"In 1981 I was
attending my first big economic summit held that year in Canada.
The opening meeting was for the heads of government for the
seven industrialized nations. Well, I sat like a new kid in school
and listened. They dropped titles and spoke to one another on a
first name basis. I sort of leaned in and said, 'My name is Ron.'
"That same year we began the actions that we felt would ignite
an economic comeback, cut taxes and regulations, started to cut
spending, and soon the recovery began. Two years later there
was another economic summit. At the opening meeting we all got
together. All of a sudden, just for a moment, I saw everyone was
looking at me. Then one of them broke the silence and said, "Tell
us about the American miracle."
To understand why the leaders of the free world called America's
economic recovery a miracle we only need to do a little
remembering - and look at how bad things use to be. Summing
that up in New Orleans this August, Reagan explained:
"Eight years ago America was in economic chaos ... I took office
after the two worst back to back years of inflation America had
suffered in sixty years. ... Interest rates had jumped to over 21
percent, the highest they had been in 120 years. ...The average
weekly wage plunged 9 percent. The median family income fell 5-
1/2 percent. Congress had passed the single highest tax bill in
our 200 year history. Auto loans went up to 17 percent. Factories
shut down. Fuel costs had doubled. People waited in gas and
unemployment lines. The misery index, a combination of
unemployment and inflation rates, had risen to 21 percent.
Inflation was 19 percent in 1980. It has been reduced to 3-1/2 to
4 percent. Interest rates are less than half of what they were ..."5
In a tribute to Ronald Reagan, British Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher said, "Mr. President, the free world thanks you!"
Following Reagan's lead, Mrs. Thatcher has led England in
deregulation and privatization of many of England's nationally
owned enterprises. This alone has transformed England from a
failing socialist economy to a nation that is thriving on free
enterprise.
Yasuhiro Nakasone, former Prime Minister of Japan, remarked, "I
once called him the 'Great Architect.' He put the tumble-down
house called the Free World back in shape again, shoring up the
pillars and tightening the loose bolts. Finally he managed to
persuade the Soviet Union to come out with a new harmonious
foreign policy.
"When people asked me why I liked him, I said, 'Because I'm a fan
of John Wayne.' Mr. Reagan projects the image of a brave man
with great compassion. I also said, 'He is a gentleman who
displays all the American virtues and remarkably few of what we
might see as negative American traits. I often said to Mr. Reagan,
'You are the pitcher and I am the catcher. Throw me a good pitch
... If the Reagan legacy continues, the pitcher-catcher relationship
between the United States and Japan will last, with mutual trust
and cooperation for the foreseeable future."6
Addressing the Republicans this August, Reagan explained, "In
1902 Teddy Roosevelt told Americans not to hold back from
dangers ahead but to rejoice with our hearts lifted, with the faith
that unto us and to our children it shall be given to make this
republic the mightiest among the peoples of mankind.
"In 1980 we needed every bit of that kind of faith. That year it
was our dream that we could rescue America and make a new
beginning, to create anew that 'shining city on the hill.' The
dream we shared was to reclaim our government, to transform it
from one which was consuming our prosperity ... A dream of
making our nation strong enough to preserve world freedom and
to recapture our national destiny.
"We made a determination that our dream would not be built on a
foundation of sand, something called 'trust me' government, but
we would trust instead the American spirit. And, yes, we were
unashamed to believe that this dream was driven by a
community of shared values, family work, neighborhood, peace,
and freedom. On July 17, 1980, we left with a mutual pledge to
conduct a national crusade to make America great again. We had
faith because the heroes in our midst had never failed us
before..."
