Carter Speech on Inflation
Carter Speech on Inflation
Politicians and government officials gathered in East Room of the White House, waiting for President Carter to deliver speech. President Carter is introduced, audience members stand and applaud. U.S. President Jimmy Carter takes podium.
Carter Speech on Inflation
U.S. President Jimmy Carter begins economic policy speech on inflation, addresses the seriousness of the message he is about to deliver, says the pressure of inflation threatens the economic security of the U.S. Since Carter made his economic and budget reports to Congress in January, rapid changes in world events and economic prospects have made it necessary to intensify the anti-inflation fight. Carter says that in the last eight weeks inflation rates and interest rates have surged to unprecedented heights, says this is a worldwide problem. Carter discusses the increase in the wholesale price index in Italy, Great Britain, and Japan, says inflation is a concern equal to that of national defense in West Germany.
Carter Speech on Inflation
U.S. President Jimmy Carter discusses the causes for inflation in the United States, says the most important cause is rising energy prices throughout the world. Carter discusses declining productivity growth in the U.S. and failure of U.S. society to live within their means. Carter says inflation is a symptom of economic distress due to the economy not being productive enough to do all the things we demand of it. Carter discusses the demand for more income, greater profits, and government programs, saying the federal government must stop spending money we do not have and borrowing to make up the difference. Carter says our whole society and the American family must try harder to live within its means; we must begin to spend money in accordance with what we can afford in the long run and not what we can barrow in the short run. Carter says there are no quick answers to inflation and above all there are no painless answers. Carter says if there where quick or painless solutions they would have been implemented long ago. Carter says inflation cannot be abolished overnight by dispatching law against it; only a long-term effort with a partnership of business, labor, and government at all levels can bring this problem under control. Carter says this dangerous situation calls for urgent measures; we must act firmly and decisively and now. Carter says we must remove any doubt about our nation’s will to take the painful steps required to control inflation. Carter says high rates of inflation cannot be accepted as a permanent fact of American life.
Carter Speech on Inflation
White House press corps watching U.S. President Jimmy Carter deliver economic policy speech on inflation. President Carter introduces the five major components of his inflation program: calls for discipline in the form of reduction in the Federal Government; calls for discipline by restraints on credit; again calls for discipline in wage and price; calls for discipline by greater conservation of energy; calls for structural changes over a long period of time to encourage productivity, savings, and research and development. Carter discusses a revised budget for the 1981 fiscal year, saying the budget will be balanced. Carter says that since the last balanced budget in 1961, there has been almost half a trillion dollars added to the national debt. Carter says we will achieve a balanced budget in 1981; he will send a revision in his 1980 and 1981 budgets that will propose significant reductions in budget authority from current proposals. Carter discusses how spending will be cut in current and upcoming fiscal years; Carter will refer, reduce, or cancel most new or expanded programs originally proposed in the 1981 budget. Carter says he will cut expenditures for personnel operating maintenance throughout the government, freeze federal employment, and maintain rigid ceilings; by the end of October 1980 there will be 20,000 fewer federal employees on the payroll.
Carter Speech on Inflation
President Jimmy Carter continues discussing federal budget reductions, says he will reduce ongoing spending programs throughout the federal government. Carter stresses legislation needs to hold down hospital costs, to reform federal pay, and speed up collections in revenues. Carter discusses budget cuts demanding sacrifices from many Americans; saying it's intolerable for some to evade prompt payment on taxes owed. Carter says he will send legislation to Congress ensuring taxes owed on interest and dividends are paid and in a timely manner. Carter says he will maintain his commitment to strong defense and level of spending promised to NATO, but says the Defense department will not be immune from budget austerity. Carter says he expects them to make savings that will not adversely affect military preparedness. Carter considers the proposed defense budget adequate, meets the nation’s needs. Carter says budget restraint and fiscal responsibility must be maintained in every single agency. Based upon his estimates, Carter believes the actions he just described will produce a balanced budget in 1981. Carter says Congress controls the “purse,” but believes they will enact and maintain a balanced budget.
Carter Speech on Inflation
U.S. President Jimmy Carter discusses the Presidential powers he will use to further ensure maintenance of a balanced budget, says he will veto any legislation that exceeds spending limits he considers to be inconsistent with a balanced budget. Carter says he will use his full powers from the 1974 Budget Reform Act to hold down federal spending, including some expenditures which have already been authorized by the Congress. Because Carter does not believe the aforementioned powers will be enough, he will ask Congress for a temporary grant of extraordinary powers to ensure federal spending is contained. Carter says cutting back federal spending to maximize revenue is not a cure-all, but it is an essential first step. Carter says inflation is far too complex to be treated by a single remedy, but says nothing will work in an overall anti-inflation program until the federal government demonstrates to the American people that it can discipline its own spending and borrowing as a long term policy; Carter says that together we will do just that. Carter says we will dispel the notion that federal budget deficits must always be with us. Carter says we have been cutting waste, fraud, and “bureaucratic fat,” but there will have to be cuts in good and worthwhile programs. Carter says we must look past some of our most worthwhile immediate aims to the overriding permanent needs of our nation.
Carter Speech on Inflation
Audience watching U.S. President Jimmy Carter deliver speech on inflation, Secretary of the Treasury G. William Miller in the audience next to Secretary of Agriculture Bob Bergland. President Carter discusses restricting the growth of credit, says that just as our governments have been borrowing to make ends meet, so have individual Americans. Carter discusses trying to beat inflation with borrowed money, saying that doing so only makes the problem worse. Carter says inflation is fueled by credit, finance, and spending; consumers have gone into debt too heavily. Carter says the savings rate in our nation is the lowest in 25 years. Carter says less than 3 percent of Americans’ incomes go toward savings. Carter says current inflationary expectations have caused businesses to use credit to finance speculating ventures as well as productive activities. Carter discusses the basic tools of the Federal Reserve used to control money and credit expansion, saying they are a basic part of the fight against inflation. Carter says he will use his power under the Credit Control Act of 1969 to authorize the Fed to impose new restraints on credit growth. Carter says the Federal Reserve will establish controls for credit cards and other unsecured loans, but not for secured loans on homes, automobiles, and other durable goods. Carter says credit extensions by commercial banks will be restrained for non-members of the Federal Reserve system. Carter says the Fed Chairman will announce a voluntary program immediately to restrain excessive growth in loans by larger banks and by other lenders; the program will encourage the flow of remaining credit supply for investment and other productive uses. Carter says special attention will be given to the needs of small businesses, farmers, and homeowners. Carter says these carefully targeted actions will not damage the productive capacity of our nation.
Carter Speech on Inflation
U.S. President Jimmy Carter continues discussing proposed credit restraints in his anti-inflation plan, says that to help curtail excessive use of credit and by dampening inflation, along with the budget measures he has described, calls for steep prospects for reducing the strain that presently exists in our financial markets. Carter says he is taking steps to reduce the extension of credit by the federal government; federal loans and loan guarantees will be cut by four billion dollars in the 1981 fiscal year. Carter urges Congress to impose the credit budget he proposed in January, saying it will help more effectively control the loans and loan guarantees provided by the federal government.
Carter Speech on Inflation
U.S. President Jimmy Carter calls for voluntary wage-price standards, citing that he does not have the authority to impose mandatory wage-price controls, further saying he would oppose any such authority being approved by the Congress. Carter says the government will not implement mandatory wage-price controls; mandatory wage-price controls have never worked in peace time, create unfair economic distortions and hurt productivity. Carter says these practices always lead to price controls being eased and dismantled while inflation roars ahead. Carter says controls create inequities in necessities such as food and fuel that would be passed onto those with frozen wages and fixed income. Carter says inflation cannot simply be outlawed with a massive federal bureaucracy or wish it away with a magic formula. Carter says voluntary wage and price restaurants offer flexibility we need to deal with our complex economy. Carter says the council of wage and price stability has issued revised pay standards and confirmed the extension of the price standard. Carter discusses the new pay standard recommendations developed by a tripartite committee made up of members from business, labor, and the public. Carter says the committee recommended pay increases of 7.5 to 9.5 percent, saying that under normal circumstances increases should reach 8.5 percent. Carter discusses the last year’s 13 percent increase in the consumer price index and the even higher rate of recent months. Carter says the recommendation of the Pay Advisory Committee is designed to create an average raise in price and salary of 8.5 percent; with business, labor, and public support, we can meet the goal of restraint.
Carter Speech on Inflation
U.S. President Jimmy Carter discusses plans to expand the activities of the Council of Wage and Price Development, says it will establish teams of experts to track wage and price development in each major industry and will work with leaders in specific industries to secure the fight against inflation. Carter says wage and price increases will be investigated.
Carter Speech on Inflation
U.S. President Jimmy Carter discusses energy, says a strong economy calls for solving the United States’ dependence upon imported oil; cites it is expected we will spend 90 billion dollars of Americans’ hard-earned income to buy oil from foreign countries. Carter discusses the increasing price of foreign oil, says it has more than doubled in the last year. Carter says the 1979 increase in imported oil prices was greater than all previous years combined since the Oil Embargo of 1973, adds that the oil price increase of 1979 was greater than any price increase since oil was first discovered. Carter calls for pushing ahead with cutting oil imports in half by 1990, says this will call for increased conservation and production of domestic oil, natural gas, and coal. Carter calls for rapid development of alternative energy supplies. Carter discusses his fight for a national energy policy to achieve his goals, adds we are close to enacting such policy into law. Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee Edmund Muskie in audience. Carter says he is asking Congress to finish three essential elements of the energy policy: the windfall profits tax, the Energy Security Act, and the Energy Mobilization board.
Carter Speech on Inflation
U.S. President Jimmy Carter discusses his proposal to Congress to conserve energy in electric power plants by converting them from oil to coal, says we can never meet the problem of dependence if we don’t face the problem of America’s extravagant gasoline use. President Carter calls gasoline the most important and most wasted petroleum product in the United States, accounting for 40 percent of all the petroleum used in the U.S. Carter discusses gasoline use in other industrialized countries, says the average amount of gasoline used by citizens in those countries is much less and the price of gasoline is much higher, more than twice as high as in the U.S. Carter says Americans have done well in the past year in gasoline conservation, but more must be done to reduce dependence on foreign oil. Carter says he is exercising his authority to impose a gasoline conservation fee on imported oil, amounting to 10 cents a gallon and imposed only on gasoline. Carter assures this tax will not add to the profit of oil companies. Carter says the tax should reduce oil imports by 100,000 barrels per day per year, and in three years reduce oil imports from foreign countries by 250,000 barrels per day. Carter says he will submit a request to Congress for a specific gasoline tax in the same amount to replace the conservation fee, the fund from which being held in the Federal Reserve or used to reduce the national debt. Carter says he does not intend to use gas tax revenues to balance the budget or as a substitute for necessary spending cuts; this would not contribute substantially to the control of inflation, but will give the balanced budget a margin of safety.
Carter Speech on Inflation
U.S. President Jimmy Carter continues to speak on oil conservation, says U.S. commitment to conserve oil is one that can be joined or supported by oil producing and consuming countries abroad. President Carter says the Secretary of Energy (Charles W. Duncan, seated in audience) is pursuing an intensified national energy conservation plan that aims to involve every level of government and labor; Carter adds that every U.S. citizen can act in conserving energy.
Carter Speech on Inflation
U.S. President Jimmy Carter speaks on long-term structural changes to encourage productivity, savings, and research and development, says we must face the fact that over the last ten years the pace of U.S. productivity growth has slowed down sharply. Carter points out that productivity declined in last year, that the trend in productivity decline is an important long-term factor in inflation and must be reversed. Carter will ask the Presidential Commission for an Agenda on the Eighties to develop specific recommendations for revitalizing the nation’s economy. Carter says the priority is to have a balanced budget, but once spending limitations have been achieved tax relief can be provided to encourage investment. Carter says through fiscal discipline today we can free up resources tomorrow for tax reduction for the productivity industries which our nation needs. Carter says economic discipline will not be easy; the new budget will be tight. Carter says there are some things we cannot afford, but the most important thing we cannot afford is a national delusion about inflation. Carter says the actions he has outlined involve cost and pain, but the cost of action is far less than the cost of inaction. Carter says the temporary pain of inconvenience and discipline is far less than the sill permanent pain of constant rising inflation. Carter says that for all of us, especially the disadvantaged, inflation is the cruelest tax of all.
Carter Speech on Inflation
U.S. President Jimmy Carter warns when taking necessary steps against inflation, it will not be resolved in a quick victory. President Carter says inflation is likely to continue at a high level, calls for patience and persistence. Carter is confident the steps he has outlined will make the inflation rate decline later this year. Carter says that as inflation declines we can look forward to better financial markets and lower interest rates. Carter says that if we take control of the inflation problem and of ourselves, we can put an end to the fear about the future. Carter says in the fight against inflation, more than just material wealth and comfort is at stake; what is a stake is whether America as a nation will retain control of our destiny. Carter discusses crises abroad, says we have shown we can respond to them with steadfastness and courage, and we must show the same in meeting the challenge of inflation.
Carter Speech on Inflation
U.S. President Jimmy Carter Continues speaking on the challenges of fighting inflation, says our responsibility is to face the world as it is, not to mislead ourselves; to be honest about the hard decisions, to make those decisions and carry them out with courage, and to build together a strong, secure, and hopeful future for every American. President Carter says with proper discipline we will prevail in our fight against inflation. Carter thanks audience. Audience stands and applauds. Carter shakes hands with audience members including Director of the Office of Management and Budget McIntyre on his way out of the East Room of the White House. U.S. Secretary of the Treasury William Miller stands behind Carter.
Carter Speech on Inflation
Audience members, prominently politicians and government officials, congregating in the East Room of the White House among T.V. news crews. Jesse Jackson in attendance.
Carter Speech on Inflation
U.S. President Jimmy Carter is announced, enters the East Room of the White House to applause from audience; Carter takes podium. President Carter calls for intensifying the anti-inflation plan, speaks on rising inflation and interest rates. Audience includes Director of the Office of Management and Budget Jim McIntyre, Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee Edmund Muskie (D-ME), and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury William Miller.
Carter Speech on Inflation
Adult Caucasian male and female press photographers at work among a crowd of politicians and government officials in the East Room of the White House.
Carter Speech on Inflation
Color bars, male voice performing audio test. U.S. President Jimmy Carter is announced, enters East Room of the White House to applause; Carter takes podium for speech on inflation. President Carter calls for intensifying the anti-inflation plan, speaks on rising inflation and interest rates. Audience members includes Director of the Office of Management and Budget Jim McIntyre, Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee Edmund Muskie (D-ME), and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury William Miller. Carter's hands gesturing over speech notes on podium. Predominantly Caucasian male audience listening to Carter’s speech. Carter talks about over-borrowing (loans) and living within our means.
Carter Speech on Inflation
Predominantly Caucasian male audience of politicians and government officials listening to U.S. President Jimmy Carter deliver speech on inflation in the East Room of the White House. President Carter at podium, speaking on solving inflation and the struggles America will face. U.S. Secretary of the Treasury William Miller and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Cecil Andrus in audience. Carter talks about the discipline needed in the fight against inflation.