Elaine Chao Quotes

Powerful Elaine Chao for Daily Growth

About Elaine Chao

Elaine Lan Chao is an influential American politician, businesswoman, and writer, born on March 26, 1953, in Taipei, Taiwan. She immigrated to the United States with her family at the age of eight, settling in Rochester, New York. Her journey exemplifies the American Dream, as she rose from an immigrant background to become a distinguished figure in politics and business. Chao graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. She later earned her Master's degree in Industrial Management from Harvard University. These educational foundations provided her with the tools to excel in both business and public service. Her career began in the private sector, working for various companies, including Wells Fargo Bank and Revlon Inc. However, her passion for public service led her to join the Reagan Administration, serving as Director of the Federal Maritime Commission from 1985 to 1989. She continued her government service under President George H.W. Bush, where she held several positions, including Deputy Maritime Administrator and Labor Secretary. Chao is known for her strong commitment to economic development, transportation infrastructure, and job creation. As the U.S. Secretary of Labor from 2001 to 2009 during the George W. Bush administration, she was instrumental in policies that expanded small business lending, increased apprenticeship opportunities, and strengthened retirement security for millions of American workers. Post-government service, Chao served as Chairman of the United Way of America and is currently a Trustee at the Brookings Institution. Her memoir, 'Thoughts from a Condemned Whale: My Fight for Dignity in America' (2017), offers insights into her life experiences and political career. Elaine Chao continues to be a respected voice in American politics and business, using her platform to advocate for immigration reform, economic growth, and national unity. Her story serves as an inspiration for countless individuals seeking a better future in the United States.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The role of government is not to reinvent the wheel, but to remove barriers to progress and opportunity."

This quote by Elaine Chao suggests that the primary function of a government should be to facilitate progress and opportunities for its citizens rather than taking on unnecessary responsibilities or duplicating existing efforts (reinventing the wheel). The removal of obstacles such as regulations, policies, or societal limitations is crucial in allowing individuals, businesses, and communities to thrive. This perspective emphasizes the importance of government serving its people efficiently, enabling them to innovate, grow, and succeed on their own terms.

"We must remember that leadership requires both responsibility and humility."

This quote emphasizes the dual nature of effective leadership - it combines the ability to take responsibility for decisions, actions, and outcomes with a humble attitude. Responsibility means being accountable for one's actions, making sound judgments, and taking necessary steps to achieve goals. Humility, on the other hand, is acknowledging that no one has all the answers, understanding the limitations of one's knowledge and abilities, and approaching leadership with an open mind and a willingness to learn from others. By balancing these two qualities, leaders can build trust, foster collaboration, and create a positive organizational culture.

"It's important to be a good listener. Listening, not speaking, is the most important skill any leader can possess."

Elaine Chao's quote emphasizes that effective leadership is characterized not just by speaking eloquently or making bold decisions, but also by possessing strong listening skills. By focusing on understanding others, a leader fosters an environment of trust, empathy, and collaboration – key ingredients for successful teamwork and problem-solving. In essence, Chao suggests that true leadership lies in the ability to connect with people authentically, actively engaging in dialogue rather than solely dictating actions or speeches.

"My parents instilled in me a strong work ethic – they believed that if you wanted something, you had to earn it and be grateful for the opportunities you received."

The quote by Elaine Chao underscores the importance of a strong work ethic, which her parents emphasized throughout her life. They instilled in her the belief that success requires effort and gratitude for the opportunities given. This message conveys the value of determination, hard work, and an appreciation for the chances one receives in life, fostering a mindset of self-improvement and resilience.

"In the end, leadership is about inspiring others to do their best."

Elaine Chao's quote suggests that effective leadership involves more than just managing tasks or providing resources; it requires encouraging and motivating those around us to achieve their full potential. By inspiring others to give their best, a leader fosters an environment where individuals feel empowered and engaged, leading to increased productivity, innovation, and overall success for the team or organization.

To better deal with shortages of qualified applicants now and in the future, government policy makers need to acknowledge that government job training programs could stand improvement.

- Elaine Chao

Need, Deal, Makers, Qualified

European-style interventions to which the Obama administration is inclined will not make America more competitive in the world-wide economy. Such policies will not increase growth, will not decrease unemployment, and will not increase wages for workers.

- Elaine Chao

Will, Which, Administration, World-Wide

401k savings accounts have become so important in the landscape of retirement planning that their security and expansion became a top priority in formulating and implementing the Pension Protection Act of 2006 that was enacted during my tenure as the U.S. Secretary of Labor.

- Elaine Chao

Protection, Became, Implementing

Our country needs to produce 250,000 net new jobs every month just to keep even with population growth.

- Elaine Chao

New, Country, Needs, Population Growth

Government at all levels has kicked the fiscal can down the road for far too long.

- Elaine Chao

Road, Government, Fiscal, Kicked

Even when America's economy has been by all measures healthy and the unemployment rate low, some businesses suffer or fail and lay off workers. But nearly always, a simultaneous and even greater burst of new jobs has been created to offset the jobs lost - millions of new jobs every year.

- Elaine Chao

Year, Some, Been, Simultaneous

We need long-term tax reform that promotes private sector job creation. And legislated mandates that kill jobs by raising the cost of payrolls need to be eliminated.

- Elaine Chao

Private, Raising, Eliminated, Mandates

The expenses of complying with Washington's torrent of mandates and regulatory overreach are costing American workers jobs and income growth.

- Elaine Chao

Income, Regulatory, Jobs, Mandates

Even a healthy economy and labor market would have struggled under the additional expenses enacted and proposed in 2009 and 2010 - from healthcare mandates and higher taxes, to carbon cap-and-trade and delay in extending the last decade's tax reforms.

- Elaine Chao

Decade, Taxes, Additional, Mandates

Most private sector workers can only dream of getting the generous lifetime pension and health benefits typical of government service.

- Elaine Chao

Lifetime, Benefits, Private, Pension

Taxpayers should demand that their states honestly assess public pension plans, accurately measure the assets and liabilities, and take steps to provide fair benefits to public employees that limit taxpayers' liability.

- Elaine Chao

Benefits, Honestly, Pension

Left-wing shareholder activists seek to leverage the mass economic power of institutional investors such as pension funds, whose managers are supposed to focus strictly on their fiduciary responsibilities to retirees.

- Elaine Chao

Leverage, Mass, Retirees, Pension

The Obama administration's zeal to not 'waste a good crisis,' as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton put it, has been stunning even for Washington insiders to behold.

- Elaine Chao

Crisis, Waste, Been, Behold

As we celebrate Women's History Month this March, it's important to remember the key role women have played in promoting a better understanding and relationships between our country and the rest of the world.

- Elaine Chao

Rest, Country, Promoting, Between

I am not seeking any position in a Dole Administration.

- Elaine Chao

I Am, Administration, Dole

To maintain their own competitiveness, workers need to attain and stay current on the qualifications needed to advance in a constantly evolving economy.

- Elaine Chao

Need, Needed, Maintain, Qualifications

News-free existence is not a serious proposal, but it is worth noting that while today's 24/7 media environment is wonderful in many ways, it can also be like drinking out of a fire hose and intensify a downward reinforcing cycle of despair.

- Elaine Chao

Media, Existence, Downward, Noting

The Obama administration likes to say that it is 'pro-worker.' But something is amiss when its labor priorities are forcing unionization and labor contracts on American workplaces, and denying union members information on how their dues money is spent.

- Elaine Chao

Administration, Obama, Dues

I love working in the garden.

- Elaine Chao

Love, Working, I Love, Garden

When Peace Corps was first proposed, some in Congress assumed that only men would be volunteers.

- Elaine Chao

Some, Congress, Volunteers, Proposed

Those memories of living in a developing nation are part of who I am today and give me a profound understanding of the challenges of economic development - an understanding which will make my tenure as Peace Corps director, I hope, a very special one.

- Elaine Chao

Challenges, Nation, Very, Corps

The work of these women doesn't end when they return home from overseas, as one goal of the Peace Corps' mission is to help promote a better understanding of other cultures here in the United States.

- Elaine Chao

Here, Other, United, Corps

The borrow-spend-and-centralize agenda that has been so destructive to job creation elsewhere in America has been a gravy boat inside the Beltway.

- Elaine Chao

Inside, Been, Elsewhere, Gravy

Around the time President Lyndon B. Johnson was declaring a War on Poverty in the 1960s, federal, state and local governments began accelerating a veritable War on the Private Sector.

- Elaine Chao

Private, Private Sector, Local Governments

America needs a new approach to boost the economy - one that does not doom future generations to being saddled with paying off today's federal deficits.

- Elaine Chao

New, Needs, Doom, Boost

Though the National Bureau of Economic Research deemed the recession to have ended in June 2009, to most Americans, that conclusion seems not to square with reality.

- Elaine Chao

Research, Though, Deemed, Economic

Employers should overcome a myopic quarterly earnings posture and focus on long-term strategies for growth that include investing in their own skills-training efforts to enable a broader pool of applicants.

- Elaine Chao

Include, Posture, Employers, Broader

My parents were very, very strict parents, and they were not used to this new, you know, American custom of letting your children sleep in someone else's house.

- Elaine Chao

New, Very, Custom, Strict

When my mother, sisters and I arrived on the shores of America when I was 8 years old, the boat on which we came, a freighter, passed the Statue of Liberty.

- Elaine Chao

Statue Of Liberty, Which, Boat

Confidence, capital, and new markets fuel entrepreneurship and job-generating expansion of existing businesses.

- Elaine Chao

New, Capital, Existing, Businesses

The greatest job creation is driven by entrepreneurs and young businesses, so they merit special attention.

- Elaine Chao

Young, Special, Driven, Businesses

Capital available for individuals to start and expand businesses would increase with regulatory and strategic tax reforms, like reducing marginal rates, repealing the alternative minimum tax, and making the U.S. the most welcoming place for employers to relocate and create jobs.

- Elaine Chao

Capital, Repealing, Businesses

To foster entrepreneurship, expansion and job creation, more leaders at all levels of government have to demonstrate some understanding of what it takes to build and grow businesses in the private sector.

- Elaine Chao

Grow, Some, Private, Businesses

Perhaps the original layaway angel knew from experience, or simply deduced, that people resorting to the old-fashioned installment method of layaway may be struggling financially.

- Elaine Chao

Original, May, Method, Financially

Rising energy costs kill jobs and hit America's poorest the hardest.

- Elaine Chao

Hit, Costs, Poorest, Energy Costs

We have a lot of employers who are looking for skilled workers and not being able to find them. And we have workers who lack the requisite skills to access these good-paying jobs in high growth industries.

- Elaine Chao

Access, Jobs, Employers, Industries

Deep in the heart of Kentucky's rugged Eastern Mountain region, there lives a woman who has fascinated and inspired me for two decades. She is known locally these days as 'Mayor Nan' - the octogenarian chief executive of Hazard and advocate for its 5,467 residents.

- Elaine Chao

Deep, Woman, Fascinated, Decades

Activists have every right to espouse their views of utopia.

- Elaine Chao

Right, Utopia, Every, Activists

I'm the first secretary of labor in the 21st century, and the competitiveness of the American work force and the modernization of decades-old regulations have been among our top priorities.

- Elaine Chao

Work, Been, Modernization, 21st Century

While conventional wisdom has traditionally sided against borrowing from retirement savings, sentiment has shifted toward borrowing from one's own assets with the realization that other forms of credit come at a much higher cost and often are not even available to borrowers with limited means and urgent needs.

- Elaine Chao

Other, Against, Sentiment, Forms

The ingenuity and creativity of the private sector is essential to meeting American's needs for a skilled work force.

- Elaine Chao

Needs, Private, Ingenuity

When the Smoot-Hawley bill landed on President Herbert Hoover's desk, more than 1,000 economists urged him to veto it. Tragically, the president ignored their pleas.

- Elaine Chao

More, Ignored, Bill, Hoover

Washington's parasitic approach to the private sector must change for there to be widespread, near-term and enduring prosperity and job creation.

- Elaine Chao

Private, Private Sector, Widespread

Nan Gorman was born in Memphis, Tenn., on St. Patrick's Day. She moved to Hazard in 1929 when her father, James Hagan, a recent medical school graduate and aspiring surgeon, went to work there.

- Elaine Chao

Medical, Aspiring, Moved, Recent

While there have been news reports of recent college graduates living with their parents because they have been unable to find a job paying a salary sufficient to move out, their near and long-term career prospects remain far brighter than for those without a college degree.

- Elaine Chao

College, Been, Reports, Recent

We Americans typically are more positive about our individual futures, which we have some control over, than we are the nation's or the world's, which we see largely through the media prism.

- Elaine Chao

Through, Over, Which, Prism

We are a Republic with different branches of government, and so the Senate and the House are going to be full partners in working with the White House.

- Elaine Chao

House, Going, Republic, Branches

It's not coincidental that America's vigorous recovery in the early 1980s was led by a president who worked hard to unshackle growth in the private sector.

- Elaine Chao

Private, Private Sector, Led, 1980s

It has long been said the only things in life that are certain are death and taxes. Automatic enrollment for insurance of 401k loans would add an additional certainty. Fewer Americans would suffer the unnecessary loss of retirement savings due to unanticipated and untimely misfortune in an already stressful time of need.

- Elaine Chao

Death, Insurance, Been, Stressful

Outside of Washington, D.C., most Americans aren't concerned with doing things 'big.' They're looking for less government spending, lower taxes, and good jobs.

- Elaine Chao

Big, Government Spending, Lower Taxes

Our private-sector work force is the most industrious, innovative, productive, and ambitious in the world.

- Elaine Chao

World, Most, Innovative, Industrious

I will carry with me always the deep sense of what it feels like to be an outsider and how tough it was, how hard it was to adapt to this country.

- Elaine Chao

Country, Always, Feels, Outsider

Never far from my thoughts are memories of being a little girl in Queens, N.Y., our family of five crowded in a small one-bedroom apartment, struggling to learn English and survive a new life in a new country, America. We humbly and gratefully still recall the kindnesses shown by strangers and neighbors who became new friends.

- Elaine Chao

Small, Country, Became, Humbly

Progress is being made, but a lot of women are realizing it is not what they envisioned.

- Elaine Chao

Made, Lot, Envisioned, Women Are

There are many reasons to worry; the evening news is full of them.

- Elaine Chao

Worry, News, Reasons, Evening News

Confidence, capital, and credit fuel entrepreneurship and economic expansion.

- Elaine Chao

Confidence, Fuel, Capital, Entrepreneurship

The OPPA route is nothing new. It follows the decades-old liberal agenda on trade, health care, global warming, and mass unionization. That agenda has never brought prosperity to workers.

- Elaine Chao

New, Nothing, Brought, Agenda

Where public pensions are concerned, many jurisdictions are running out of road.

- Elaine Chao

Running, Concerned, Public, Pensions

If we did not have Obamacare, we could've addressed the healthcare crisis in a comprehensive but segmented fashion - meaning that we could have promoted a health savings plan. We could've pushed for tort reform, which added so much more cost to healthcare.

- Elaine Chao

Healthcare, Added, Promoted, Savings

Three years after the four deepest previous recessions began - in 1953, 1957, 1973 and 1981 - employment was on average 4.7% higher than the pre-recession peak.

- Elaine Chao

Average, Began, Previous, Employment

Smoot and Hawley ginned up The Tariff Act of 1930 to get America back to work after the Stock Market Crash of '29. Instead, it destroyed trade so effectively that by 1932, American exports to Europe were just a third of what they had been in 1929. World trade fell two-thirds as other nations retaliated. Jobs evaporated.

- Elaine Chao

Other, Been, Two-Thirds, Stock

President Obama has been admirably pro-trade in public remarks, but there has been no progress in moving any new free trade agreements to expand exports abroad and create jobs at home.

- Elaine Chao

New, Been, Abroad, Free Trade

We need fair and free trade.

- Elaine Chao

Fair, Trade, Need, Free Trade

We have many rules and regulations that can be sometimes confusing and complicated. By reaching out to the employer community and educating them on what their responsibilities and obligations are to their work force, that, along, with strong enforcement, is the best way to protect workers.

- Elaine Chao

Strong, Sometimes, Best Way, Protect

We want to make sure that workers know their rights and that employers know their obligations. That is the best way to protect workers.

- Elaine Chao

Sure, Best Way, Employers, Protect

The Democratic Party's governing elite has long believed there is no problem that European-style policies cannot cure.

- Elaine Chao

Problem, Governing, Elite, Believed

There should be an immediate moratorium on federal regulations that endanger jobs.

- Elaine Chao

Should, Jobs, Immediate, Regulations

My first port of call was Los Angeles. That's where I laid my first foot on America.

- Elaine Chao

America, Laid, Angeles, Los Angeles

Activist shareholder resolutions do not have to pass to succeed. The process itself can be so injurious to a company that management will cave to demands.

- Elaine Chao

Process, Cave, Activist, Demands

I know what it is like to feel vulnerable and fearful during a difficult time.

- Elaine Chao

Know, Like, Vulnerable, Difficult Time

Consider trade protectionism. It's been tried - and found wanting - since the Great Depression.

- Elaine Chao

Been, Tried, Wanting, Protectionism

Washington policymakers have to understand the adverse implications of their actions on job creation, and they must reorder some of their priorities.

- Elaine Chao

Some, Implications, Creation

For significant job creation to occur, prospective entrepreneurs and current business owners must not fear the future or be under assault from their own government in the present.

- Elaine Chao

Business, Assault, Occur, Creation

America's private sector job creators need elected leaders to lead and get out of the way.

- Elaine Chao

Private, Private Sector, Job Creators

Because of these layaway angels, many children did not have to wonder why Santa skipped them in 2011.

- Elaine Chao

Why, Them, Many, Wonder

Even if it's a national issue, the federal government cannot provide all the answers.

- Elaine Chao

Government, Provide, Issue, Federal

The majority of the new jobs being created require higher skills, more education.

- Elaine Chao

Education, New, Skills, Higher

We're a robust democracy here. That's the wonderful thing about this country.

- Elaine Chao

Country, Here, Robust, Wonderful Thing

For any trade deal to move forward, there has to be agreement.

- Elaine Chao

Trade, Deal, Move, Move Forward

In campaigns, lots of things will be said, and what they have said about my husband is just simply not true.

- Elaine Chao

Will, Things, Lots, Campaigns

In normal times, laid-off workers are unemployed an average of eight weeks.

- Elaine Chao

Normal, Average, Times, Workers

Typically, after moving backwards, the economy takes even more steps forward.

- Elaine Chao

Forward, More, Even, Moving

Americans did not suffer alone. World trade overall fell two-thirds in the first few years of the Depression.

- Elaine Chao

Years, Two-Thirds, Fell, Depression

My husband has an outstanding record in promoting opportunity for women and the women that he surrounds himself in his staff and the women that he has promoted throughout his career. He's the father of three daughters. He's obviously a husband who's been very supportive of a very active wife with her own career.

- Elaine Chao

Career, Supportive, Very, Promoted

In the best of years, millions of jobs are lost.

- Elaine Chao

Best, Lost, Jobs, Millions

People can voice their different points of view. We are also a country where there will be criticism.

- Elaine Chao

Voice, View, Country, Points

Policymakers, elected and unelected, need to be ever-mindful that the U.S. economy does not exist in isolation.

- Elaine Chao

Need, Exist, Does, Elected

I know that some people, when they are growing up and they - as a person of color in a majority community - that they may feel as if they are left out, or they feel a bit strange.

- Elaine Chao

Color, Some, May, Majority

Every person - we want to make sure that every person who wants a job will indeed get one.

- Elaine Chao

Will, Person, Sure, Indeed

As tough as it is for many college graduates to get their planned careers on track, it could be worse: They could be trying to find a job without a college degree.

- Elaine Chao

College, Could, Graduates, Track

As I looked up at the Statue of Liberty, I thought at that time, 'What a wonderful country.'

- Elaine Chao

Thought, Country, Looked, Statue Of Liberty

What out country is facing right now is a skills gap.

- Elaine Chao

Country, Skills, Now, Gap

America's competitive advantage lies in its human talent. All of us should be doing everything we can to cultivate and develop our work force.

- Elaine Chao

Work, Doing, Advantage, Cultivate

I can tell you I love California - and no more.

- Elaine Chao

Love, More, I Love, California

My parents were very supportive.

- Elaine Chao

Parents, Very, Were, Supportive

When there's change, people are always anxious.

- Elaine Chao

Change, People, Always, Anxious

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