Today, in large measure due to the deficit reduction program of 1993, and the economic growth that it generated, the deficit has fallen from close to five percent of GDP to an estimate of roughly one percent of GDP for 1997. That deficit reduction was key to reducing interest rates and increasing confidence, which, in turn, drove and sustained our new long lived recovery. There are also some hopeful signs of renewal in America's cities. Unemployment in America's largest cities is down to 6.5 percent. Nearly three million people have left the welfare rolls in that time.
Crime is down substantially.
Yesterday, the President released a report on the state of America's cities, the most important and comprehensive review of the condition of urban America in decades, that provides valuable evidence that contradicts the widespread perception that problems in the inner city are insoluble. But the report makes clear that there is still an enormous amount to do. Just as it has taken decades for many of the economic and social problems in the inner cities to develop, it will take time and a concerted effort to make the progress that needs to be made. In order to bring new jobs and opportunity to our inner cities and their residents, we must take action to make our urban areas safer, to invest in the education and job readiness of people and to increase access to capital to help businesses grow. In each of these areas, partnerships among government, the business sector and communities can make a real difference.