 The 40th President of the United States, when historians write about the Reagan administration, what do you want them to say? You know, I've been asked that and I guess I have to say I've never thought that far ahead. I'm so busy thinking about what we want to accomplish. I guess maybe just that I help perpetuate this great American dream. What do you hope for in the next three years? There are so many things I would like to get us definitely on the pattern of reducing the deficit so that the balanced budget is in view. I would like to then have then going into effect at that time a balanced budget amendment so we could never again go a half a century as we have of regularly deficit spending each year and I would like to see us also have some plan for beginning installments to start reducing the national debt as we have done many times in the past. There are a number of things that I would like to see resolve the problem of prayer in schools and have us on the road, a good solid road that could make us optimistic about the chances for peace. On the budget deficit it seems as if members of your own party are not totally in accord with you. The Congress hasn't supported you. Are you optimistic? David Stockman said maybe this is the last chance but you're optimistic about the future. Yes I am. There's no way that anyone could ever balance the budget in one year. This budget over the years has been structurally built in to our budgeting process and the difficulty of course is getting agreement not on the need to reduce it. Everyone seems to agree on that but then trying to get them to agree on well where do you apply the tourniquet and shut off that hemorrhage of funds. But I think that we're on the beginning of a track where we can see a progression of reducing the deficit as a percentage of gross national product. When you just count the deficit in dollars and it looks so horrifying and you say how did this ever happen. Well if you look at it back over these 50 years of deficit spending on the basis of what it is as a percentage of gross national product that too has been growing bigger. So it isn't as far out of line with past deficits. Some of them were just about as big as this one is in that percentage. But if we can get on a percentage to where for these next three years what we've have in mind is if we can get it next year down to 4% of the gross national product, 3% the following year, 2% the next year, we think that that progression will point us to by 1990 a balanced budget and then you could have going to affect the balanced budget amendment. I spoke to an influential Republican senator on Sunday who felt that possibly the tax reform measure might be diverting attention away from deficit reduction. Do you see that as a compliment to it or possibly a stimulant for it? Actually a stimulant for it in a way because if you look back not just in our administration what we did in 1981 when we implemented or began implementing our tax cuts but go back to President Kennedy's across the board tax cut before that to President Coolidge and the tax cuts that he implemented every instance the economic growth has resulted in the government getting more revenues at the lower rates than it was getting at the higher rates. So I think this tax reform very definitely would help we're not it isn't aimed at being a part of that but it would help in that it would stimulate economic growth and I think would actually thus result in increased revenues. This has been spoken of as a pro family tax measure. How will that help the families in your institution? Well let's start right off with someone down there at the lower end of the earning scale. One of the features of this is that the personal exemption is increased to four thousand dollars and then the deduction for dependence is almost doubled to two thousand dollars a piece instead of the present one thousand and forty. So you take a family of four you've got eight thousand dollars of non-taxable income to begin with right there and that plus the reduced rates we believe that and first of all so many of our people can't and don't take advantage of many of the loopholes that others have been able to use to reduce their fair share of the tax burden. So it is very definitely aimed at families and that was sort of proven the other day when the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives so I'm not just citing a Republican measure in the committee on children youth and family have made a study of this tax proposal plus all the others that before the Congress and said flatly this one is the most pro-family of all of the tax proposals. Is the two thousand dollar personal exemption independence exemption is that a non-negotiable feature would you veto a bill that didn't have that in it? I think it just has to have it and let me give you my thinking on that. Some years ago as you know that deduction was a six hundred dollars and then inflation took hold and it's kept coming on and finally someone got around to increasing the six hundred to a thousand and forty but right now actually if we had kept up with inflation the deduction should be twenty seven hundred dollars. Now we couldn't remain revenue neutral and go that high but going to two thousand dollars is eminently justified simply on the matter of that actually in purchasing power that's smaller than the six hundred dollars was back in 1948. There's no lobby for it though among the people the vast numbers will help so will you to sense be their champion and go to the mat on that on that issue? Yes and I have to say though that I I haven't heard here from Democrats or Republicans any objection to those to those figures. There have been some of the loopholes or deductions and other areas that people have thought should be retained and there's been argument about that but I haven't heard anyone raise a complaint about these personal exemptions. One oblique question I have read that the reason that you and Franklin Roosevelt were so tremendously popular is because you gave the American people hope looking down the road what cause do you have for hope? Well I'm an eternal optimist I know but I can't help but have hope just a few years ago we were seeing our streets torn up with riding and demonstrations of various kinds but we also were seeing a lack of hope we were hearing talk about that we were no longer a nation of growth and so forth that we must begin to limit ourselves in our expectations and our government itself was telling that to the people. And here today in these few short years double digit inflation is down to less than 4% and still on its way down interest rates that the prime rate had reached 21.5% and it is down to less or less than a half of that now and still I believe they're going down in the last 33 months we have created 8 million new jobs and today you know what is referred to as the employment pool is everyone in the United States male and female between the age of 16 and 65 are known as the potential labor pool that if all of them sought work that would be they're all employable the highest percentage of that labor pool is employed now that has ever been employed before in our history and the growth in the recovery has been the greatest that we've known in any recovery from any previous recession or depression but even more than that there is something out there you get out on the road and talk to the people there is a spirit our young people who once were as you know totally disillusioned with government and so forth over the Vietnam War the resurgence of patriotism among them and now with our volunteer military no longer having to have a draft I don't know of anything I'm more proud of than our young men and women in uniform and their spirit I ask you a question for the women viewers in our audience you've just gone through a very critical medical problem and we know how close you and your wife Nancy are it's almost a fable lover fare better than Hollywood could do it what was her reaction how did she handle this this crisis well she is very courageous and once upon a time when she was younger she was she was one of those what did they call them those nurses aides that during more time and all so that part she was she was on the job but she also is a very great warrior and let me put it this way I've recovered quicker than she did it was a terrible crisis this is the second one some of you are very close friends from California going back into private enterprise or going back home are you turning more to your wife for force counselor she's a very wise lady oh we listen we've always talked over everything together we I couldn't imagine it being otherwise but as to the people leaving the administration I've expected that I had eight years experience in California and I made it plain from the beginning that these people I would take them even if it was only for a year or two years and then find someone else if they and when they had to return to their own careers and I think it should be that way if you're going to get what I always put it this way I wanted people in government that didn't really want a job in government but that we're willing to come and serve rather than those who are seeking government jobs and the result is you know that they will have to go back to their own careers as sooner or later but no Nancy and I have I don't have any secrets from each other we were very heartened to learn that Reverend Muir had been released from Lebanon and word reached us that a member of the White House staff was dispatched on Sunday I believe to Iran to seek the release of the remaining six and actually was seven at that time are they is any word on that that might give hope to us well I can't really talk about what we're doing because I don't want to do anything that will endanger the prospects of the of the others being freed I could only say that we have explored every avenue we've been working for this for all the time since the first one Mr. Buckley was was kidnapped and I know that some of the families have grown impatient because if they don't see things in the paper they don't think we're doing anything but going public and being in the paper is not the way to get a Reverend Muir back or any of the others could we say cautiously optimistic or is anything that we can I have to remain cautiously optimistic and again we are continuing the efforts that and we've explored and been trying in every avenue that is open to us but again it's something I can't talk about because as I say there is a risk in all of this you're getting ready for the summit is the American press and a free press is so important in our nation but is it from time to time being manipulated by the Soviet Union to sort of stack the back against you in this summit meeting well I did begin to feel there for a while that that when the summit started they'd be rooting for the other side that he was wearing the white hat and I was wearing the black hat you know that's an old Hollywood expression I identified the villain by the color of the hat I think what is should be better understood by our people and isn't any criticism of our press the Soviet Union has a worldwide disinformation network and it's very effective and they can get many things published and broadcast and so forth to suit their ends and in their drives for example to try to create some friction among us and our allies and I don't think we have anything comparable to that one last question I see their time is running if Congress gives you a trade protectionist bill having either a tariff or a search orage or some other name will you be to it I'll have to that's one of the advantages of being my age I was looking for work in the Great Depression and I know what the smooth holy tariff bill did the trade war the world trade war that it created there is no way that that can win you a protectionism for say a particular industry no one ever looks over the shoulder to see how many people in other industries lost their jobs because it's a two-way street and retaliation sets in we are still the greatest exporter in the world and even though there was a great trade imbalance right now that we're importing far more than we're exporting that is not because we have reduced our exports as big as they ever were we have increased our imports because of the value of our dollar and the fact that our trading partners have not had the economic recovery we've had so their prices are low and you can't blame people for picking up a bargain what they need is a dose of Reaganomics in Europe is that what you say exactly as a matter of fact they themselves admit that in their systems there are so many rigidities in labor laws and everything else that have been built in that they have not had the recovery indeed when I was at the recent economic summit the last summit in May they they called to my face they called what we have is the miracle of America so we've tried to pass on to them information that we think would help them have some miracles mr. president thank you so much this has been wonderful God bless you well thank you very much and in saying that let me tell you when you asked about the future and why I was optimistic and all that I am convinced this is a nation under God and as long as we recognize that believe that I think you'll help us there's no question about it that's the greatest cause for optimism I know thank you very much thank you marvellous you were so gracious I appreciate it they were giving me some time for you I wanted to go longer but just there's a little bit oh that's a lot can we check table thank you since 1979 we have lost 1,600,000 jobs in manufacturing but we have created 9 million new jobs in transportation and service industries so we have a program for retraining people who are in these wrong kind of industries and even relocated and this is the best that we can do but the it isn't the case of actually losing employment it's a case that is changing the type of employment it's a miracle it's Germany has 12% employment what we're doing here isn't it? I think we're going to start the team