 the president of the United States thank you thank you very much and welcome to the White House as you well know this week is a in a celebration called we the people America is honoring minority business owners and recognizing their contributions to our country and I'm pleased that you could join me here as part of this celebration I can't help thinking what a portrait of American imagination industry and enterprise it would make if all of America's more than 840,000 minority entrepreneurs were here today of course if we requisitioned that many folding chairs we might be accused of promoting big government actually that reminds me of an old story there there was a small businessman who had been doing business with the government for many years I think a lot of you know what sort of paperwork that can entail so with the files and records really piling up he wrote the government and asked for permission and if it was necessary to keep all of the old documents or could he get rid of some of them the letter came back saying yes you can throw away any papers more than eight years old of course be sure to make copies of each one but in all seriousness in this by centennial of our Constitution we should reflect upon how blessed we truly are under our system government is strong enough to defend justice but limited enough to guarantee freedom our founding fathers saw economic rights as an essential part of freedom Alexander Hamilton observed that power over a man's subsistence amounts to a power over his will well by protecting life liberty and property and assuring the civil rights of all Americans our Constitution has made our country free and prosperous and produced on this continent the greatest nation on earth as you know I recently nominated to the Supreme Court Judge Robert Bort a distinguished member of the US Court of Appeals whose deference to law and precedent is so clear and whose scholarship is so exemplary that no decision rendered by him has ever been ill-returned by the Supreme Court if confirmed Judge Bork would join our eight sitting justices in their dedication to preserving the rights of every American under the Constitution I have no doubt the Judge Bork would be a widely respected force for justice and civil rights on our highest court but unfortunately not everyone agrees with me on that free enterprise an equal opportunity of given America the most dynamic economy in the world in the last five years the United States has created nearly 14 million new jobs that's more jobs than all of Western Europe and Japan combined have created in more than a decade and over four million jobs have gone to black and Hispanic workers it's not the government that created that explosion of jobs but private businesses like yours actually deep we did do one thing here in Washington to help in that we got out of the way we did that by cutting taxes eliminating excessive regulations and reducing the growth of government spending the result is America is heading toward a new record for the longest peacetime economic expansion in our history and unlike the expansion of 75 to 79 when black family income actually declined during this expansion the incomes of black American families have grown by 14 percent more over the decline in the poverty rate over the past four years has been the fastest among the minorities I think we all understand that our economy is not statistics but people and when we hear good news like that we have to appreciate what that means for people's lives I believe that when it comes to making sure that all Americans from every walk of life every color every religion have the chance to make it big there's no better way than that to keep the economy sparkling and the opportunities expanding for all our citizens we all know that misguided government policies can reduce opportunity for example raising the minimum wage laws most economists agree reduces employment and its minorities young people in the poor that are hit the hardest but some in Congress under pressure from special interests are pushing legislation to hike the minimum wage our Labor Department has estimated that every 10 percent increase in the minimum wage will mean 100,000 to 200,000 fewer jobs now some in Congress want to raise the minimum wage more than 38% over the next three years that could mean 800,000 jobs down the drain jobs that already exist or jobs hope an opportunity that will never be created this administration wants no part of a bill that will put people out of work or keep teenagers and young adults from getting their first job we want to help people move up the economic ladder not hoist the lower rungs out of their reach you and all the rest of America's entrepreneurs make a vital contribution in bringing people into the workforce and through training and job experience helping them to advance and grow in 1982 I made a commitment to greater opportunity for economic progress and independence for all Americans and part of this commitment was established it was establishing midweek and I think we can all be proud of what the record shows from loans to grants to procurement contracts we have set the stage for the expanded development of minority business in fiscal year 86 we exceeded our goal for procurement contracts awarded to minority firms but by far the most important steps were taken by entrepreneurs like you Peter Drucker has said that whenever you see a successful business someone once made a courageous decision those words ring particularly true during minority enterprise development week when we honor courageous people who overcame difficult odds and achieve success through hard work vision and prayer by working so hard to realize your dreams you also help other people's dreams to come true the employees you hire the suppliers you give business to the charities you support and all those inspired by the example of accomplishment dignity and self-reliance that you set in your economy or community I should say minority business is an important force in the economy and a vital part of our communities if the dream of America is to be strengthened we must not waste the genius of one mind or the strength of one body of the spirit of one soul as entrepreneurs you are creators you help create for the future in America and that will be even greater than it is today you give life to the American dream so I thank you God bless you all and now it's my pleasure to help with the awards thank you thank you mr. president I'm very pleased to participate in this important ceremony and to specifically honor three minority entrepreneurs who have established outstanding records in the private economy and more important through them to honor all of the other entrepreneurs for minority groups whose efforts and achievements are lighting the way for those from their communities who will follow in their footsteps make their way in a competitive American economy the first of our honorees is dr. Orlino C. Baldonado the president of the EC corporation of Oak Ridge Tennessee who has been named federal minority contractor of the year by the US Department of Energy dr. Baldonado's firm is being cited for its outstanding performance our next honoree is the Commerce Department's national minority entrepreneur of the year Louis B. Ketchum mr. Ketchum is president of the red man pipe and supply company of Tulsa, Oklahoma and is also chief of the Delaware Indian tribe Mr. Ketchum and Mrs. Ketchum and finally we have two honorees from the small business administration's national minority entrepreneur of the year award it goes to mr. Laboria Hinoyosa who is chairman and CEO of the board of H&H meat products of Cercides Texas and his brother the president Ruben E. Hinoyosa tell me I'm through well thank you very much sir