John McCain
Bio-Tour Speech
Meridian, MS 03/31/08

TRANSCRIPT:
JOHN MCCAIN:"Government must be attentive to the impact on families of parents who have lost jobs in our changing economy that won't come back. Our programs for displaced workers are antiquated, repetitive and ineffective. Many were designed for a time when unemployment was seasonal or a temporary consequence of an economic downturn. Not for a time when systemic changes, wrought by the growing global economy have, while promising undreamt of opportunities for ourselves, in many historically poor societies, have cost too many parents the jobs they had assumed would be theirs for life. For the loss of work and the resources it provides families come just as injurious losses to the emotional health of families. Work provides more than an income; it's a source of self-worth, pride and sense of purpose. Children learn as much from observation as instruction. The mother or father who has lost hope, along with their job, can unintentionally impart that hopelessness to their children. A welfare check can't give a parent a sense of purpose, and among—

[applause]

--and among the most important things children can inherit from their parents is a sense of purpose and an aspiration to be part of something bigger than themselves."

LABEL: JM MS 03-31 (EW#1) DFHRUDd-ClipD

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