Remarks at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Jan 15, 2001

Now, we have to think about this more. I am immensely gratified that this generation of young people, I think, understands that better than they've gotten credit for. I've never understood all this Generation X talk and how young people are selfish and self-seeking. At Michigan State alone, 150 students have participated in AmeriCorps since we've had that program, out of 150,000 nationwide. We've had more young people do community service in AmeriCorps and earn some money to go on to college in 6 years than we had in the first 30 years of the Peace Corps. The young people of this country understand that they have to build a common future together. They understand that we have to find what's common about us across all the racial and religious and other lines that divide us.

And that's the last thought I want to leave with you. I've just given you a speech mostly about economics today and about the related progress we've made in other areas. But if somebody said to me, "You've got to just leave America with one wish," believe it or not, more than wanting us to be continually successful economically, I would say, "We have to be one America. We have to reach out across all these lines that divide us. We have to celebrate our differences." And I hope you will do that.

Now, one thing I will not claim is to have solved all the problems. You've got big problems out there, or challenges. You've got to deal with the aging of America. When the baby boomers like me retire, there's going to be a bunch of us. And you can't have Social Security and Medicare and the cost of our retirement bankrupt our children's ability to raise our grandchildren. We didn't finish that work, but we made it easier by puffing 25 years on Medicare and putting--we're up to 54 years with Social Security now. We did a good job. If we save the money that we're piling up on Social Security, we can save 54 years on Social Security.

So we didn't solve global warming, but we made a good dent in it. We haven't solved all the economic problems in the inner cities, the Indian reservations, the rural communities that have been left behind, but we left America with the tools to do it.

And what I want to ask all of you to do is to think about where we are now and where we were 8 years ago. And then, imagine in your own mind--do what I did 8 years ago, especially the young people--imagine where you would like America to be 10 years from now; where would you like Michigan to be 10 years from now? What do you think it would take to get you there? I can tell you that no matter what strategy you adopt, you will have to continue to invest in people, to put education first, to care about balancing work and family, to care about balancing business and labor, to care about balancing the economy and the environment.

And if we think about the future with those sorts of basic values and never forgetting our mutual need for one another and that America wins when we treat every single endeavor like a team sport, the best days of this country are still ahead.