For The Defense, December 2011 - DRI Today

in need of improved education systems,
honest governance systems, and systems
designed to attract investments and
improve infrastructure.
While poor countries suffer from
these systems voids, in wealthy countries,
the systems in place can become
problematic, according to President Clinton.
In wealthy countries, systems now
function primarily to preserve the systems,
and the people running the systems
are more interested in holding on to
what they have than working to advance
the purposes for which the systems were
originally designed. This, he believes,
is evident in the tensions surrounding
income disparity, the lack of a good,
vibrant debate on role of government,
and regular attempts to disenfranchise
the American voters. That is why building
and reforming systems, by working
with governments and the private sector,
is a primary focus of the work that
he does with his foundation.
“We’re going to be fine,” said President
Clinton, “but we need to have the right
debate. And in the world, we need to keep
in mind that the choices will be more
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inequality or a future of shared prosperity;
more instability or a future of shared
responsibility; and a sense of our common
humanity, which will lead us to do
the right thing to save the planet for our
children and grandchildren.”
After concluding his speech, President
Clinton fielded several questions
from Mr. Sneath. When Mr. Sneath asked
the president about his view on the current
negative political discourse, especially
as presented by the media, the
president said that the debate we’re having
right now is not a real debate, and
that he pleads that we actually get down
to a discussion of what our real choices
are. Asked to evaluate the relationship
between terrorism and the economy,
Mr. Clinton recalled a recent address
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave
in which she emphasized that economic
strength cannot be divorced from
national security. According to the president,
if people in the United States do
not feel secure enough in their own economic
fortunes, they are not going to
support the investment needed to build
more partnerships around the world and
reduce the threat of terrorism. When Mr.
Sneath asked how we can rebuild confidence
in the financial markets without
creating inequities, President Clinton
emphasized the importance of addressing
mortgage debt and updating infrastructure
if we want to see a return to the
growth of the 1990s. Finally, when asked
to identify the accomplishment from
his presidency that makes him the most
proud, President Clinton gave Mr. Sneath
a specific answer and a general one. Specifically,
he pointed to the 22.7 million
jobs created during his administration,
92 percent of which were in the private
sector, as well the 7.7 million people who
moved from poverty to the middle class
during those eight years, which was 100
times as many as during President Ronald
Reagan’s two terms. He also said that
he was generally proud of the fact that
when he left office, it was understood that
the government, the private sector, and
individuals had to cooperate to achieve
progress. People had confidence in government
and expected to solve problems
together.
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For The Defense ■ December 2011 ■ 9