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Skriven 2006-01-06 23:33:20 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0601062) for Fri, 2006 Jan 6
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Fact Sheet: President Bush's Agenda for Job Creation and Economic
Opportunity
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 6, 2006

Fact Sheet: President Bush's Agenda for Job Creation and Economic
Opportunity



Today, President Bush Addressed The Economic Club Of Chicago On His Agenda
To Continue Creating Jobs And Expand Economic Opportunity. The President
discussed the policies that must be in place to keep the economy growing in
2006. The economy added 108,000 new jobs in December and has added more
than 400,000 jobs in the last two months. More than 4.6 million new jobs
have been added since May 2003. The unemployment rate is now down to 4.9
percent - lower than the average of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Opportunity Starts With Economic Growth

The President Has Acted To Maintain Growth By Cutting Taxes. In the past
five years, the economy has endured a stock market collapse, recession,
terrorist attacks, corporate scandals, high energy costs, and natural
disasters. These economic shocks required decisive action. The President
called on Congress to cut taxes - and Congress responded. Taxes were
lowered on individuals and families, and by cutting taxes, the
Administration helped raise real after-tax income per person by 7 percent
while the President has been in office - making a real difference for
America's families.
  þ 

    Tax Cuts Have Helped Create More Jobs. When people keep more of their
    money, they demand more goods and services, and businesses hire more
    workers to help meet this demand. Most new jobs are created by small
    business owners, and most of these owners pay taxes at the individual
    income tax rates. When taxes were lowered on individuals, taxes were
    lowered for many small businesses. As rates decreased, incentives were
    created for small businesses to invest in new equipment and facilities
    so that they could expand and create jobs.
  þ 

    Tax Cuts On Dividends And Capital Gains Have Benefited American
    Families. Half of American households have some investment in the stock
    market. Tax cuts on dividends and capital gains boosted confidence in
    the economy and gave people more money to invest - and the stock market
    added nearly $3 trillion in value. Americans' IRAs, 401k's, and mutual
    funds rose in value, and the net worth of Americans has increased 23
    percent since the President took office. By lowering the costs of
    capital, these cuts increased opportunities for working families and
    helped fuel an economic expansion.
  þ 

    Tax Cuts On Dividends And Capital Gains Have Benefited The Treasury.
    Since taxes were cut, tax revenue from income has jumped about 17%,
    revenue from dividends and capital gains has increased an estimated
    50%, and overall revenues have hit record levels.
  þ 

    The President Calls On Congress To Make Tax Relief Permanent. Despite
    strong evidence that tax cuts are working, some want to raise taxes by
    allowing the tax cuts to expire or repealing them now. If this happens,
    a family of four living in Chicago and making $50,000 would see its
    Federal income taxes go up by nearly 50%. When some say tax relief does
    not need to be made permanent, they are really saying they will raise
    taxes. To keep the economy growing, Congress needs to make the tax cuts
    permanent.

The President Is Acting To Restrain Spending. America is at war, and the
government will spend what it takes to support the troops. That means the
government must show discipline in other areas of the Federal budget. Each
year the President has been in office, the growth rate for non-security
discretionary spending has been reduced. Last February, the President's
budget proposed an actual cut in non-security discretionary spending - the
most disciplined proposal since Ronald Reagan was President. Working with
Congress, the Administration ended or reduced about 90 low-priority or
poorly performing government programs, cut non-security discretionary
spending, and kept overall discretionary spending growth below the
inflation rate. By passing pro-growth economic policies and insisting on
spending restraint, the government is on track to cut the Federal deficit
in half by 2009.
  þ 

    The President Will Work With Congress To Control Entitlement Spending.
    Entitlements, such as Social Security and Medicare, are growing faster
    than the ability to pay for them. These unfunded liabilities will put
    an increasing burden on future generations. The President has discussed
    and will continue to talk about the challenges facing Social Security
    and Medicare. Congress now has an opportunity to complete work on an
    important bill to rein in future spending on entitlements by nearly $40
    billion.

The Government Will Address Other Important Challenges. A growing economy
requires secure and affordable sources of energy; a health care system
where workers can find affordable care; and a private pension system that
is fully funded and keeps its promises. A growing economy requires legal
reform and regulatory reform. The President will continue to discuss these
issues in the coming weeks and months.

Ensuring Opportunity Through Education And Training

America Has A Moral And Economic Interest In Ensuring That Americans Have
The Skills Needed To Succeed. As the global economy changes, America will
need workers to fill the jobs of the 21st century, or the jobs will go
elsewhere. Education will help Americans succeed. If recent patterns
continue, the typical worker will hold 10 jobs between the ages of 18 and
38. To take advantage of new opportunities, workers will have to acquire
new skills over their entire working careers. Education also means a higher
standard of living. Evidence shows that higher education levels are
directly connected to higher incomes. Today, the earnings gap between a
high school diploma and college degree has widened to about $23,000 per
year. To help Americans take advantage of new opportunities, the government
will do its part to help them get the education they need.

Acquiring Needed Skills Begins With Making Sure America's Schoolchildren
Can Read And Write And Add And Subtract. That is why the President proposed
and Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The premise of
this law is clear: students are expected to learn. In return for Federal
money, the government insists that states measure their students'
performance. If schools are succeeding, they will be praised. If schools
need improvement, they must change. If schools do not change, parents will
have other options for their children's education.
  þ 

    NCLB Is Leading To Results. The most recent scores from the National
    Assessment of Educational Progress show that American children have
    made strong gains over the past five years - especially in the earlier
    grades. The results show that for fourth and eighth graders, math
    scores for white, Hispanic, and African-American students were the
    highest they have ever been. Overall scores for fourth-grade reading
    matched the all-time high - with significant improvements for Hispanic
    and African-American students. As scores for all children have risen,
    the achievement gap has started to close.
  þ 

    NCLB's Standards And Accountability Need To Be Applied To Public High
    Schools. At the elementary school level, American students score above
    the international average in math and science. But in high school,
    American students rank below those in many other countries. The
    President has proposed initiatives to improve high schools by measuring
    progress with reading and math tests; helping teachers identify and
    help children in danger of falling behind; bringing professionals from
    the math and science fields into the classroom; and ensuring that
    teachers in low-income schools have the training needed to teach
    Advanced Placement courses. If children are to have the education
    needed to compete in a global economy, we need to raise the bar on
    performance in our high schools.

The Administration Is Making It Easier For More Americans To Receive A
College Education. In the 21st century, the best jobs will require a
college education. To make opportunity real for all Americans, college
degrees must be more affordable. So the Administration has increased
funding for Pell grants by 49% since 2001 and increased the number of
students receiving Pell grants by one million - making them available to
the largest number of students in the Nation's history.

The Federal Government Will Help Workers Get Job Training. People need to
get training for jobs that actually exist, and that means job-training
programs that are flexible, work with employers, and meet the local
workplace's demands. Community colleges are one of the most effective ways
to get people needed training. The Administration's Community-Based Job
Training Grants are designed to help workers get job training in
high-growth industries through community and technical colleges. These
colleges work with employers to train workers for jobs that actually exist
- and in 2005, the Administration awarded $125 million in grants and will
help them again in 2006. By reforming job training programs and supporting
community colleges, the government is helping workers improve their lives
and keeping America a land of opportunity.

Ensuring Opportunity By Promoting Free And Fair Trade

America Must Welcome The Opportunities That A Global Economy Offers.
Ninety-five percent of potential customers live abroad. Opening new markets
will help the economy to continue to grow and create job opportunities for
Americans.
  þ 

    The Administration Is Working To Ensure A Level Playing Field For
    American Products Abroad. The United States will continue to push for
    free and fair trade at the global level through the World Trade
    Organization and at the regional level through agreements such as
    CAFTA. The President believes that so long as there is a level playing
    field, the American worker, entrepreneur, and farmer can compete with
    anybody, any time, any place.

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