 Well, the first time to ever hear radio, I was a teenager, and our parents and several families were all over on somebody's front porch visiting, and this one kid had started experimenting with the crystal set. There were no such things as radio sets, but there were stations that you had to build to make them. And KDK, Pittsburgh had been going on here, and we walked all over town, finally down with a river. He had earphones and his little crystal set in an aerial, and finally he stopped and he turned one of the earphones around so we could hear him, and we were here in music, and Dixon Illinois coming from KDK, Pittsburgh. Now that was when I was a teenage, in less than ten years, and I graduated in college, I became a sports announcer, and what was just a total institution that had taken over America. This same kid, he rented a place over on Main Street, and then he built. If you wanted a radio set, you went in and asked for it, and he could build you a little crystal set or a big thing with a dozen knobs on it that you could try to get further distance. And then in those few years came into being all the manufactured radio sets where you simply went over and bought a set, and the radio just became... We had about 30 seconds. Oh, we are? Right. I've got a 30-second story to tell you. They went more interested in this. Oh, it's best to be doing here. Ten seconds. Stand by. My fellow Americans, perhaps you've noticed, as I have, an interesting change in the country in recent weeks. All last year, right through the election and into January, we witnessed a non-stop barrage in speeches, commentaries, and editorials about the dangers of deficits and what must be done to reduce them. I was actually becoming hopeful that new courage was taking root, hopeful that a new consensus to cut federal spending growth was even emerging among those who have labored a lifetime to expand government size and power. That was a hasty judgment. For just one month ago, the mood of the born-again budget balancers abruptly changed. Now they are suffering from a crisis of faith. What caused this sudden change of heart? We submitted our budget to Congress, a budget designed to do just what we pledged during the election, tackle the deficits by cutting spending where it's wasteful, where it is not urgent, and where it subsidizes some people at everyone else's expense. Many of its proposals follow the spirit of recommendations by the Grace Commission. Some 2,000 citizens who compiled a report on how to cut spending growth without harming the needy or impairing any essential purpose of government. For example, the Small Business Administration has made subsidized loans to only a fraction of the small business community, while the remainder relied on commercial rate financing. Yet at a time when small business is thriving, many of these subsidized loans are in or near default. We propose ending such subsidies for the benefit of taxpayers at large. Subsidizing Amtrak cost taxpayers $35 per passenger every time a train leaves a station. But that's not the only unwise transportation subsidy. Why, for instance, should the federal government be forcing taxpayers in, say, Colorado to subsidize subway fares in New York? Why should any taxpayers subsidize the operating cost of the Washington DC transit system, an area with the second highest per capita income in America? Yet these and other proposed budget savings have been greeted by a chorus of booze from Guess Who, the very people who told us again and again that tough action on deficits couldn't wait. Today they say, now is not the time. Consider the political spectacle of recent days. The House Budget Committee, with its members insisting the deficit must be reduced, travels the country inviting special interest groups to resist every proposal for budget savings. The President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors accuses us of abandoning the federal government's commitment to urban America when the growing non-inflationary economy has been creating almost 300,000 jobs a month and record revenues for state and local governments. Leaders of four higher education associations shiver outside the Department of Education to symbolize, as they put it, that higher education is being frozen out of the budget. Their word frozen is meant to describe a proposal that would spend more than $7 billion more than in 1982 and 83 and nearly three times what it was just 10 years ago. Members of the business community oppose the end of subsidies from the Export-Import Bank. Farm state senators push multi-billion dollar bailouts for banks and farmers, and one member even rebukes proposed cutbacks in spending on opera and music in our budget for the National Endowment for the Arts. This past week, the nation's governors were in Washington. To their credit, they urged Congress to pass the line item veto and the balanced budget amendment. But they adopted a resolution that would disallow cost of living increases for social security recipients and rule out any real increases in defense. Yet, as California's Governor Dupmejian pointed out, still leave a higher deficit while paving the way for tax increases. I won't deny all the groups I mentioned represent valid interests which may seem compelling. But there is a larger interest to represent more compelling and urgent than all the rest. The freedom and security of American taxpayers who must not only work, save, and invest to pull our economy forward, but also pay all the bills for everything this government does. But as long as I'm president, we're not going back to the days when America was fast becoming an impotent democracy, too weak to meet defense commitments or to resist communist takeovers, and yes, too weak to stop a federal spending machine from impoverishing families and destroying our economy with runaway taxes and inflation. We're asking Congress to have the political courage to cut $50 billion by Easter. If there isn't enough courage to approve these cuts, then at least give me the authority to veto line items in the federal budget. I'll take the political responsibility. I'll make the cuts, and I'll take the heat. Until next week, thanks for listening, and God bless you. I'm pleased to join with the host of WellWishers in congratulating Frank Harden and Jackson Weaver on the silver anniversary of their morning radio program. Having some broadcasting experience of my own, I fully appreciate the hard work and creativity behind this success story. Morning radio in particular requires a high level of energy and enthusiasm not every broadcaster can keep up, especially for 25 years. I especially want to add my thanks to Frank and Jack for all they've done over these many years to contribute to the well-being of this community. They have never hesitated to use their influence to promote worthwhile endeavors, such as the Washington Children's Hospital and the charitable activities of numerous clubs and organizations. Of course, Frank and Jack's greatest contribution is providing their large radio audience with a great start to each day. I know how important that is. Presidents need a good start on their day, too. Well, I'm the seventh president that has gone through here since Frank and Jack hit the scene 25 years ago. And I know when the next chief executive gets to the White House, one morning he or she will turn on the radio and hear Frank and Jack say, there they go again. Seriously, I would also like to thank Frank and Jack for all they mean to our military forces in the Washington area. Many of our military people are far from home. Frank and Jack's goodwill and appreciation helps cheer their lives. Knowing you're appreciated has a way of doing that. So today, to you, Frank and Jack, please know how much we appreciate you. Thanks for these 25 fun years. We expect 25 more. God bless you.