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overdue reforms will the full tax cut be advisable.
Almost $17 billion in income tax cuts will go to individuals. Ninety-six
percent of all American taxpayers will see their taxes go down. For a
typical family of four, this means an annual saving of more than $250 a
year, or a tax reduction of about 20 percent. A further $2 billion cut in
excise taxes will give more relief and also contribute directly to lowering
the rate of inflation.
And we will also provide strong additional incentives for business
investment and growth through substantial cuts in the corporate tax rates
and improvement in the investment tax credit.
Now, these tax proposals will increase opportunity everywhere in the
Nation. But additional jobs for the disadvantaged deserve special
attention.
We've already passed laws to assure equal access to the voting booth and to
restaurants and to schools, to housing, and laws to permit access to jobs.
But job opportunity, the chance to earn a decent living, is also a basic
human right, which we cannot and will not ignore.
A major priority for our Nation is the final elimination of the barriers
that restrict the opportunities available to women and also to black people
and Hispanics and other minorities. We've come a long way toward that goal.
But there is still much to do. What we inherited from the past must not be
permitted to shackle us in the future.
I'll be asking you for a substantial increase in funds for public jobs for
our young people, and I also am recommending that the Congress continue the
public service employment programs at more than twice the level of a year
ago. When welfare reform is completed, we will have more than a million
additional jobs so that those on welfare who are able to work can work.
However, again, we know that in our free society, private business is still
the best source of new jobs. Therefore, I will propose a new program to
encourage businesses to hire young and disadvantaged Americans. These young
people only need skills and a chance in order to take their place in our
economic system. Let's give them the chance they need. A major step in the
right direction would be the early passage of a greatly improved
Humphrey-Hawkins bill.
My budget for 1979 addresses these national needs, but it is lean and
tight. I have cut waste wherever possible.
I am proposing an increase of less than 2 percent after adjusting for
inflation, the smallest increase in the Federal budget in 4 years.
Lately, Federal spending has taken a steadily increasing portion of what
Americans produce. Our new budget reverses that trend, and later I hope to
bring the Government's toll down even further. And with your help, we'll do
that.
In time of high employment and a strong economy, deficit spending should
not be a feature of our budget. As the economy continues to gain strength
and as our unemployment rates continue to fall, revenues will grow. With
careful planning, efficient management, and proper restraint on spending,
we can move rapidly toward a balanced budget, and we will.
Next year the budget deficit will be only slightly less than this year. But
one-third of the deficit is due to the necessary tax cuts that I've
proposed. This year the right choice is to reduce the burden on taxpayers
and provide more jobs for our people.
The third element in our program is a renewed attack on inflation. We've
learned the hard way that high unemployment will not prevent or cure
inflation. Government can help us by stimulating private investment and by
maintaining a responsible economic policy. Through a new top-level review
process, we will do a better job of reducing Government regulation that
drives up costs and drives up prices.
But again, Government alone cannot bring down the rate of inflation. When a
level of high inflation is expected to continue, then companies raise
prices to protect their profit margins against prospective increases in
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