THE WHITE HOUSE AT WORK



Thursday, February 24, 2000

PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE:
HELPING TO BUILD THE NEW ECONOMY
February 24, 2000

"If America needs a national consensus for a solid economic policy that responds to the realities of the global economy, and I believe we have it now."

President Bill Clinton
February 24, 2000

Today, in his Granoff lecture at the University of Pennsylvania, President Clinton outlined his vision of the new economy, and highlighted the roles that fiscal discipline and information technology have played in producing the longest expansion in our nation's history. The President announced that he will convene a White House conference on April 5th with leading economists, CEOs, and other experts to discuss issues facing the new economy.

Fiscal Discipline and Information Technology have helped Turn Around the Economy. Between 1980 and 1992, the debt quadrupled. In 1992, the budget deficit was a record $290 billion and projected to rise. Seven years of the Clinton-Gore Administration's policy of fiscal discipline have led to the largest budget surplus in history, debt reduction, and the longest and strongest investment growth on record. Information Technology (IT) has also played a key role in the new economy, helping to fuel record growth, higher wages, and changes in the way business is done. The Administration has sought to foster IT growth through the first comprehensive reform of telecommunications in 60 years, as well as through policies to open markets abroad, promote research and development, maintain a market-led approach to e-commerce, and bring public school classrooms into the 21st century.

A Strategy to Maintain America's Economic Growth. President Clinton's strategy to maintain the nation's economic growth in the new economy includes:

Economic Policies That Work. The record of the last seven years is proof that President Clinton and Vice President Gore's strategy of fiscal discipline, investing in people and technology, and opening markets abroad is working. Under the Clinton-Gore Administration, the U.S. has enjoyed:



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