CRAWFORD, Texas, 31 August 2003 — President Bush says his latest round of tax cuts, increased worker productivity and more orders for manufacturers all point to economic recovery, but that he won’t be satisfied until “the economy creates enough new jobs for American workers.”
Bush focused on the economy in his weekly radio address yesterday, tailored to look ahead to the Labor Day holiday and several trips next week in which the president will discuss his job-creation agenda.
Bush, who was returning from a near month-long respite at his Texas ranch, also prodded Congress to pass several pieces of stalled legislation that he says will help get many people back to work.
“On this Labor Day weekend, Americans pay tribute to the spirit of hard work and enterprise that has always made this nation strong,” Bush said.
“Every day, our workers go to factories and offices and farms and produce the world’s finest goods and services. Their creativity and energy are the greatest advantage of the American economy.”
Tax cuts — the latest package was signed in May — mean that a family of four earning $40,000 will pay nearly $2,000 less in taxes, he said.
“Tax relief was based on the conviction that workers are entitled to keep more of their hard-earned wages,” Bush said. “That belief, after all, is why America celebrates Labor Day and not tax day.”
Democrats have argued that the tax cuts were tilted toward the wealthy and that too many jobs have vanished under Bush’s leadership.
Millions of families are receiving rebate checks for up to $400 per child because of Bush-backed changes in the child tax credit.
Bush said worker productivity increased last year at the fastest rate in more than half a century, and factories are getting more orders.
Despite that, the unemployment rate stood at 6.2 percent in July, and businesses cut jobs for the sixth month in a row.
Bush is traveling next week to Ohio, Missouri and Indiana, states important to his re-election effort, to discuss job creation and the economy, two issues critical to his campaign for a second term.
He says Congress can help him — and the nation’s workers — by passing a comprehensive energy plan, legal reform to curb frivolous lawsuits and new free trade agreements.
“This long weekend is a well-deserved reward for the millions of men and women who make this economy go,” Bush said.
But although Bush praised the nation’s work force, his administration has put forward several proposals that have angered unions.
The Labor Department wants to overhaul overtime pay rules, and says more than 1 million low-income workers would become eligible for such pay. But about 640,000 white-collar workers could lose the extra cash.
Organized labor is upset over the administration’s decision to allow private companies to bid for up to 850,000 government jobs — nearly half the federal civilian work force.
The jobs were opened to private companies in May under new rules that encourage competition to replace federal workers who perform such jobs as giving weather reports to private pilots, fixing computers and taking money and tickets at national parks.
