Watson Coleman: “I wish to spend a little time today talking about the economy. When I was mayor of St. Paul, people would say: Mayor…”

“I wish to spend a little time today talking about the economy. When I was mayor of St. Paul, people would say: Mayor, what are you doing for kids? My response would be: The best thing I can do for kids is make sure mom and dad have a job. The best welfare program is a job. The best housing program is a job. Access to health care most often comes through a job. So that was always my goal--jobs, jobs, jobs. I want to talk about the economy, but I want to touch briefly on the budget. The President submitted his budget. There will be a lot of debate. It is the beginning of a conversation. The President submits a budget and then we take a look at that budget and we weigh a number of options and ultimately it concludes. It is the beginning of a conversation. One of the things I find somewhat frustrating is that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle talk about the deficit. We are all concerned about the deficit. We do not want to pass on debt to our kids. We don't want to put obligations on them from what we do today. We need to be more responsible. So we hear concern about the deficit, about which we are all concerned. Then anytime the President says we have to keep a lid on spending, our friends on the other side of the aisle complain that we are cutting too much. You cannot be so passionate about the deficit if you are not willing to do something about it. It is not enough to complain. It is not enough just to be against.…”