(Archived Content)
FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
JS-1756
Thank you so much for having me here today. It’s great to see this thriving business and meet some of your outstanding employees. There’s no greater friend to a community than a business that is creating jobs, and Oregon IronWorks is a great friend to the state ofOregon.
Seeing the level of production and innovation here today is a good example of the strength of our workforce, our entrepreneurial spirit and our growing economy.
The momentum of our free-market economy is really outstanding right now. Our economic growth rate is the fastest it has been in 20 years, and there can be no doubt that well-timed tax cuts and sound monetary policy spurred this growth.
We have fought our way out of recession and are now on a path to being more prosperous, more economically secure, than ever before. We have the best entrepreneurs and workers in the world;America’s best economic days are ahead of us.
Here inOregon, more than 15,000 new jobs have been created in the past two months and your unemployment rate has fallen from 7.2 to 6.8 percent. The state is coming back from tough times; your large manufacturing and high-tech communities suffered greatly in recent years. But your economic trends look very good right now.
Oregonvoters rejected tax increases twice at the polls during those more difficult days. The state government has had to cut its budget. I know that’s hard for a government to do, but it’s not a coincidence that your economy has improved during a time when the people of Oregon have kept more money in their own pockets… a time whenyou– not government officials – are deciding how to spendyourmoney.
The future of both the national and theOregoneconomies is full of promise. In 2004, 1.3 million taxpayers inOregonwill have lower income tax bills, thanks to the President’s tax cuts. Some 322,000 business taxpayers inOregonwill be able to use their tax savings to invest in new equipment, hire additional workers, and increase pay. This is terrific news forOregonfamilies for months to come.
Thank you again for inviting me to see your business in action today. It was a vivid illustration of an economy in motion.