Welcome, everyone. Nice to see you all here. Its my job to introduce someone to take. Honor to introduce someone for such stature and independence [applause] thank you so much and good afternoon, everyone. Senator mccain was an American Hero from his service in the navy to the senate you perhaps most important legacy and so much more in common with each other. Well talk about how john mccain was right its impossible to overestimate how important democracy is. The founding idea for the country from the resolution itself in the constitution and how we find ourselves convinced those who question Democratic Values we must reaffirm basic principles can commitment to the values in our constitution. Democracy is not only the basis of what is the basis for success. He would not accept treatment for parental to american prison inmates. It is their fellow citizens you sent needs clear americas success and allows us to work out disagreements and address legitimate concerns and explains why america is viewed as one of the most hardest working successful countries in the world. Here is the same mind now. Dont put money before people support our families democracy. We must work to protect democracy isnt important in and of itself. Its critical for a strong economy. Being away at democracy as necessary trade for economic gains is block. Undercutting democracy undercuts the foundation. They attempted to block the peaceful transition of leadership and democracy heard such a spherical authoritarian to gives them setting to ukraines future and undermining order repression our freedom passes report 21. The importance of democracy as far perfect but work facilities. Democracy itself in the economy. The importance of democracy and Economic Growth a recent study analyzing 175 countries over a 50 year. God democratization increases tdp capital around 20 in the long run. Today i would like to focus not topline numbers but three most important democracy seen throughout my life. Accountability, and out of, democracy is about accountability. In performing the countrys direction or culture change. The peaceful transfer of power. Concession beach, urged supporters to congratulate president elect and Work Together to get our country moving. It provides for accountability between elections. Citizens can voice their concerns and range from Public Comments to protest. The request purpose election and promptly correct checks and balances any sort of government at each goes on. First and foremost, it drives economic policymaking and meets the needs. As much as 20 to 30 more for healthcare according to one study. These investments matter for individuals economic outcomes and an additional year of schooling increases earnings by seven to 10 on average. This is intuitive too many of us. As a child i heard stories about how good Health Enables reproductively lives in opening the door to Higher Education and second is democracy is working as it should and government is accountable to all citizens regardless of income, ethnicity and geography. This accountability leads governments to take into account perspectives. Caring for those who are left out. Its not a onetime mechanism citizens can demand different policymaking their needs are not being met and government can correct its course at the time. Accountability is only one in freedom to participate in the brief flow of people and ideas you will growth in the productive capacity for good constraints of the Political Economic right of certain groups. America has come a long way. I was a freshman in college in 1963 when the march on washington occurred at the same time i began to fully understand termination faced by women in professions like economics. As one of the women in my graduate economic slump no women on the faculty when i started but it was also economic and one of the most important economic stories last time was millions of americans gaining access to our countrys economic life. Twentyfive to 54 yearolds are women participating in it more than doubled. 74 and 9090. To the potential growth rate of gdp over that period. Growth participation economies benefit from the fruit low of people and ideas. Risk taking, entrepreneurship and the microprocessor five decades ago. A recent study of 23 from 197222010 has the connection between democracy and social exchange. In the ability to form unions according to a recent treasury report. As treasury secretary, i benefit from Public Private and nonprofit stakeholders unafraid to speak openly and amplifies perspectives. Democratic governments rely on this freedom of the press and wise decisions to benefit every member of democracy. This leads me to the third, one side accountability and Economic Freedom democracy is associated strong independent institutions that uphold the rule of law. In a democracy individuals and firms can trust the rights will not change overnight they are not predetermined are subject to arbitrary vertical political leaders. And widely obey the law and they do so because others important in view it as their duty to operate with law enforcement. In such cooperating and democracy and a need for democracy called legitimacy. Democracy lapses but with it, democracy drives. In the federal reserve, stock markets grounded in law silicon valley. Every day they put thousands of economic decisions through purchasing a home because of the court to expand your business and ingenuity and hard work described to local officials. The robot altered by institutions insulated from interference. Insisting on the feds independence and transparency. The stability and Economic Growth. Research has been consistent with my belief and it is with greater price stability. Democracy on the economy influenced by observing. Example from my own experience and prior to the integration in west germany in 1991 i started the economy. It is believed strongly in the United States and elsewhere in the communist government. On the contrary. Outside of the Energy Sector was only one single enterprise germany to make a profit after unification when mark was exchanged on a onetoone basis. Those who disparage democracy. Recent imf estimates of a gdp per capita of russia relative to the United States are about onesixth. We present is highly educated workers from the country, taking their skills, ideas and capital with them. For example, to launch some of the world leading startups, not from russia but from the United States and other jurisdictions. In the any deficiencies that come from totalitarian state seem to be far more than offset by the advantages democracy. As for china, theres no denying that chinas catchup growth lifted hundreds of millions of people from poverty. This is one of the great Global Economic achievements of the past century, and its a result of its market and opening up. But chinas future growth is far from certain. Its gdp per capita is 216th of americas, and less than onethird that of the european union. And i believe that the absence of some of the pillars ive described will continue to pose challenges as china navigates to transition to an advanced economy. Limits on transparency and censorship give companies reason to doubt the information they receive, and coercive actions against firms undermine fair competition. In the nearby Korean Peninsula offers another striking example. In the 70 years of democracy in south korea, and dictatorship in north korea, the countries economic trajectories have also diverged sharply. Today, per capita income in south korea is estimated to be 30 times greater than in north korea, and Life Expectancy in the south is a decade longer. So what does this add up to . Democracy is not just intrinsically good. Promoting democracy is also good economic policy. It creates the conditions for workers to thrive, and for businesses to invest and grow among them the potential gains ive highlighted. The argument that eroding democracy would be fair or necessary trade for economic gains is wrong. And yet this argument has taken root abroad and even here in america. I believe thats because economic success, even in a robust democracy, is not 100 guaranteed. Democracies and economies take hard work to build and maintain, and its easy to lose faith. I turn to that now. Ive spoken before about the challenges faced by americas working families. Over decades, communities across the country have been hollowed out from deindustrialization. Median real wages have stagnated. Healthcare and education have become harder to afford. Many american working families are uncertain about their future, and theres been a significant increase in deaths of despair. This insecurity and fear persist today, not only in america, but for people elsewhere around the world. And this has led many people to understandably question whether democracy can, in fact, deliver for themselves, their families, their communities, and their countries. Over the past three years President Biden and i have worked to show you at home that it can. Despite this function in washington and the face of challenges still ahead. As the president said last september in honor of senator mccains legacy, ive made the defense and protection and preservation of american democracy central issue of my presidency. We have shown democracy can deliver by addressing immediate crises and Kitchen Table issues that matter to americans, and through the pursuit of a medium and longterm economic agenda focus on Economic Opportunity for all. We took office in the depths of the recession brought on by the pandemic. President biden went big at this time of national emergency. We provide cash relief for households, prevented tenants from being evicted, and support Small Businesses to keep employees on their payrolls. Our Vaccination Campaign saved lives, and able to return to work. The funding we provided was unprecedented, not just in its scale, but in his flexibility. It was designed to reach every city and town in the United States big or small, urban or rural, and to empower them to meet their citizens needs. And america bounce back quickly, achieving rapid Economic Growth and unemployment remains near historic lows. We avoided the scarring that affected a generation of workers after the Global Financial crisis. The recovery has been historically fast and historically inclusive. We have seen the lowest unemployment rates since the 1960s, and the narrowing of the blackwhite wage gap. There was a nearly 20 gap between the metropolitan and rural rates of unemployment. That gap has now been eliminated. Now, were designing and implementing choices for the president s investing in america agenda. Its a, they gains will be felt broadly, and no community or worker will be left behind. The results so far are promising. Treasury analysis has shown that states with lower median Household Incomes are receiving more funding per capita from the president s historic infrastructure law than wealthier states. That means new bridges, roads and airports, fast broadband come clean water and Economic Opportunities that come with upgraded infrastructure are being expanded in the communities that need it most. The same is true for investment in the industries of the future. We are creating good jobs and pathways to them for American Families across the country. 84 of Clean Energy Investments announced since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed have been in counties with College Graduation rates below the national average. 75 have been in counties with median incomes below the national average. And i send him back myself in trips around the country, from a plant making parts for ev batteries in rural kentucky, two and Workforce Training Center in downtown milwaukee. As i do this great work, i feel the ways in which democracy is influencing me and other Public Servants to serve all americans, strengthening my policymaking with diverse inputs, and making Capital Markets transparent. Put simply, democracy is delivering for americans and for our economy. With democracy, its the america of all of us. All of us must make a a contribution and listen to one another. Thats what democracy is all about. And even when we disagree, we must respect each other. Well, let me end with this. Churchill once quipped that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others. And hes right. We need to acknowledge democracy is not perfect, and its messy. We have made and will continue to make mistakes. Also in a democracy everyone does not get their way, and we are bound to see some dissatisfaction and frustration from those who feel strongly about their opinions. Yet, its essential that we do not give into the impulses of some and make devastating errors of turning away from our democratic spirit and system. Ultimately, democracy provides the accountability, freedom, and will of law that give us the best chance of learning from our mistakes and doing better. With democracy, no one man or woman dictates how we solve our problems. We work through them together. As we look ahead we need to make it easier for americans to afford childcare, access to education, live in quality housing, and retire with dignity. We need to do more than reaffirm our conviction in democracy. We must recommit to its protection, and we must also show that it can deliver. We live in a time of significant challenges. A once in a century pandemic took millions of lives and livelihoods. Conflict in the middle east has led to humanitarian crisis. The physical and economic costs of Climate Change are a daily reminder of its existential threat. Its a moment that financed american leadership, including by bolstering our democracy and supporting democracies around the world. John mccain once said that being american meant more to him than any other association. I i, too, feel immensely fortune to have been born and live here as my life has been made possible by the promise of american democracy. America gave me the opportunity to acquire an excellent education. In my own career, democracy hs made me free to examine and question economic orthodoxy. Being a woman in economics wasnt always easy, but butd on the shoulders of women who had fought for the democratic rights and pave the way for me and other women economists to reach the heights of our profession. And now i feel a special obligation to strengthen the institutions that i have benefited from my whole life. I realize that the committee across this country and around the world who have not had my opportunities. That might give us reason to doubt the power of democracy. But on the contrary, it should be the reason for us to redouble our work, to bolster democracy for its own sake, and also for americas and the World Economic future. So america can be the land of opportunity for everybody. For my own part i promise to do something i can to make this happen. A strong democracy is critical to building and sustaining a strong economy, and also it is the job of all of us to do Everything Possible to protect it. Our commitment to it has been central to who we are since jul. Thank you. [applause] madam secretary, its great to have your in a beautiful place. I know youve been traveling across the entire planet trying to find ways to advance the interest and success of the United States, i want to go back in time look at. You mention 1963, you mention 1963 Community College i think you into brown and the later picked up a rapid peace the deal. You wouldnt start certification natures which is shocking, and so, and so what like to get at is thinking 63 1971 has to be one of the most complicated periods in american history. The war, the senator in the war, fighting in the war, the things that went on in the country in 1968, the things that follow that come the reshaping, things were happening. What was driving you to go into economics . What was driving you to take on this very, very complex form of political mathematics and Economic Modeling and so forth . What was driving you way back then . I always felt that economics concerned something that was utterly vital to the welfare of every american and every citizen around the world. And i learned from the economics i studied that there really was no better system than free market capitalist system. But there are problems and ways in which markets can this function or may fail to deal with problems that are critical to welfare, whether its Climate Change or the need for Public Education or healthcare or regulation of financial institutions. So i felt from the onset that good Public Policy plays a Critical Role in ensuring an Economic System that works well for everyone. And i was fascinated but, fascinated by what i learn about what might be possible, and its what really motivated me to study economics at that time. I went back and did a quick survey of the seven or so people that have been treasury secretary of the United States, and youre going to laugh when i say this but the person intellectually close to you, in my view, was hamilton. And what i mean by that [laughing] so hamilton did have the opportunity to finish college come the revolution came along. He went off to be a soldier but he later as you knew and