Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 284 › Conversation 284-022
Nixon, Safire & Yates on Economic Policy and Price Commission
Wednesday, October 6, 1971 · 8:40 PM–11:59 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 16 min
AI Summary
President Nixon met with speechwriter William Safire to refine a draft for an upcoming speech regarding economic policy and Phase II stabilization efforts. The discussion focused on the structural roles of the Price Commission and the Wage Commission, specifically debating the administrative oversight of George P. Shultz and the involvement of Dr. W. Allen Wallis. Nixon emphasized the importance of phrasing regarding price controls and corporate responsibilities to avoid negative political connotations, ultimately opting for language that highlights business efficiency over excessive government policing.
- Economic Policy
- Price Commission
- Wage Commission
- Speechwriting
- Inflation
- George P. Shultz
- Phase II
Audio
This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.
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Position in tape: 02:20:00 – 02:34:19
Transcript (AI-generated)
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NARA Description
On October 6, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, William L. Safire, and Nellie L. Yates met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 8:40 pm and 11:59 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 284-022 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 284-22
Date: October 6, 1971
Time: Unknown between 8:40 pm and 11:59 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with William L. Safire.
Draft of speech for October 7, 1971
-Raymond K. Price, Jr.
-Letters
-Price Board
-Price Commission
-George P. Shultz
-Herbert Stein
-George W. Romney
-Maurice H. Stans [?]
-Letters
-Inflation
-Dr. W. Allen Wallis
-John B. Connally
-Wording
-Shultz
-Wage Commission
-Price Commission
-Congress
-Standby controls
-Connally
-Profits
-Prices
The President talked with Nellie L. Yates between 8:54 pm and 8:55 pm.
[Conversation No. 284-22A]
[See Conversation No. 10-105]
[End of telephone conversation]
-Connally
-Price reductions
-Price Commission
-Responsibilities
-Wording
-Page nine
-Political connotation
-Wording
Conversation was cut off at an unknown time before 11:59 pm.Also recorded on October 7, 1971
- 010-102 8:00 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 8:00 pm.
- 010-104 8:39 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and William L. Safire talked on the telephone from 8:39 pm to 8:40 pm.
- 284-021 8:39 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 8:39 pm to 8:40 pm.
- 010-105 8:54 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Nellie L. Yates talked on the telephone from 8:54 pm to 8:55 pm.
- 285-002 8:55 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 9:18 pm.
- 010-106 9:18 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:18 pm.
- 010-107 9:18 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Marjorie P. Acker talked on the telephone from 9:18 pm to 9:19 pm.
- 285-003 9:18 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Marjorie P. Acker met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:18 pm to 9:19 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 284-022, October 7, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/284-022 (accessed October 6, 2026).