US president Joe Biden delivers his farewell address

Australian Community Media

Joe Biden warned an 'oligarchy' of the ultra-wealthy was taking root in the US and a 'tech-industrial complex' that is infringing on rights and democracy.

Transcript

00:00This will be my final address to you from the American people from the Oval Office,

00:04from this desk as President, and I've been thinking a lot about who we are, and maybe

00:10more importantly, who we should be.

00:12Long ago, in New York Harbor, an iron worker installed beam after beam, day after day.

00:21He was joined by steel workers, stonemasons, engineers.

00:26They built not just a single structure, but a beacon of freedom.

00:31The very idea of America was so big, we felt the entire world needed to see.

00:37The Statue of Liberty, a gift from France after our Civil War.

00:42Like the very idea of America, it was built not by one person, but by many people, from

00:47every background, and from around the world.

00:51Like America, the Statue of Liberty is not standing still.

00:56Her foot literally steps forward atop a broken chain of human bondage.

01:02She's on the march, and she literally moves.

01:06She has built the sway back and forth to withstand the fury of stormy weather, to stand the test

01:12of time because storms are always coming.

01:15She sways a few inches, but she never falls into the current below, an engineering marvel.

01:22The Statue of Liberty is also an enduring symbol of the soul of our nation, a soul shaped

01:28by forces that bring us together and by forces that pull us apart.

01:32And yet, through good times and tough times, we've withstood it all, a nation of pioneers

01:38and explorers, of dreamers and doers, of ancestors native to this land, of ancestors who came

01:46by force, a nation of immigrants who came to build a better life, a nation holding the

01:54torch of the most powerful idea ever in the history of the world, that all of us, all

02:00of us are created equal, that all of us deserve to be treated with dignity, justice, and fairness,

02:08that democracy must defend and be defined and be imposed, moved in every way possible.

02:19Our rights, our freedoms, our dreams, but we know the idea of America, our institution,

02:26our people, our values that uphold it are constantly being tested.

02:31Ongoing debates about power and the exercise of power, about whether we lead by the example

02:37of our power or the power of our example, whether we show the courage to stand up to

02:44the abuse of power or we yield to it.

02:48After 50 years at the center of all of this, I know that believing in the idea of America

02:54means respecting the institutions that govern a free society, the presidency, the Congress,

03:02the courts, a free and independent press.

03:07Institutions that are rooted, not — they just might not reflect the timeless words,

03:12but they echo the words of the Declaration of Independence.

03:19We hold these truths to be self-evident, rooted in the timeless words of the Constitution,

03:25we the people.

03:27Our system of separation of powers, checks and balances, it may not be perfect, but it's

03:33maintained our democracy for nearly 250 years, longer than any other nation in history that's

03:40ever tried such a bold experiment.

03:44In the past four years, our democracy has held strong.

03:48And every day, I've kept my commitment to be president for all Americans through one

03:53of the toughest periods in our nation's history.

03:56I've had a great partner in Vice President Kamala Harris.

03:59It's been the honor of my life to see the resilience of essential workers getting us

04:06through a once-in-a-century pandemic, the heroism of service members and first responders

04:11keeping us safe, the determination of advocates standing up for our rights and our freedoms

04:18instead of losing their jobs to an economic crisis that we inherited.

04:24Millions of Americans now have the dignity of work, millions of entrepreneurs and companies

04:30creating new businesses and industries, hiring American workers, using American products.

04:37Together, we've launched a new era of American possibilities, one of the greatest modernizations

04:43of infrastructure in our entire history, from new roads, bridges, clean water, affordable

04:49high-speed Internet for every American.

04:53We invented the semiconductor, smaller than the tip of my little finger, and now it's

04:58bringing those chip factories and those jobs back to America where they belong, creating

05:04thousands of jobs, finally giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription

05:10drug prices for millions of seniors, and finally doing something to protect our children and

05:17our families by passing the most significant gun safety law in 30 years.

05:23We're bringing violent crime to a 50-year low, meeting our sacred obligation to over

05:291 million veterans so far who are exposed to toxic materials and to their families,

05:36providing medical care and education benefits and more for their families.

05:41You know, it will take time to feel the full impact of all we've done together, but the

05:48seeds are planted, and they'll grow and they'll bloom for decades to come.

05:54At home, we've created nearly 17 million new jobs more than any other single administration

05:59in a single term. More people have health care than ever before. And overseas, we've

06:05strengthened NATO. Ukraine is still free, and we've pulled ahead of our competition

06:11with China and so much more.

06:15I'm so proud of how much we've accomplished together for the American people. And I wish

06:20the incoming administration success because I want America to succeed. That's why I've

06:27upheld my duty to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition of power, to ensure we lead by

06:33the power of our example.

06:36I have no doubt that America is in a position to continue to succeed. That's why my farewell

06:41address tonight, I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern.

06:48This is a dangerous con- and that's a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very

06:53few ultra-wealthy people, and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left

07:00unchecked.

07:01Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that

07:08literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair

07:14shot for everyone to get ahead.

07:18We see the consequences all across America, and we've seen it before. More than a century

07:23ago, when the American people stood up to the robber barons back then and busted the

07:30trusts, they didn't punish the wealthy, just made the wealthy pay by the rules everybody

07:37else had to. Workers want rights to earn their fair share. You know, they were dealt

07:43into the deal, and it helped put us on a path to building the largest middle class, the

07:49most prosperous century any nation in the world has ever seen.

07:53We've got to do that again. In the last four years, that is exactly what we've done. People

08:00should be able to make as much as they can, but pay, play by the same rules. Pay their

08:06fair share in taxes. So much is at stake. Right now, the existential threat of climate

08:13change has never been clear. Just look across the country, from California to North Carolina.

08:22That's why I signed the most significant climate and clean energy law ever, ever in the history

08:27of the world, and the rest of the world is trying to model it now. It's working, creating

08:33jobs and industries of the future. Now, we've proven we don't have to choose between protecting

08:38the environment and growing the economy. We're doing both. The powerful forces want to wield

08:46their unchecked influence to eliminate the steps we've taken to tackle the climate crisis,

08:51to serve their own interest for power and profit. We must not be bullied into sacrificing

08:59the future, the future of our children and our grandchildren. We must keep pushing forward

09:05and push faster. There's no time to waste. It's also clear that American leadership in

09:11technology is unparalleled, an unparalleled source of innovation that can transform lives.

09:19We see the same dangers of a concentration of technology, power, and wealth. You know,

09:26at his farewell address, President Eisenhower spoke of the dangers of the military-industrial

09:31complex. He warned us then about, and I quote, the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced

09:39power, end of quote. Six days le- six decades later, I'm equally concerned about the potential

09:47rise of a tech-industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country as well.

09:55Children are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, enabling

10:01the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling. Editors are disappearing. Social media is

10:08giving up on fact-checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit. We

10:17must hold the social platforms accountable to protect our children, our families, and

10:23our very democracy from the abuse of power. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is the

10:31most consequential technology of our time, perhaps of all time. Nothing offers more profound

10:38possibilities and risks for our economy and our security, our society, for very- for humanity.

10:48Artificial intelligence even has the potential to help us answer my call to end cancer as

10:52we know it. But unless safeguards are in place, AI could spawn new threats to our rights,

10:59our way of life, to our privacy, how we work, and how we protect our nation. We must make

11:05sure AI is safe and trustworthy and good for all humankind. In the age of AI, it's more

11:14important than ever that the people must govern. And as the land of liberty, America, not

11:22China, must lead the world in the development of AI. You know, in the years ahead, it'll

11:29help to be- it's going to be up to the president, the presidency, the Congress, the courts,

11:35the free press, and the American people to confront these powerful forces. We must reform

11:42the tax code, not by giving the biggest tax cuts to billionaires, but by making them begin

11:47to pay their fair share. We need to get dark money. That's that hidden funding behind too

11:52many campaigns' contributions. We need to get it out of our politics. We need to enact

11:58an 18-year time limit, term limit, time and term, for the strongest ethics reforms and

12:04the strongest ethics reforms for our Supreme Court. We need to ban members of Congress

12:10from trading stock while they're in the Congress. We need to amend the Constitution to make

12:15clear that no president, no president is immune from crimes that he or she commits

12:21while in office. The president's power is not limited. It's not absolute, and it shouldn't

12:28be. And in a democracy, there's another danger to the concentration of power and wealth.

12:36It erodes the sense of unity and common purpose. It causes distrust and division. Participating

12:43in our democracy becomes exhausting and even disillusioning. And people don't feel like

12:49they have a fair shot. We have to stay engaged in the process. I know it's frustrating. A

12:57fair shot is what makes America, America. Everyone's entitled to a fair shot, not a

13:03guarantee, but just a fair shot, an even playing field. Going as far as your hard work and

13:09talent can take you. We can never lose that essential truth. Remain who we are. I've always

13:16believed and I've told other world leaders, America can be defined by one word, possibilities.

13:24Only in America do we believe anything is possible. Like a kid with a stutter from modest

13:31beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in Claymont, Delaware, sitting behind this desk in the

13:37Oval Office as President of the United States. That's the magic of America. It's all around

13:43us. Upstairs in the residence of the White House, I've walked by a painting of the Statue

13:49of Liberty I don't know how many times. In the painting, there are several workers climbing

13:56on the outstretched arm of the statue that holds the torch. It reminds me every day I

14:02pass it, of the story and soul of our nation and the power of the American people. There's

14:10a story of a veteran. This is a veteran, the son of an immigrant, whose job was to climb

14:16that torch and polish the amber panes so rays of light could reach out as far as possible.

14:24He was known as the keeper of the flame. He once said of the Statue of Liberty, quote,

14:31speaks a silent universal language, one of hope that anyone who seeks and speaks freedom

14:38can understand. Yes, we sway back and forth to withstand the fury of the storm, to stand

14:45the test of time, a constant struggle, constant struggle, a short distance between peril and

14:53possibility. But what I believe is the America of our dreams is always closer than we think.

15:01It's up to us to make our dreams come true. Let me close by stating my gratitude to so

15:08many people. To the members of my administration, as well as public service and first responders

15:14across the country and around the world, thank you for stepping up to serve. To our service

15:21members and your families, it's been the highest honor of my life to lead you as Commander

15:27in Chief. And, of course, to Kamala and her incredible partner, historic vice president,

15:35she and Doug have become like family. And to me, family is everything. My deepest appreciation

15:42to our amazing first lady who's with me in the Oval today, for our entire family. You're

15:51the love of my life and the life of my love. My eternal thanks to you, the American people.

15:59After 50 years of public service, I give you my word, I still believe in the idea for which

16:06this nation stands. A nation where the strengths of our institutions and the character of our

16:12people matter and must endure. Now it's your turn to stand guard. May you all be the keeper

16:21of the flame. May you keep the faith. I love America. You love it too. God bless you all.

16:29May God protect our troops. Thank you for this great honor.

Category

Transcript

Recommended