Remarks to Civic and
Community Leaders in
The President. Well, thank you,
Speaking
of horses reminds me of a story. When you're my age, everything reminds you of
a story. [Laughter] Seems that this fellow was a great racing
fan and was planning to go to the races on the weekend. And then for 3
nights straight, he dreamed of the number five. So, when he got to the track,
he took that program, and he went right to the fifth race and looked down to
the fifth horse, and there it was, and the horse was named ``5 by 5.'' So, he
saved his bundle till that race, and he bet it all on that race. And sure
enough, the horse came in fifth. [Laughter] But that story has a moral: It's
that those people who think that the race is over and are counting out this
administration better hold onto their bets, because we're going into the home
stretch, and they better believe we'll make a fast finish.
There
are many items on our agenda, but there are a few that are especially important
ones that I'd like to talk to you about today. First, I want to talk to you
about how we lock in the gains that we've made these last 6\1/2\ years and how
we make sure we never return to the days of high taxes and stagflation.
The
good news about our economy today is impressive. What the Europeans have called
the American miracle -- it keeps on keeping on. Well, nearly 13,500,000 jobs
have been created since the expansion began, and that averages out to 240,000
new jobs in this country a month. Unemployment is down to 5.9 percent, the
lowest since 1979. And I understand
The
gross national product numbers for the last 3 years have just been revised
upward, showing that our economic expansion has been even stronger than we previously
thought. But what about the future? The stock market
just this week broke another record, and the leading economic indicators are
rising, forecasting growth and good times ahead.
Well,
that's good news, certainly. And now for the bad.
Unfortunately, there's one economic indicator that couldn't be worse. It's so
bad, in fact, it threatens to undo all our economic progress and plunge
Now,
I have this hunch that most Americans don't agree with all those people who
think your taxes are too low; in fact, maybe they think just the opposite. I
don't know about you, but I thought all this tax hike business was settled in
the election of 1984. The American people sent a message loud and clear, but I
guess
Once
and for all, we want a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. And once
and for all, we want a line-item veto, just like your Governor, Kay Orr, and
most Governors have, so that we can cut the fat off budget appropriations. And
once and for all, we want a truth-in-spending provision, so that anyone who
proposes a new program or new spending bills tells the American people exactly
how it's going to be paid for. If it's coming out of your pockets, you have a
right to know. Once and for all, we're going to require more than a mere
majority to pass a tax hike. I don't see anything wrong with having to take
either a 60 percent or a two-thirds vote in order to raise your taxes. And
we're going to make it darn near impossible, if we can, to raise your taxes.
When
I signed our tax reform into law, I said that the past two decades have
witnessed an expansion of many of our civil rights but that our economic
liberties have been too often neglected, even abused. Well, it's time that
abuse stopped. And that's what this Economic Bill of Rights is designed to do
-- to give our economic rights the same guarantees, the same constitutional
protections as our other civil rights. This country was built free and strong
not only because individuals were free to speak their minds but also because
they were free to prosper. For too long, we forgot that. Let's never let
government again take away our freedom to prosper.
Now,
I know I read in the paper that there are some advertisements that have started
appearing and are going to appear after I leave here and that are going to tell
you that who am I to talk about things like this, because I'm responsible for
the deficit. Well, could I give you just a little lesson in civics and
politics? The President can't spend a nickel; only Congress can appropriate
money to be spent. And there are some things I think you should know. The
President is required to submit a budget every year. I have never had one of my
budgets approved by Congress since I've been there. And if they had passed the
budget I first proposed for 1982, the cumulative deficits from there through
1986 would have been $207 billion less than they were.
As
a matter of fact, the Congress has been very good about cutting some spending.
In our efforts to try and refurbish the military, which was so bad that when I
became President, on any given day, 50 percent of our military aircraft could
not take off for lack of spare parts or fuel; 50 percent of our Navy couldn't
leave port for lack of crew or spare parts -- so, we set out to refurbish the
military and give ourselves some strength. Well, more about that maybe later.
But this is the one place that in the years that I have submitted the military
budgets, through 1986 the Congress has cut the budgets that I presented for the
military by $125 billion. Now, you'd think that that shows that they really are
trying to save some money. They added $250 billion to the cost of the domestic
programs that I had asked for. So, it didn't exactly come out as a savings.
It's just where they were going to spend the money.
There's
another cloud on the economic horizon. It's the protectionists who tell us that
the way to bring down the trade deficit is to raise barriers of our own. Well,
they now have their hands on versions of the trade bill which so distort the procompetitive legislation which I asked for in the State
of the Union Message as to be virtually unrecognizable and dangerous --
dangerous because it threatens to tear down all the good work we've done to
open foreign markets to U.S. goods and farm produce and will seriously set back
progress in the new GATT round of trade negotiations. Believe me, I would like
to sign sound trade legislation, but I will not sign bills that close down
markets and shut off expanded job opportunities here in our own country.
On
the subject of economic good news, let me just say, too, that it's the best
news possible, that the picture's beginning to brighten for agriculture here in
And
while I'm here in
It's
clear now that it was right to reject the false solutions offered by some in
Congress that would have gotten government even more involved in farm policies,
priced our farm commodities out of world markets, and driven thousands of small
agriculture suppliers out of business. But we're not stopping here; we're
pushing more aggressively than ever to open foreign markets to American
farmers. And recently we set forth a bold new initiative that could
revolutionize American agriculture and that of the entire free world, the most
ambitious proposal for world agricultural reform ever offered. We're calling
for a total phaseout of all policies that distort
trade in agriculture by the end of the century. Over a 10-year period, we want
to see all of our major trading partners opening the borders, tearing down
barriers, and ending the export subsidies for agricultural goods. If we're
successful, agriculture throughout the Western World will be set free from
political controls and interference. I happen to believe that when it comes to
farming the decisionmaking shouldn't be in the hands
of the politicians, academics, and bureaucrats; it should be in the hands of
the farmers.
Now,
in the month ahead, I also hope -- or in the months ahead -- an agreement can
be reached with the
Now,
before I go, there's one more issue I'd like to talk to you about today. No
other issue could be more pressing. I'm talking about the nomination of Judge
Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. [Applause] Bless you, and thank you. He's a
jurist of outstanding intellect and unrivaled qualifications, a brilliant legal
scholar, and a premier constitutional authority. For 15 years, he served as a
distinguished professor of law at
Judge
Bork's record as an appellate judge could hardly be more impressive. Not a
single one of his more than 100 majority opinions has ever been reversed by the
Supreme Court. In 94 percent of the cases he's heard, he has been in the
majority with his fellow judges of the District of Columbia Circuit. The New
York Times has called him ``a legal scholar of distinction and principle.'' I
don't think any unbiased observer could disagree with that. Fortunately, most Americans,
and virtually all of the Senators who will vote on Judge Bork's confirmation,
have made it clear they recognize the need to focus on qualifications and to
act quickly to give us once again a nine-member Supreme Court.
You
know, when he retired, Justice Powell said that it wasn't fair to the Supreme
Court, or to the parties with cases before it, for the Court to operate at less
than full strength. Well, since last June, that's just what's happened. The
approval process for Judge Bork's nomination is already the longest in 25
years. During this hot
Now,
let me say just one final word on this subject. Judge Bork is a fine man, a
very fair man, and a model of judicial temperament. He's a credit to the bench
and to the bar -- and I mean the legal bar. [Laughter] And I know that he will
be a credit to his nation in his service on the Supreme Court.
Well,
I'll be going soon to the rodeo grounds for the rally, and you can bet I'll
have more to say there, and on the same subjects. But in the meantime, I want
to thank all of you very much.
And
I just can't resist without just passing on a little story again to you. I have
a new hobby. I have been accumulating stories that are told by the citizens of
the
Well,
thank you all very much. God bless you all.
Mr.
Long. From myself and the Long family and the State of
The President. Thank you very much.
Mr.
Long. This kind of represents our part of the country.
The President. It sure does. And
that's the man who performed where I'm going. Oh, thank you. Oh. I had the
pleasure of seeing some of Mr. Long's artistic work
in the log cabin here just before we came out to lunch, and I can't tell you
how honored I am and how very grateful I am to have this magnificent bronze.
And I'm on my way to the ranch in
Note: The President
spoke at