school. some of our teachers literally lived on that campus. their profession was literally their lives. and they inspired me. and i can assure you that none of them knew, had any idea that they would be educating a future captain in the united states air force and certainly

not a future governor of texas. they've got a moto at the paint creek school that summarizes the endless possibilities for students. it says no dream too tall for a school so small. many people today don't feel that their lives are filled with that endless possibility any more. 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 debts as their parents did. but if there's one thing that we can learn from willie collins and the millions like him, from the tragedy of jesse washington and the triumph of wallace jefferson, it's that america has overcome far greater obstacles than the ones that we face today. willie collins died in the belief that america could become a better country than the one that he left home to

serve, and he was right. it's up to us to be worthy of the country that willie collins' generation gave us. it's up to us to leave our country better off than we found it. america has never been perfect. no country composed of imperfect beings ever could be. but there is no country that has achieved more than the united states of america. and with new leadership and endureable reforms, america can be stronger, more prosperous than it's ever been before. america can be this incredibly exceptional place, where nothing in life is guaranteed but where we all have equal opportunity to build a better life for ourselves, for our children and for our children's children. thank you. god bless you. [applause]

>> thank you, governor perry. the congressional budget office has foirkt the medicare medicaid, and social security spending to grow precipitously in coming years. these are programs that have had a role in helping the people that you describe in your speech as well as all americans who have been in poverty. so if you were to become president, how would you tackle the growth in that entitlement spending while at the same time protecting those who are in poverty that you want to help? >> john, i think i addressed that in my remarks to some degree, but i will expand a bit. i do think that one size fits all is not the solution because we've been trying that for a long time, and that hasn't been working. so i think, as you will go back and recall in my remarks, i talked about splitting that pot of money into two things.

one of them to be to create this i will expand a bit. i do think that one size fits all is not the solution because we've been trying that for a long earned income tax credit where we actually give people incentives to work and obviously the other side of it is to make sure that we have as many novel ideas and approaches if you will. louis brand dice said that not known as a hard core supreme court justice. but states were supposed to experiment, put novel ideas in place, that was where you would find the truly innovative concepts. he said from time to time a state will make a mistake, and they will pay a price for that. when i read those remarks, i think about colorado today. but i will defend colorado's right to be wrong. but the point is that i think that is where we will find the efficiencies.

that's where we'll find the innovation in this country. not in washington, d.c. but back in the states in putting these programs into place and letting those states in particular with these programs like medicaid to come up with various and different ideas about how to deliver to their citizens. >> how about the overall growth in the size of those programs? do they need to be means tested so people like myself who are a little bit better off maybe retire later get less medicare? how do you handle the growth in the size? >> i don't have a problem at all in means testing. i'm pretty sure that donald trump can do without medicare. in the seriousness of it, that is a means testing does make sense to me. i think that people who have

enjoyed the extraordinary benefits of this country and have become wealthy in that, the idea that they have to be in line for all of those programs is not -- it doesn't make sense to me. with all the other entitlement programs during the course of this campaign i will lay out a very broad approach to this and lay out a lot of different ideas about how to address social security, how to address medicare medicaid, all of those government programs. today is not that day. >> on the issue of tax reform, can you give us any more detail on how you would reform the tax code, and how you would use it to reduce income inequality? >> again i'm going to lay out a very lengthy plan over the course of the campaign. but let me say to tease you a little bit we have the highest corporate tax rate in the western world. lowering that corporate tax rate, two things attached together make a lot of sense.

a north american energy policy, canada united states, and mexico have more known reserves than saudi arabia and russia. using those resources partly by lowering the regulatory burden that's there, with a commitment from the white house that we're going to use north american energy, putting up the exl pipeline is an obvious way to do that. mexico has changed their constitution to be able to allow for the private sector development of their energy resource ngs their couptry. i think there is extraordinary potential in mexico. obviously our domestic and our shale gas along with the canadians. you couple that energy development -- because what that will do is drive down the cost of electricity. couple that with corporate tax policy coming down that will send the incentive to the manufacturers who have left this country to go offshore to come back to this country and

we can have a manufacturing renaissance in this country like we have never seen before. [applause] >> governor, what would be your approach for getic tax reform done? it's stalled on capitol hill so many special interests are working the issue so hard. how would you come to washington and actually enact tax reform? >> well, this would not be my first rodeo, a term that we would use down in texas. and the 2030 years that i've been -- 30 years that i've been engaged in public service, whether a state representative, 14 years as governor of the state of texas, we worked with democrats and republicans and we sold some pretty big programs in the state of texas that none of those programs were done with just republican support. not a one of them. not the tort reform, the most sweeping tort reform in the nation. and i will suggest to you that's not an easy sell

anywhere, to pass reforms to our legal system that really made a big impact. and let me tell you what the result of that tort reform of the state of texas was in 2003. a decade later we had 345,000 more physicians licensed to practice medicine legal system that really in the state of texas. it expanded by this extraordinary amount the number of physicians that were licensed to practice medicine. that meant that access to health care exploded in that state. that was passed not just with republican votes. and i -- as i shared in my remarks, there are a lot of thing that is we agree on together, whether living in safe communities having a good job, having schools that are improve aing, giving children the opportunities to succeed in life. find those things we agree on, bring democrats and republicans together, having a job out there for your constituents whether democrat or republican

is a good thing. and we can lower the corporate tax rate and that being the result is having jobs for our young people in this country, then i think democrats and republican ks come together. the hell with k street. this is about america's future. and that's who i think we reach out to and talk to. and when the american people stand and say this is where we want to go, whether regardless of democrat or republican, you're an american. and we're going to get this done. [applause] >> as you reach out to african american voters, as you reach out to african american voters, what about the confederate flag that's been in the news recently? should all the flags come down or not? and then another questioner asked, how can the republican party appeal to african americans when it favors state laws that limit voting rights? so what about the voting right laws and the confederate flag issue? >> let me address them as you

asked them. we have come out clearly and said that the issue of the confederate flag in charleston is up to the people of south carolina. but we addressed this issue in texas while i was the governor in a number of ways. one was with a plaque that had that battle flag on it, it was removed from the capitol over to another place in more of a museum setting. and we dealt with the issue of the license plates and we forbid those to be sold. so in my state we dealt with it i think straight away. i think it makes sense to come up with the ways to bring this country together, not to divide us. and all too often i have seen this president divide us by race, divide us by gender divide us by economic means. and we need a president who will bring this country together, with a record of bringing this country together.

bringing in my case our state together on a host of issues. i do not think there is a more powerful way to say to an african-american, that i gave your child to opportunity that lets your child graduate from high school. what a powerful message when you live in a state where the number one graduation rate is. by the way we let you keep more of your money, too. that is a powerful, powerful message. this issue of whoever's concept that is that we are trying to keep people from the boat, that is a false assumption. that is not what this is about. this is protection of a very important right we have in this country, the right to vote and to keep that from being fraudulently used. in the state of texas, we gave multiple ways i to get a photo i.d.