Bill Clinton Lights Up Building Trades Conference, Touts Investment, Apprenticeship

http://wepartypatriots.com/wp/2014/03/11/bill-clinton-lights-up-building-trades-conference-touts-investment-apprenticeship/



Addressing a crowd already energized from powerful speeches by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten, surprise speaker Bill Clinton made clear his position on job-creation and economic growth at the Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) National Conference on Monday: “Investment, not financial transactions.”

The 42nd president repeatedly assured the crowd of nearly 2,500 that, “We’ve just begun to scratch the surface,” in terms of investment and infrastructure opportunities in the United States. Clinton, whose appearance was entirely unannounced but made perfect sense given the involvement of both BCTD and AFT in the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), cited painting Harlem roofs white as a bare bones example of energy-efficiency’s ability to create jobs. It put people to work without even beginning to harness the endless possibilities of the sophistocated upgrades and construction practices of the future, Clinton said.

But the undeniable charm of Clinton’s overall message was less technical than it was inspiring and, frankly, fed up. He admitted that the United States has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world, but suggested that countless loopholes and a general culture of greed make this fact more or less moot. He hammered offshoring of profits, saying over one trillion dollars are overseas that should be brought home. How this money is returned to U.S. shores, however, is as important to Clinton as whether or not is happens. Again, he stressed the importance of putting this money to work, highlighting infrastructure banks. “It’s the proper way to invest in our economy because it works,” he said behind his now-trademark demi-specs. “These types of investments are a better job growth strategy than financial transactions.”

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employd [at] wepartypatriots [dot] com -- Steve Cooper is the editor of We Party Patriots. He manages its Twitter (@WePartyPatriots) and Facebook (/WePartyPatriots) accounts, so there are many ways to contact him. Cooper is an avid chef and musician.