Applauding the industry for doing much to employ the country's workforce during the current recession, Clinton called America "the motherland of new, economic opportunity," while in the same breath asked, "but what are you going to do with electric cars in five years?"
Clinton touched on numerous issues during his address, which closed NACS' four-day convention [image-nocss] and trade show. Inclusive among them were industry-related topics such as health care and credit-card interchange fees.
On the topic of health care, he cited rising insurance costs as burdens to the economy, as well as barriers to the well-being of small businesses. He even advised that lobbyists for the c-store channel position their arguments in terms of larger, national issues such as employment.
"You've got to make people understand [your issues] in the context of what America faces," he said, noting specifically the credit-card fee issue. "It seems like you have a weak bargaining chip, but [high fees] also makes us less competitive [globally]. I'd make an argument from the point of view of the customer. Your [industry] is 56% small businesses, so talk how it's affecting your businesses, your employees and your customers."
When asked what one of the biggest but unspoken problems facing the nation today would be, Clinton responded with the idea of inequality. He said that people who are willing to work hard should receive the economic benefits of their labor.
"When I was born in 1946, Arkansas' per-capita income was 56% of the national average," he said. "We did not believe the future was pre-ordained. We were on a mission. I think millions of people today don't feel that. And you can't run a good country if people believe that tomorrow is not going to be better than today."
He also gave advice to small-business owners, telling retailers in attendance to "stay awake" and be in tune with trends. "Intelligence is evenly distributed, but the understanding of what's coming around the corner is not."
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