Bill Clinton: “Let me just echo that. I wanted to say a special word of thanks to Mr. Ahearn and the other companies who are doing this…”

“Let me just echo that. I wanted to say a special word of thanks to Mr. Ahearn and the other companies who are doing this who don't have hundreds and hundreds of employees. Most new jobs in America are being created by people like you. The Fortune 500 companies have reduced employment in every year--aggregate employment in every year since 1980, every year. But to give you an idea--this is another role model issue--last year there were more new jobs created by businesses owned by women alone than were reduced by the Fortune 500 companies. So people like you, we can grow our economy on small- and medium- sized businesses and on doing work to support bigger operations like this one. But that means that, for this program to work, we can't depend only on the Sanders and only on the big medical centers and only on the large employers to participate. We have to have the city police departments and the other--the more moderate-sized and small-sized employers participating too. [A participant discussed the opportunities that the construction business and skilled trades could offer to young people.]”