JS-1747: The Honorable John W. Snow <script type="text/javascript"> var wmNotice = "UNT Web Archive - External links, forms, and search boxes may not function within this collection. Url: http://treas.gov/press/releases/js1747.htm time: 3:19:34 Sep 23, 2008"; var wmHideNotice = "hide"; var contextRoot = "https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/"; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/js/disclaim.js"></script> <br>Prepared Remarks: Roundtable with Business Leaders<br>Tampa, FL<br>June 25, 2004



	FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS June 25, 2004 JS-1747 The Honorable John W. Snow Prepared Remarks: Roundtable with Business Leaders Tampa, FL June 25, 2004 Thank you so much for having me here today; I'm really looking forward to our discussion. I want to start by saying how much I appreciate what you do, as business leaders and employers, to make our economy run. And our economy is running – there's no doubt about that. We have experienced the strongest three quarters of GDP growth in 20 years. Homeownership is at an all-time high and household wealth is also at a record level. The best news of all, however, has been job creation. Nationally, we've seen more than 1.4 million jobs created over the past nine months. Here in Florida, businesses like yours created 6,800 jobs in May alone. That brought your unemployment down to 4.5 percent, which is a good deal lower than the national average… and the national average is lower than it was in the 70s, 80s or 90s. This is such good news for American families. And while we can always do better – and we will do better – it's incredible to think how far we've come, economically, in just the past year. What a difference a year makes, and what a difference tax cuts make. Letting Americans keep more of their own money really worked; it always does. We were struggling for a while there... we had a number of blows to our economy. I know that September 11^th hit Florida hard because of the dampening effect that terrible day had on tourism – a major industry in this state. It is also an industry that, thankfully, is continuing to rebound today. President Bush's tax cuts, combined with sound monetary policy, made our swift economic recovery and strong current growth possible. The reduced tax burden on families and small businesses like yours meant that the load was lightened, and the natural resilience of our free-market economy was able to shine through. I am confident that the growth will continue as long as the burden stays lighter. Here in Florida, more than 6.1 million taxpayers will have lower income tax bills in 2004 and nearly 1.4 business taxpayers like you can use their tax savings to invest in new equipment, hire additional workers, and increase pay to those workers. That's good news for Florida's families for months to come. Thank you for having me here with you today, and thank you so much for the work you do to keep our economy running – your contributions are invaluable for both the economy and for our national spirit.