estore science to its rightful place， and wield technology s wonders to raise health care s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now， there are some who question the scale of our ambitions who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done； what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose， and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small， but whether it works whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage， care they can afford， a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes， we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no， programs will end. And those of us who manage the public s dollars will be held to account to spend wisely， reform bad habits， and do our business in the light of day because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freed