76-07-A6
- Main Page \ Reagan Radio Commentaries \ 1976
| << Previous Broadcast | Next Broadcast >> |
America's Strength
TranscriptEvery once in a while it's important that we look at the balance sheet so we'll know what it is we're trying to save. I'll be right back. I know that I've used these broadcasts to criticize those who have lost faith in our system; those who would make fundamental changes on the premise that what we've done in the past is all wrong and those (increasing in number) who think we are over the hill & headed for the dustbin of history. Therefore it is important every once in a while to remind ourselves of our accomplishments before lest we let someone talk us into throwing out the baby with the bathwater. I intend to go on talking about our problems because in the main they are problems that truly need solving. I'm also going to go on resisting those who would have us believe the problems are the result of, are proof that our system isn't working. Put another way it's time we recognize the system has never let us down—we've let the system down now and then because we're only human. Compared to the world at large we are politically stable. A few years ago when we had the unprecedented resignation of a President there were no knots of people gathered on street corners, no boarding up of storefronts, no people marching in the streets nor screaming sirens heralding the round up of cabinet officers and officials. Americans just went about their business, took in a ball game and watched their favorite TV shows. And that's why foreign money invested in America has increased about 50% in the last 5 yrs. Last year in spite of govt, confiscating our earnings at an unprecedented rate for a lot of unproductive go social reforms we managed to raise $217 Billion to finance new and existing private enterprise projects. Our productivity is phenomenal. We raise 37% more wheat per acre than the national average. We are 6% of the world's population on only 7% of the world's land but we produce almost half the world's corn, 2/3 of the soybeans, 1/3 or more of the world's paper, electrical power, college graduates and almost 1/3 of the farm machinery. Just to round it off we make more than 2/3 of the computers and 80% of all the passenger aircraft. We lead the world in advanced technology; in telecommunications, drilling & mining equipment, medical science & agriscience. All of this is because our system freed the individual genius of man. Released him to fly as high & as far as his own talent & energy would take him. We allocate resources not by govt, decision but by the mil's, of decisions customers make when they go into the market place to buy. If something seems too high priced we buy something else. Thus resources are steered toward those things the people want most at the price they are willing to pay. It may not be a perfect system but it's better than any other that's ever been tried. Sure we have an unemployment problem—7 1/2 mil. people looking for jobs. If we are going to deal with the problem we should look at it. To start with, only half are people who lost their jobs. The others quit or are looking for their 1st job. Only 2.8 mil. are the heads of families and only 2.4 mil. have been unemployed 15 weeks or longer, meaning the unemployed are an ever changing group not a body of permanent jobless. And since 82 mil. are employed—most in productive, private industry, why don't we see what roadblocks have been thrown in the way of our tried & true system and remove them. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
Details
| |||||||||||
Added Notes
|
