The Transcript of the Second Presidential Debate of the Election 2012 season PART 4

Tweet

Join our Facebook page by clicking here!

Hofstra University

Hempstead, New York

Part IV

MS. CROWLEY:  Okay.  Thank you so much.

I want to ask Carol Goldberg to stand up because she gets to a question that both these men have been passionate about.  It’s for Governor Romney.

Q    The outsourcing of American jobs overseas has taken a toll on our economy.  What plans do you have to put back and keep jobs here in the United States?

GOVERNOR ROMNEY:  Boy, great question, an important question because you’re absolutely right.  The place where we’ve seen manufacturing go has been China.  China is now the largest manufacturer in the world -- used to be the United States of America.  A lot of good people have lost jobs.  A half a million manufacturing jobs have been lost in the last four years -- that’s total over the last four years.  One of the reasons for that is that people think it’s more attractive in some cases to go offshore than to stay here.  We have made it less attractive for enterprises to stay here than to go offshore from time to time. 

What I will do as President is make sure it's more attractive to come to America again.  This is the way we're going to create jobs in this country.  It's not by trickle-down government, saying we're going to take more money from people and hire more government workers, raise more taxes, put in place more regulations.  Trickle-down government has never worked here, has never worked anywhere. 

I want to make America the most attractive place in the world for entrepreneurs, for small business, for big business to invest and grow in America.  Now, we're going to have to make sure that as we trade with other nations that they play by the rules, and China hasn't.  One of the reasons -- or one of the ways they don't play by the rules is artificially holding down the value of their currency.  Because if they put their currency down low, that means their prices on their goods are low, and that makes them advantageous in the marketplace.  We lose sales and manufacturers here in the U.S. making the same products can't compete. 

China has been a currency manipulator for years and years and years.  And the President has a regular opportunity to label them as a currency manipulator, but refuses to do so.  On day one, I will label China a currency manipulator, which will allow me as president to be able to put in place, if necessary, tariffs where I believe that they are taking unfair advantage of our manufacturers. 

So we're going to make sure the people we trade with around the world play by the rules.  But let me not just stop there.  Don't forget what's key to bringing back jobs here is not just finding someone else to punish -- and I'm going to be strict with people who we trade with to make sure they follow the law and play by the rules -- but it's also to make America the most attractive place in the world for businesses of all kinds.  That's why I want to bring down the tax rates on small employers, big employers, so they want to be here.

Canada's tax rate on companies is now 15 percent.  Ours is 35 percent.  So if you're starting a business, where would you rather start it?  We have to be competitive if we're going to create more jobs here.  Regulations have quadrupled -- the rate of regulations quadrupled under this President.  I've talked to small businesses across the country.  They say, we feel like we're under attack from our own government.  I want to make sure that regulators see their job as encouraging small business, not crushing it.  And there's no question but that Obamacare has been an extraordinary deterrent to enterprises of all kinds hiring people. 

My priority is making sure that we get more people hired.  If we have more people hired, if we get back manufacturing jobs, if we get back all kinds of jobs into this country, then you're going to see rising incomes again.  The reason incomes are down is because unemployment is so high.  I know what it takes to get this to happen.  And my plan will do that.  And one part of it is to make sure that we keep China playing by the rules.  Thank you.

MS. CROWLEY:  Mr. President, two minutes here because we are then going to go to our last question. 

THE PRESIDENT:  We need to create jobs here.  And both Governor Romney and I agree actually that we should lower our corporate tax rate.  It's too high.  But there's a difference in terms of how we would do it.  I want to close loopholes that allow companies to deduct expenses when they move to China that allow them to profit offshore and not have to get taxed, so they have tax advantages offshore.  All those changes in our tax code would make a difference. 

Now, Governor Romney actually wants to expand those tax breaks.  One of his big ideas when it comes to corporate tax reform would be to say if you invest overseas, you make profits overseas, you don't have to pay U.S. taxes.  But of course, if you're a small business or a mom-and-pop business or a big business starting up here, you've got to pay even the reduced rate that Governor Romney is talking about.  And it's estimated that that will create 800,000 new jobs -- the problem is they'll be in China or India or Germany.  That's not the way we're going to create jobs here. 

The way we're going to create jobs here is not just to change our tax code, but also to double our exports.  And we are on pace to double our exports, one of the commitments I made when I was President.  That's creating tens of thousands of jobs all across the country.  That's why we've kept on pushing trade deals, but trade deals that make sure that American workers and American businesses are getting a good deal. 

Now, Governor Romney talked about China, as I already indicated.  In the private sector, Governor Romney's company invested in what were called "pioneers of outsourcing."  That's not my phrase.  It's what reporters called it.  And as far as currency manipulation, the currency has actually gone up 11 percent since I’ve been President because we have pushed them hard.  And we’ve put unprecedented trade pressure on China.  That's why exports have significantly increased under my presidency.  That's going to help to create jobs here.

MS. CROWLEY:  Mr. President, we have a really short time for a quick discussion here.  iPad, the Macs, the iPhones -- they are all manufactured in China.  One of the major reasons is labor is so much cheaper here.  How do you convince a great American company to bring that manufacturing back here?

GOVERNOR ROMNEY:  The answer is very straightforward:  We can compete with anyone in the world as long as the playing field is level.  China has been cheating over the years -- one, by holding down the value of their currency; number two, by stealing our intellectual property -- our designs, our patents, our technology.  There’s even an Apple store in China that's a counterfeit Apple store selling counterfeit goods.  They hack into our computers.  We will have to have people play on a fair basis.  That's number one.

Number two, we have to make America the most attractive place for entrepreneurs, for people who want to expand a business.  That's what brings jobs in.  The President’s characterization of my tax plan is --

THE PRESIDENT:  How much time you got, Candy?

GOVERNOR ROMNEY:  -- is completely -- is completely --

MS. CROWLEY:  Let me go to the --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY:  -- is completely false.  Let me tell you.

MS. CROWLEY:  Let me go to the President here because we really are --

THE PRESIDENT:  All right, I’m --

MS. CROWLEY:  -- because we really are running out of time. And the question is, can we ever get -- we can't get wages like that.  It can't be sustained here.

THE PRESIDENT:  Candy, there are some jobs that are not going to come back because they're low-wage, low-skill jobs.  I want high-wage, high-skill jobs.  That's why we have to emphasize manufacturing.  That's why we have to invest in advanced manufacturing.  That's why we’ve got to make sure that we’ve got the best science and research in the world.

And when we talk about deficits, if we’re adding to our deficit for tax cuts for folks who don't need them, and we’re cutting investments in research and science that will create the next Apple, create the next new innovation that will sell products around the world, we will lose that race.  If we’re not training engineers to make sure that they are equipped here in this country, then companies won’t come here.  Those investments are what’s going to help to make sure that we continue to lead this world economy not just next year, but 10 years from now, 50 years from now, 100 years from now.

MS. CROWLEY:  Thanks, Mr. President.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY:  Government does not create jobs.

MS. CROWLEY:  Governor Romney.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY:  Government does not create jobs.

MS. CROWLEY:  Governor Romney, I want to introduce you to Barry Green because he’s going to have the last question to you first. 

GOVERNOR ROMNEY:  Barry?  Oh, there’s Barry.  Hi, Barry.

Q    Hi, Governor.  I think this is a tough question.  Each of you, what do you believe is the biggest misperception that the American people have about you as a man and a candidate?  Using specific examples, can you take this opportunity to debunk that misperception and set us straight?

GOVERNOR ROMNEY:  Thank you, and that's an opportunity for me, and I appreciate it.  In the nature of a campaign, it seems that some campaigns are focused on attacking a person rather than prescribing their own future and the things they’d like to do.  In the course of that, I think the President’s campaign has tried to characterize me as someone who’s very different than who I am. 
I care about 100 percent of the American people.  I want 100 percent of the American people to have a bright and prosperous future.  I care about our kids.  I understand what it takes to make a bright and prosperous future for America again.  I spent my life in the private sector, not in government.  I’m a guy who wants to help, with the experience I have, the American people. 

My passion probably flows from the fact that I believe in God and I believe we’re all children of the same God.  I believe we have a responsibility to care for one another.  I served as a missionary for my church.  I served as a pastor in my congregation for about 10 years.  I’ve sat across the table from people who are out of work, and worked with them to try and find new work, or to help them through tough times.

I went to the Olympics when they were in trouble to try and get them on track.  And as governor of my state, I was able to get 100 percent of my people insured, all my kids, about 98 percent of the adults; was able also to get our schools ranked at number one in the nation, so 100 percent of our kids would have a bright opportunity for a future.

I understand that I can get this country on track again.  We don't have to settle for what we’re going through.  We don't have to settle for gasoline at $4.  We don't have to settle for unemployment at a chronically high level.  We don't have to settle for 47 million people on food stamps.  We don't have to settle for 50 percent of kids coming out of college not able to get work.  We don't have to settle for 23 million people struggling to find a good job.

If I become President, I’ll get America working again.  I will get us on track to a balanced budget.  The President hasn’t. I will.  I’ll make sure we can reform Medicare and Social Security to preserve them for coming generations.  The President said he would.  He didn’t.

MS. CROWLEY:  Governor --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY:  I’ll get our incomes up.  And by the way, I’ve done these things.  I served as governor and showed I could get them done. 

MS. CROWLEY:  Mr. President, last two minutes belong to you.

THE PRESIDENT:  Barry, I think a lot of this campaign, maybe over the last four years, has been devoted to this notion that I think government creates jobs, that that somehow is the answer.  That's not what I believe. 

I believe that the free enterprise system is the greatest engine of prosperity the world has ever known.  I believe in self-reliance and individual initiative, and risk-takers being rewarded.  But I also believe that everybody should have a fair shot and everybody should do their fair share, and everybody should play by the same rules, because that's how our economy is grown.  That's how we built the world’s greatest middle class.  And that is part of what's at stake in this election.  There's a fundamentally different vision about how we move our country forward. 

I believe Governor Romney is a good man, loves his family, cares about his faith.  But I also believe that when he said behind closed doors that 47 percent of the country consider themselves victims, who refuse personal responsibility, think about who he was talking about -- folks on Social Security who have worked all their lives; veterans who have sacrificed for this country; students who are out there trying to hopefully advance their own dreams but also this country’s dreams; soldiers who are overseas fighting for us right now; people who are working hard every day, paying payroll tax, gas taxes, but don't make enough income. 

And I want to fight for them.  That's what I’ve been doing for the last four years, because if they succeed, I believe the country succeeds. 

And when my grandfather fought in World War II, and he came back, and he got a GI Bill and that allowed him to go to college, that wasn’t a handout.  That was something that advanced the entire country.  And I want to make sure that the next generation has those same opportunities.  That's why I’m asking for your vote, and that's why I’m asking for another four years.

MS. CROWLEY:  President Obama, Governor Romney, thank you for being here tonight. 

On that note, we have come to an end of this town hall debate.  (Applause.)  Our thanks to the participants for their time, and to the people of Hofstra University for their hospitality. 

The next and final debate takes place Monday night at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida.  Don't forget to watch.  Election Day is three weeks from today.  Don't forget to vote.  Good night.

END
10:39 P.M. EDT

Show your party support with the Republican Elephant Necktie or the Democrat Donkey Necktie or show your American Patriotism or wear my personal favorite the Capitol Hill Necktie

Democrat and Republican Themed Neckties - Get Ready for the Big Election!

Join the conversation and post your thoughts in the comments! Read the 1461 Comment Guidelines. 

1461 is currently being read by over 750,000 People and spreading! Help the 1461 continue to Grow and spread the truth - invite your friends and family to join the 1461 and learn the truth rather than BS! Join our Facebook page by clicking here!