and as ray zuckerman put it, the bank's support gives us the credibility that we need to pursue foreigners. and, he added, extending credit makes us more attractive to our customers and allows us to sell to larger companies. small business success stories such as ray's helped build the world's largest economy and the strongest middle class right here in america. and we know that when small business owners like ray get the credit financing they need, it doesn't just help the company's profitability -- which it does -- it helps create jobs for american workers. it helps support other businesses in their community, and it helps our country recover from the worst economic crisis in our lifetimes. now, there's no question that we still have a long way to go. but each and every month for the past 25 months here in the united states, we have added private sector jobs for a total of more than four million jobs created. after the worst recession since the great depression, we are moving strongly and boldly in the right direction. and that's exactly why we can't afford to go back to the policies