Mayor Bloomberg’s Addresses American Competitiveness at U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Delivered to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
September 28, 2011

“Thank you. I don’t know if it’s been a rough morning here. I spent all the time just sitting on the tarmac at LaGuardia. We started out very early thinking we would not have any problems whatsoever, and then we kept getting delayed, delayed and delayed. And you kept looking at the radar map and saying, ‘Why?’ But the FAA knows better. And all’s well that ends well. Thank you for having me, and it’s great to be down here. I love the Chamber of Commerce, I used to be a member many years ago, and I’ll tell you a quick story. Tom Donohue cost me a lot of money. It wasn’t the gifts to support the Chamber, because that’s money well spent and I think they’ve always done a great job. But the point is that when I left the Chamber, Tom gave me a beautiful porcelain eagle. The trouble was I was already the Mayor, and the Mayor can’t take gifts. So I loved the eagle so much I went to the company that made it, I bought one to take home. And without that, I wouldn’t have spent that money. I would have had a lot more money. My girlfriend would have been able to have a better wardrobe, all of those things. My kids, another horse – anyway. Thank you for the opportunity to come here and speak, and I assure you that my remarks will not run too long.”