Ronald Reagan

“ We cannot and we will not accept tax reform that is a tax increase in disguise. True reform must be an engine of productivity and growth, and that means a top personal rate no higher than 35 percent. True reform must be truly fair and that means raising personal exemptions to $2,000. True reform means a tax system that at long last is pro-family, pro-jobs, pro-future, and pro-America. ”

“ What we accomplish the year, in each challenge we face, will set our course for the balance of the decade, indeed for the remainder of the century. After all we've done so far, let no one say that this Nation cannot reach the destiny of our dreams. America believes, America is ready, America can win the race to the future — and we shall. ”

“ But we cannot win the race to the future shackled to a system that can't even pass a federal budget. We cannot win that race held back by horse-and-buggy programs that waste tax dollars and squander human potential. We cannot win that race if we're swamped in a sea of red ink. ”

“ The United States is the economic miracle, the model to which the world once again turns. We stand for an idea whose time is now: Only by lifting the weights from the shoulders of all can people truly prosper and can peace among all nations be secure. ”

“ It wasn't government and Washington lobbies that turned education around, it was the American people who, in reaching for excellence, knew to reach back to basics. We must continue the advance by supporting discipline in our schools; vouchers that give parents freedom of choice; and we must give back to our children their lost right to acknowledge God in their classrooms. (Applause.)
We are a nation of idealists, yet today there is a wound in our national conscience; America will never be whole as long as the right to life granted by our Creator is denied to the unborn. ”

“ And the same technology transforming our lives can solve the greatest problem of the 20th century. A security shield can one day render nuclear weapons obsolete and free mankind from the prison of nuclear terror. (Applause.) America met one historic challenge and went to the moon. Now America must meet another — to make our strategic defense real for all the citizens of planet Earth.
Let us speak of our deepest longing for the future — to leave our children a land that is free and just and a world at peace. ”

“ The American Dream is a song of hope that rings through night winter air. Vivid, tender music that warms our hearts when the least among us aspire to the greatest things — to venture a daring enterprises ”

“ But, it wasn't long ago that we looked out on a different land — locked factory gates, long gasoline lines, intolerable prices and interest rates turning the greatest country on earth into a land of broken dreams. Government growing beyond our consent had become a lumbering giant, slamming shut the gates of opportunity, threatening to crush the very roots of our freedom. ”

“ As we work to make the American Dream real for all, we must also look to the condition of America's families. Struggling parents today worry how they will provide their children the advantages that their parents gave them. In the welfare culture, the breakdown of the family, the most basic support system, has reached crisis proportions — in female and child poverty, child abandonment, horrible crimes and deteriorating schools. After hundreds of billions of dollars in poverty programs, the plight of the poor grows more painful. ”

“ Teddy Roosevelt said that a nation that does great work lives forever. We have done well, but we cannot stop at the foothills when Everest beckons. It's time for America to be all that we can be.
We speak tonight of an "Agenda for the Future," an agenda for a safer, more secure world. And we speak about the necessities for actions to steel us for the challenges of growth, trade and security in the next decade and the year 2000. ”

“ Defense is not just another budget expense. Keeping America strong, free, and at peace is solely the responsibility of the Federal Government; it is Government's prime responsibility. We have devoted five years trying to narrow a dangerous gap born of illusion and neglect. ”

“ And tongight I want to speak directly to America's younger generation, because you hold the destiny of our nation in your hands. With all the temptations young people face it sometimes seems the allure of the permissive society requires superhuman feats of self-control. But the call of the future is too strong, the challenge too great to get lost in the blind alleyways of dissolution, drugs, and despair. ”

“ I believe our tax rate cuts for the people have done more to spur a spirit of risk-taking and help America's economy break free than any program since John Kennedy's tax cut almost a quarter century ago. ”

“ We see the dream being saved by the courage of the thirteen year-old, Shelby Butler — honor student and member of her school's safety patrol. Seeing another girl freeze in terror before an out-of-control school bus, she riksed her life and pulled her to safety. With bravery like yours, Shelby, America need never fear for our future. ”

“ We will also oppose legislation touted as providing protection that in reality pits one American worker against another, one industry against another, one community against another, and that raises prices for us all. If the United States can trade with other nations on a level playing field, we can out-produce, out-compete, and out-sell anybody, anywhere in the world. ”

“ We know that peace follows in freedom's path and conflicts erupt when the will of the people is denied. So we must prepare for peace not only by reducing weapons but by bolstering prosperity, liberty, and democracy however and wherever we can. ”

“ We advance the promise of opportunity every time we speak out on behalf of lower tax rates, freer markets, sound currencies around the world. We strengthen the family of freedom evey time we work with allies and come to the aid of friends under seige. ”

“ Gorbachev's upcoming visit to America can lead to a more stable relationship. Surely no people no Earth hate war more or love peace more than we Americans. (Applause.)
But we cannot stroll into the future with child-like faith. Our differences with a system that openly proclaims and practices an alleged right to command people's lives and to export its ideology by force are deep and abiding. ”

“ We're going forward with our shuttle flights, we're going forward to build our space station, and we are going forward with research on a new Orient Express that could, by the end of the next decade, take off from Dulles Airport, accelerate up to 25 times the speed of sound, attaining low earth orbit or flying to Tokyo within two hours. ”

“ As we knock down the barriers to growth, we must redouble our efforts for freer and fairer trade. We have already taken actions to counter unfair trading practices to pry open closed foreign markets. We will continue to do so. ”

“ They have made clear that Soviet compliance with the letter and spirit of agreements is essential. If the Soviet government wants an agreement that truly reduces nuclear arms, there will be an agreement. ”

“ We see the dream glow in the towering talent of a twelve year-old, Tyrone Ford — a child prodigy of gospel music, he has surmounted personal adversity to become an accomplished pianist and singer. He also directs the choirs of three churches and has performed at the Kennedy Center. ”

“ Yet the threat from Soviet forces, conventional and strategic, from the Soviet drive for domination, from the increase in espionage and state terror remains great. This is reality. Closing our eyes will not make reality disappear. ”

“ Logic and history compel us to accept that our relationship be guided by realism — rockhard, clear-eyed, steady, and sure. Our negotiators in Geneva have proposed a radical cut in offensive forces by each side, with no cheating. ”

“ And as long as it's real, work of noble note will yet be done — work that could reduce the harmful effects of X rays on patients and enable astronomers to view the golden gateways of the farthest stars. ”

“ We see it not only in our recovery, but in three straight years of falling crime rates, as families and communities band together to fight pornography, drugs, and lawlessness, and to give back to their children the safe and, yes, innocent childhood they deserve. ”

“ The constant expansion of our economy and exports requires a sound and stable dollar at home and reliable exchange rates around the world. We must never gain permit wild currency swings to cripple our farmers and other exporters. ”