 My fellow Americans something very bright and happy and hopeful has been happening across our country in recent days We've watched a grateful nation shower its affection on those who showered us with glory our Olympic athletes There's was a triumph of faith and hope in honoring them ours has been a celebration of the new patriotism Nancy and I saw our athletes in Los Angeles the day after the Olympics ended You could just feel their joy and energy and when our famous gymnast Mary Lou Retton stood on her toes to give me a hug. I couldn't help thinking how can anyone not believe in the dream of America? Now I've been accused of being an optimist and it's true All my life I've seen that when people like Mary Lou have a dream when they have the courage and opportunity to work hard when they believe in the Power of faith and hope they not only perform great feats. They help pull all of us forward as well Somehow the idea that American progress begins with spirit and a willingness of the heart was ignored during the 1970s The intellectual establishment was so busy demanding more power for government more bureaucracy regulation spending and oh yes more and more taxes They forgot all about the secret of America's success Opportunity for people for all the people When the economy reached the point of collapse by the end of the 70s They began talking about our crisis of spirit about our malaise But we hadn't given up hope. We just hadn't been allowed to hope So when we came to washington in 1981 we said let us renew our faith and our hope We have every right to dream heroic dreams We put together an economic recovery program that made a radical break with past policies For the first time since the administration of john kennedy we cut tax rates significantly for every working american We told the people america's destiny is back in your hands If you work harder and earn more than before your reward will be greater than it was But from the beginning The old guard establishment People who still make policy from abstract statistics theories and models rather than looking at the reality of human behavior Have filled the airwaves with gloom predicting our program couldn't meet our goals And from the beginning they've been wrong when they said inflation and interest rates wouldn't come down When they said recovery wouldn't come when they said the expansion wouldn't last and when they said the deficit wouldn't come down Recently many liberal analysts have been reviewing our record and our prospects their message remains hasn't worked can't be done So when the urban institute came out with a study a few days ago It was only natural that some of the press would look for the same old doom and gloom For example, they didn't report that the study also said elderly americans have clearly done better under our policies With real gains and disposable incomes Nor that the social safety net is still largely intact for the non-working poor Even the urban institute said there is no evidence that working welfare mothers who have been eliminated from the roles Are quitting their jobs to requalify for benefits and that despite all the furor It finds surprisingly few changes from 1980 with respect to the environmental public lands and water resources activities of the federal government And no one seems to mention that the centerpiece of our policy the tax cut was not fully in place until 1983 Our program has just begun, but let's look at the record since it has Over six million jobs created a surge in investment and productivity a record 600 000 business Incorporations the biggest increase in real after-tax personal income since 1973 And perhaps most important a new spirit of optimism and confidence about america's future It's clear that once people get a chance to show what they can do Well america got well and got strong What isn't clear is why those pessimists with so little faith in people So little understanding of incentives and so many bad predictions are not more humble and not treated a little more skeptically by the media In 1984 we face an historic choice Will we heed the pessimist agenda of higher taxes more bureaucracy and a bigger welfare state leading us right back to runaway inflation and economic decay Or will we continue on our new road toward a true opportunity to society of economic growth More jobs lower tax rates and rising take-home pay I believe the spirit we've seen during and after these olympics Revealed something very important about america We believe in ourselves. We're hungry for real opportunity and we're up to any challenge Until next week. Thanks for listening. God bless you