FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

May 21, 2004
JS-1680

The Honorable John W. Snow
Prepared Remarks
Ohio Transmission and Pump Company
Columbus, Ohio

It’s great to be here in my home state of Ohio, and great to be here at the Ohio Transmission and Pump Company.

I’m delighted that this business has benefited so much from the President’s economic policies – you’ve grown and you’re now going to be able to hire more people. You are one of nearly 860,000 business taxpayers here in Ohio who can use their tax savings from the President’s tax cuts to invest in new equipment, hire additional workers, and increase pay.

It’s businesses like this that create jobs, and that is the President’s top economic priority – that’s why his tax cuts focused on helping small business.

Ohio lost more than its fair share of jobs during our recent recession. That’s why the news that almost 35,000 new jobs have been created in Ohio since December of 2003 is so welcome. The Ohio economy created 4,300 jobs in April – that’s terrific news for 4,300 of Ohio’s workers and their families.

Your unemployment rate is at 5.8 percent right now, so we’re not satisfied by any means. Ohioans need jobs; we need to lower that rate.

Manufacturing jobs are very important to this state, and those jobs were hardest hit during our time of economic recession. We’ve seen modest gains in that area on a national basis since we’ve been in economic recovery, with 21,000 new manufacturing jobs created in April – the third straight month of job creation.  While we still are not satisfied with the rate of recovery in the manufacturing industry, the signs are pointing in a positive direction.

Nationally, the total jobs increase – in all industries – since August has been 1.1 million. The unemployment rate, which is down substantially from its peak last summer, fell in April and is below the average of each of the past three decades.

That’s good news, but it needs to get even better. Especially here in Ohio.

I remain optimist, and extremely hopeful for Ohioans who are looking for work today. There is no doubt that our economy is doing very well, and job creation does follow economic growth. It’s never fast enough for any of us, but it does come.

I’m optimistic because over the past nine months, we’ve seen the best overall growth in almost 20 years; GDP has been averaging an outstanding annual rate of 5.5 percent over the past three quarters.

Business spending has rebounded. Business and consumer confidence are up, and there are signs that the labor market is also beginning to create better-paying jobs. Our housing industry is extremely strong, with homeownership at an all-time high, and this is something to be very proud of, as a nation.

It’s clear that American families and small businesses have benefited from the lowered burden of taxation brought about by President Bush’s tax cuts. The natural strength and resilience of our free-market economy has proven itself once again. The President’s tax cuts provided the relief and the stimulus that American consumers and job-creators needed.

As a result, people are finding jobs and seeing their paychecks increase, and that kind of security is the President’s top economic priority

When we lift the weights that hold it down, our economy soars. That’s why the most important thing we can do going forward is to keep it unencumbered by making the President’s tax cuts permanent.

We can’t stop our progress now – the working people of Ohio need this growth to continue, because we need the jobs it will create.

Thank you for having me here today, and thank you for the work you do to make our economy the strongest in the world.