Remarks in Troy, Ohio

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Sept 6, 2004

In order to provide security during a time of change, we ought to encourage health care accounts that people own and call their own, that they can take from job to job. I see we've got a lot of younger workers here, and I want to thank you for coming. But you need to make sure you listen carefully to the debate on Social Security. Baby boomers like me are just fine when it comes to the fiscal sanity of Social Security. People just starting in the workplace better understand that we must think differently about how to strengthen Social Security. I believe the best way to do so is to make sure younger workers have the option of taking some of their own money and putting them in personal savings accounts that they can call their own.

In a changing world, when the workplace has changed, we've got to make sure our work rules are family-friendly. That includes flex-time and comp-time to allow moms and dads to spend more quality time with their children.

In a changing world, there's nothing like owning your own home to provide hope and stability. Homeownership rates are at an all-time high in America. We will continue to promote policy that encourages that moment when somebody opens the door of their dwelling and says, "Welcome to my house." That's what we love to hear. We love to hear that phrase, "Welcome to my piece of property." When you own something, you have a vital stake in the future of the United States of America.

In a time of change, there are some things that won't change: the values we try to live by, courage and compassion, reverence, and integrity; our belief in liberty and opportunity and the nonnegotiable demands of human dignity. In a time of change, we will support the institutions that give us direction and purpose, our families, our schools, our religious congregations.

We believe--we stand for institutions like marriage and family, which are the foundations of society. We stand for a culture of life in which every person matters and every person counts. We stand for judges who faithfully interpret the law instead of legislating from the bench.

We stand for a culture of responsibility in America. Listen, the culture is beginning to change from one that has said, "If it feels good, just go ahead and do it," "If you've got a problem, blame somebody else," to a culture in which each of us understands we're responsible for the decisions we make in life. If you are fortunate enough to be a mother or a father, you're responsible for loving your child with all your heart and all your soul. If you're worried about the quality of the education in Troy, Ohio, you're responsible for doing something about it. If you're a CEO in corporate America, you are responsible for telling the truth to your shareholders and your employees. And in a responsibility society, each of us is responsible for loving our neighbor just like we'd like to be loved ourselves.

The true strength of this country is the hearts and souls of the American citizens. I'll continue to rally the armies of compassion over the next 4 years, call upon those loving souls who have heard the call to love a neighbor so that we can change America one heart, one conscience, and one soul at a time.