Remarks to Citizens in
The President. Thank you, Governor
Orr. Thank you all very much. Senator Karnes, Representatives Smith and Daub,
Ambassador Yeutter, Mr. Mayor, reverend clergy,
distinguished guests, and ladies and gentlemen: It is great to be here in
I
feel even more at home here in Buffalo Bill Cody's rodeo grounds. Like Cody, I
was born in a small town, moved out West, served in the Army horse cavalry
reserve, and then went into showbiz. [Laughter] Now, there are a lot of people
-- kind of thinking they're disparaging in doing it -- call me, today, a
cowboy. You know, I've never understood what's so bad about being a cowboy. I'm
proud of my spurs. I've often said there's nothing better for the inside of a
man than the outside of a horse. [Laughter]
And
while we're here, I want to say just a few words about another man who would
have felt right at home in this ring -- the Secretary of Commerce, and my
friend, Mac Baldrige. As you may know, he was from
I've
come to
Getting
on with the business of
Now,
I think a first order of business is peace and democracy in
The
aspirations for democracy, promised by the Sandinistas in 1979 -- the commitment
to free speech, free press, freedom of religion, free elections, all civil
rights -- must be fulfilled. What this all means is that the leaders of the
Central American democracies, the Republicans and Democrats in Congress, and my
administration all agree -- the key to peace in that region is genuine
democracy in
But
now, looking to the homefront, we've got a lot of
business to take care of. There are only 17 months left in this administration.
Some people say that makes me a lameduck and I should
sit back and enjoy myself. Well, I've never seen a happy lameduck.
[Laughter] The way I see it, back in 1984, you hired me for 4 more years with
no time off for good behavior.
Audience. Four more years!
The President. Besides, we've
accomplished a number of things in the past 6 years, and I'd like to see them
pinned down and made permanent. That's at the top of our agenda, to lock in and
cement the economic progress we've made in the last 6 years.
I
pledge to you: I'm not leaving office until your paycheck is, once and for all,
safe from those who want to tax it and spend it into oblivion. For too long,
the advocates of big government have been treating your paycheck, your savings,
even your pensions, like they're government property. And they act as if
they're being generous when they let you keep a little of it. Well, those days
are over. In
One
of my favorite songs, a few years back, went, ``Sure could use a little good
news today.'' Well, today, I think we have some economic good news in
For
example, the percentage of Americans employed is the highest in history.
Sixty-two percent of everyone 16 years of age or older, all the way up, are
employed. Just last week, unemployment dropped to 5.9 percent, the lowest level
since 1979. And I don't know what it would be if the statisticians counted the
near half a million military based outside the
And
these aren't the inflationary jobs of 1979 destined to burst with the
inflationary bubble. These are jobs in a strong, growing, low-inflation
economy. In fact, recent revisions of the gross national product figures show
that our economic expansion is stronger than anybody thought. Come October,
this expansion, if it is continued till then, will be the longest in
Now,
something else is also setting records. Strong, continuous, low-inflationary
growth has meant that not only are more Americans working than ever before but
their paychecks are growing, too. American family incomes increased for the
fourth year in a row, while the poverty rate continues its decline below its
level in 1981. Meanwhile, the stock market reached another record high last
week and the leading economic indicators are rising, pointing to good times
ahead.
Now,
that's the good news. The bad news is that there are still those who say that
the way to bring down deficit spending is by raising your taxes.
Audience. Boo-o-o!
The President. Now, I must have
promised a hundred times to veto any tax hike that comes across my desk, and
that promise still stands. But, you know, there are some of those people in
Congress, present company excepted, but some of those others that are back
there that keep calling for more taxes. And I thought I was the one that needed
a hearing aid. [Laughter]
Let
me tell you a little more good news. You know, when we first started our
economic program, we said that tax cuts would be so good for the economy.
They'd produce so much growth that revenues would actually increase, even at
the lower tax rates. Well, our critics thought that was crazy. But lo and
behold, in 1984, the first complete year that our tax cut program was in place,
revenues increased about 11 percent. And they've kept right on increasing.
Counting estimated revenues for this year, that adds
up to an increase of revenue at the lower tax rates of over 40 percent. But
still, some aren't satisfied. So, they want to raise your taxes again and throw
Well,
the American people made their views on taxes well known in 1984. But since
some in
Audience. No!
The President. Do you want to go back
to the bad old days of high inflation and low growth?
Audience. No!
The President. Or do you want to lower
taxes, eliminate the deficit, and balance the budget once and for all?
[Applause] After hearing you, I'm ashamed to ask this next one. Do you want to
keep
Audience. No!
The President. Well, I just finished
talking about why they're basing that. They think the only way to balance the
budget and end the deficit is to raise your taxes. I say the way to end the
deficit is to lower their spending. When you see those commercials, or hear
them, about me and the deficit, may I just tell you that every year the law
requires I send a budget to the Congress. And not one year since I've been
there has Congress adopted my budget. They have cut, yes. They've cut defense
every year. They've cut it a total of $125 billion over what I asked for. But
they added $250 billion to the domestic programs over what I asked for. So,
somebody's off base with their commercials.
But
you know, we've still got a lot of work to do. We have
to institutionalize the gains that we've made, so no one can take them away
again. And that's why I stood on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial and
announced our call last month for an Economic Bill of Rights to be added to the
Constitution, so that the American people will finally have permanent
protection from the always growing and always greedy demands of big government.
And
the first thing it would require is that the Federal Government do what every American family has to do -- balance its
budget. And let me repeat what I said last night: If the Congress continues to
refuse to vote on our balanced budget amendment, the call for a constitutional
convention will grow louder and louder. And, one way or the other, the will of
the people always prevails. Now, the Congress could eliminate that long,
lengthy, and time-consuming operation of a constitutional convention by simply
passing an amendment that says the Government, from here on -- well, we're
going to take a few years to have to get down there -- but then keep balancing
the budget.
And
second, to make sure that the balanced budget amendment isn't simply used as a
lever to raise your taxes, we would require that more than a majority must vote
to pass a tax hike. On the theory that it should be as difficult for Congress
to raise taxes as it is painful for you to pay them. So, let's look at instead
of 50 percent plus one being able to raise the taxes, maybe 60 percent or even
two-thirds should have to vote in order to take such a drastic action.
And
then, third -- it would give the President the same tool your great Governor,
Kay Orr, and 42 other Governors use to keep spending under control -- a
line-item veto. I had it as Governor of California and, believe me, I miss it.
That way we can cut away the fat and leave the meat intact.
Now,
some provisions would strengthen something our forefathers took for granted --
property rights. Others would require truth-in-spending, every piece of
legislation would come with a pricetag and an
explanation of how it's going to be paid for. This just isn't some economic
package we're talking about. It's an insurance policy for
You
know, I'm going to stick something in here that wasn't in my prepared remarks.
There were some of you down here in front -- and it was very flattering, indeed
-- who were chanting: Four more years! Well, that can't happen with the
amendment to the Constitution, and no President in office can ask to change it.
But a President out of office can. And you know something? I think we all ought
to give some thought -- by what right did we tell the people of this democracy
-- place a limit on how many times they could vote for someone if they wanted
to vote for them? [Applause]
I'm
told that during World War II the people of
And
you young people who are here, let me tell you a little true incident. A
scholar from our country recently took a trip to the
I
told a little while ago some of your fellow Nebraskans a little story. I
collect stories now that I can find out and actually prove are told in the
Well,
I just hate to do this, but I've got a long way yet to go, all the way to the
coast. So, thank you all, and God bless you all.
Note: The President
spoke at