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  • The President: Well, good morning, everybody.

  • It is great to see all of you.

  • Many of you I've had a chance to see individually or in small

  • groups over the last several months,

  • but it's good to be back at the Business Roundtable.

  • Jim, thanks for your leadership.

  • Originally, my team had prepared some remarks.

  • They always get nervous when I'm out there on my own --

  • never know what I might say.

  • Given the dialogue that we had the last time,

  • I thought it was useful for me to abbreviate my remarks,

  • speak off the cuff at the top, and then spend most of our time

  • just having a conversation.

  • Let me begin by saying that all of you in this room are not just

  • business leaders, not just CEOs of your companies,

  • but you're also economic leaders and thought leaders in

  • this country.

  • And I recognize that all of you have an enormous investment not

  • only in your own companies but in the well-being of America.

  • There are a lot of patriots in this room,

  • people who care deeply about not only your bottom lines but also

  • the future of this country.

  • You've shown that over the last four years.

  • We've gone through as difficult an economic period as we've seen

  • in most of our lifetimes, and we've emerged not yet where we

  • need to be but we've certainly made progress.

  • And the reason we've made progress in part has been

  • because of the outstanding management and productivity

  • gains and efficiencies and competitiveness that you've been

  • able to achieve in each and every one of your companies.

  • And I've said this to some of the small groups,

  • let me repeat it to the large group --

  • I am passionately rooting for your success,

  • because if the companies in this room are doing well,

  • then small businesses and medium-sized businesses up and

  • down the chain are doing well.

  • If companies in this room are doing well, then folks get jobs,

  • consumers get confidence, and we're going to be able to

  • compete around the world.

  • Now, the good news is that despite the extraordinary

  • challenges that we've seen over the last four years,

  • there is progress in some key sectors of our economy.

  • We've seen housing finally begin to bounce back for

  • the first time.

  • And that obviously has an enormous ripple effect

  • throughout the economy.

  • Consumer confidence is as high as it's been.

  • Many of you, over the last two, three years,

  • have experienced record profits or near record profits,

  • and have a lot of money where you're prepared to invest in

  • plants and equipment and hire folks.

  • Obviously, globally, the economy is still soft.

  • Europe is going to be in the doldrums for quite some time.

  • Asia is not charging forward, and some of the emerging markets

  • are not charging forward as quickly as they were maybe a

  • few years ago.

  • But I think what all of you recognize and many of you have

  • told me is that everybody is looking to America because they

  • understand that if we're able to put forward a long-term agenda

  • for growth and prosperity that's broad-based here in the United

  • States, that confidence will not just increase here in the United

  • States, it will increase globally,

  • and we can get the kind of virtuous cycle that I think all

  • of us have been waiting for and want to see.

  • What's holding us back right now, ironically,

  • is a lot of stuff that's going on in this town.

  • And I know that many of you have come down here to try to see is

  • there a way that we can break through the logjam and go ahead

  • and get things done.

  • And I'm here to tell you that nobody wants to get this done

  • more than me.

  • I know that you've gotten a lot of briefings,

  • but let me just try to describe where the situation is right now

  • with respect to our fiscal situation,

  • both what the opportunities are but what also the

  • challenges are.

  • I campaigned over the last year on the idea that we need to make

  • sure that this economy is growing and that we're providing

  • ladders of opportunity for folks --

  • (audio cuts out)

  • (camera shutters clicking)

  • I can speak pretty loud.

  • Can people hear me in the back?

  • You're all good?

  • Let me just continue because I don't want to take up

  • too much time.

  • Speaker: What about the hand-held mic?

  • The President: The hand-held's working?

  • All right.

  • During the entire campaign, I talked about the importance of

  • short-term measures to boost growth but also a long-term plan

  • to make sure that we've got our fiscal house in order,

  • and I called for a balanced and responsible plan.

  • My budget reflects a balanced, responsible plan,

  • and I've shown myself willing to make some tough decisions when

  • it comes to government spending --

  • because, despite, I think, my reputation or the reputation of

  • Democrats, I don't think every government program works exactly

  • the way it should.

  • I think there are efficiencies that can be gained;

  • there are some programs that used to work and just don't work

  • now the way they were intended.

  • And as a consequence, working with Democrats and Republicans

  • last year, we were able to cut over a trillion dollars of

  • spending -- the largest cut, by the way,

  • in discretionary spending in history.

  • So we're prepared to make some tough decisions when it comes to

  • spending cuts.

  • But if you look at what's needed in order for us to stabilize our

  • budget, stabilize our deficit-to-GDP ratio,

  • our debt-to-GDP ratio, then every credible economist will

  • tell you that you can't just do it on spending cuts.

  • We can't cut our way to prosperity,

  • that there's got to be a balanced approach in which we

  • also are bringing in new revenues --

  • partly because our revenue levels are as low as they've

  • been in most of our lifetimes.

  • And what I've proposed, what I put forward in the campaign and

  • what I think a majority of the American people agreed with --

  • in fact, there's some folks who didn't vote for me that focus

  • groups and polls show nevertheless they agreed with my

  • concept when it comes to deficit reduction --

  • is that an approach that says we're going to raise additional

  • revenue particularly from those who have done best in the

  • economy over the last decade, combined with some smart cuts

  • and with entitlement reform that can strengthen our social safety

  • net over the long term but do so in a responsible way --

  • that's the way to go forward.

  • And that's what we've put forward.

  • Now, the question I think on the minds of a lot of you is how do

  • you get there -- because I know that,

  • speaking to many of you privately, you agree with

  • this approach.

  • I've been struck by the number of CEOs who said,

  • we're willing to pay slightly higher taxes if it means that

  • we've got the kind of certainty and stability over the long term

  • that allows us to invest and hire with confidence.

  • So most of the folks in this room I think are onboard for a

  • balanced plan.

  • The problem that we had up until fairly recently --

  • and this was extensively debated during the campaign --

  • was the belief that either, A, we could balance our budgets

  • entirely on spending cuts, or a variation that has emerged is,

  • is that we can do so while still lowering rates simply by closing

  • loopholes and deductions.

  • And you've heard from my team, but let me just repeat,

  • we don't have any objection to tax reform, tax simplification,

  • closing loopholes, closing deductions.

  • But there is a bottom-line amount of revenue that is

  • required in order for us to get a real,

  • meaningful deficit reduction plan that hits the numbers that

  • are required for us to stabilize our debt and deficits.

  • And all the math that we've done --

  • and we analyzed this stuff pretty carefully --

  • shows that it is not possible for us to raise the amount of

  • revenue that's required for a balanced package if all you are

  • relying on is closing deductions and loopholes.

  • Let me amend that.

  • It is possible to do, theoretically;

  • it is not possible or wise to do as a practical matter.

  • And the reason is, is that in order for us to raise the amount

  • of revenue that's needed just by closing deductions and loopholes

  • for high earners, we'd have to, for example,

  • eliminate or severely cap the charitable deduction.

  • And folks in this room, you guys are not only CEOs --

  • I can't imagine there's a person here who doesn't sit on a number

  • of non-for-profit boards, university boards,

  • hospital boards.

  • In your respective communities, you are supporting an entire

  • infrastructure that is the glue that holds our

  • communities together.

  • So the notion that somehow we're going to just eliminate

  • charitable deductions is unlikely.

  • What that means is, is that any formula that says we can't

  • increase tax rates probably only yields about

  • $300-$400 billion, realistically.

  • And that's well short of the amount of revenue that's needed

  • for a balanced package.

  • So what we've said instead is let's allow higher rates to go

  • up for the top 2% -- that includes all of you, yes,

  • but not in any way that's going to affect your spending,

  • your lifestyles, or the economy in any significant way;

  • let's make sure that 98% of Americans don't see a single

  • dime in tax increases next year, 97% of small businesses don't

  • see a single dime in tax increases next year --

  • and by doing that alone we raise almost a trillion dollars

  • without any adverse effects on the economy.

  • Let's combine that, then, with some additional spending cuts

  • and some long-term entitlement reform that can get us to a

  • number close to $4 trillion, which stabilizes our debt and

  • our deficits relative to GDP for at least a decade, perhaps more.

  • That's our plan.

  • That's what we've presented.

  • The holdup right now is that Speaker Boehner took a position

  • I think the day after the campaign that said we're willing

  • to bring in revenue but we're not willing to increase rates.

  • And I just explained to you why we don't think that works.

  • We're not trying to -- we're not insisting on rates just out of

  • spite or out of any kind of partisan bickering,

  • but rather because we need to raise a certain amount

  • of revenue.

  • Now, we've seen some movement over the last several days among

  • some Republicans.

  • I think there's a recognition that maybe they can accept some

  • rate increases as long as it's combined with serious

  • entitlement reform and additional spending cuts.

  • And if we can get the leadership on the Republican side to take

  • that framework, to acknowledge that reality,

  • then the numbers actually aren't that far apart.

  • Another way of putting this is we can probably solve this in

  • about a week; it's not that tough.

  • But we need that conceptual breakthrough that says we need

  • to do a balanced plan; that's what's best for the economy;

  • that's what the American people voted for;

  • that's how we're going to get it done.

  • Let me make one last point and then I'll start

  • taking questions.

  • There have been reports -- and these are not necessarily

  • confirmed, and maybe some of you have more insight than I do on

  • this -- that perhaps the Republicans go ahead and let the

  • middle-class tax cuts get extended,

  • the upper-income tax cuts go up, otherwise we don't get a deal,

  • and next year we come back and the thinking is Republicans will

  • have more leverage because there will be another vote on the debt

  • ceiling and we will try to extract more concessions with

  • a stronger hand on the debt ceiling.

  • I have to just tell you that is a bad strategy for America.

  • It is a bad strategy for our businesses.

  • And it is not a game that I will play.

  • Most of you were involved in discussions and watched the

  • catastrophe that happened in August of 2011.

  • Everybody here is concerned about uncertainty;

  • there's no uncertainty like the prospect that the United States

  • of America, the largest economy that holds the world's reserve

  • currency potentially defaults on its debts;

  • that we give up the basic notion that the United States stands

  • behind its obligations.

  • And we can't afford to go there again.

  • And this isn't just my opinion; it's the opinion of most of the

  • folks in this room.

  • So when I hear some on the other side suggesting that to resolve

  • the possibility of a perpetual or a quarterly debt ceiling

  • crisis that there is a price to pay --

  • well, the price is paid by the American people and your

  • businesses and the economic environment worldwide.

  • And we should not accept going through that.

  • John Engler, who is, I think -- he and I philosophically don't

  • agree on much --

  • (laughter)

  • -- no, I'm just being honest about John,

  • and he's a great politician but he --

  • he originally comes from the other party --

  • but John is exactly right when he says the only thing that the

  • debt ceiling is good for as a weapon is just to destroy your

  • credit rating.

  • So I want to send a very clear message to people here: We are

  • not going to play that game next year.

  • If Congress in any way suggests that they're going to tie

  • negotiations to debt ceiling votes and take us to the brink

  • of default once again as part of a budget negotiation --

  • which, by the way, we had never done in our history until we did

  • it last year -- I will not play that game.

  • Because we've got to break that habit before it starts.

  • So, with that, let me just say we've got one path where we

  • resolve this fairly quickly -- we've got some tough spending

  • cuts, we reform our entitlements,

  • we have modest revenue increases;

  • you get business certainty; you do what you do best, innovate,

  • invest, hire workers, make profits,

  • do well by your shareholders and grow America --

  • and we then have open running room next year to deal with a

  • whole host of other issues like information and tax reform and

  • immigration reform that will further make America,

  • Inc. competitive.

  • That's one option.

  • The other option is to engage in a self-inflicted series of

  • wounds that will potentially push us back into recession and

  • set back this country, after all the work that we've done over

  • the last four years digging ourselves out of a hole.

  • I know the choice I'd like to make.

  • And I think the BRT can be helpful in making sure that

  • everybody here in Washington makes the right choice.

  • All right?

The President: Well, good morning, everybody.

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奧巴馬總統在商業圓桌會議上發表講話 (President Obama Speaks to the Business Roundtable)

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    Solomon Wolf 發佈於 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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