Nixon, Scott & Ford on Economic Policy and George McGovern

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I heard.

Hi, how are you?

I'm sure we need to get you to the clinic today.

Oh, it's boring.

Did you have an operation?

Yeah, they took the cardiac out and screwed around some ligaments.

And I hope to get off, you know, another week, 10 days.

But I'm supposed to see the doctor at 1130.

It's coming a lot better, so I just can't.

It's slow, you know.

Okay.

No, it really hasn't been.

Annoying.

Fine.

I'll be off these in a week, 10 days.

I was thinking, I was thinking, I was thinking, I was thinking, I was thinking, I was thinking, I was thinking, I was thinking, I was thinking,

I think that the shocking thing, of course, is that a part of the $1,000 a person thing, which you should derive always,

That would cost $180,000,000.

But apart from that, and taking into account the cuts that he would have on his defense budget, it would mean a government program to get the maximum increase of $180,000,000 in taxes.

And a tax increase for the average American family, $1,000,000.

I think that's not a bad thing to do.

What do you think?

Well, I agree.

We are doing it.

But we need more people to do it.

I mean, I think so.

My governor here, he told his... You might want to use that term, recognize.

I'm sorry?

May or may not.

He has told his own staff not to use the phrase 1,000 at all.

It's because of the jokes.

The jokes are going around.

I think you'll be interested in just one quick one.

emergency session because they'd had a wire from the government saying it was a thousand percent for Israel.

President, would you suggest the approach to talking about the taxing and the political aspect of that by the idea that we had a report on the economy and then they questioned him as if it was initiated by the leaders and not by the White House?

Oh, yes, that's right.

Well, actually, you could either put

on the economy growing.

I think you can certainly make the point that, I think another very good point, that it's very significant on the employment, that since this administration, there's been an increase in peace-time jobs, in peace-time jobs, or job reduction for peace, what, four and a half?

Four and a half.

And there's been a decrease of two and a half

jobs and production for war, including the armed, that includes people that are out of the armed services of over a million, and they made it in half, and that's directly related to the war.

I think that's a hell of a strong country.

I mean, jobs for peace, they increase it four and a half years or so.

I think the, you know, as far as food production and, you know, pollen and everything, and then demanding it, I simply say that's a real problem.

And I would say that we have a report also on the budget that asks questions about what the better programs would cost.

And it's not without the $1,000, which would cost an astronomical, which everybody has thought is a better budget.

The figure is $144 billion without the $1,000, and you add $189 billion with the $1,000.

And that's over the $250 million ceiling that we're going to price for.

Yes, yes.

I think we could take the harmonies that I brought with us.

There's 144 capsules.

Then if you add, that's flat form.

Then if you add the $1,000 proposal, there's 189 million more.

We could get 329 or 323.

Well, I think one of us could start out by talking about our medical economics.

If he wants to do it, it's fine.

Then I could talk about the $250 billion ceiling.

And then talk about...

over that, 189 over that.

That is 144 of the Democratic platform.

Right.

And 189, if you add in the, the $1,000 a person, which everybody has said.

And then get into the tax increases, which would be?

You can say conservatively, conservatively, it would increase net, not 180, but it's 144, whatever it is.

And that would be, conservatively,

It means that if you go to the McGovern policies, it's an increase of an average of $1,000, $1,000 for every average family in America.

It's 1,000.

1,000 is a very good average.

And if you go to the McGovern, it's over $2,000.

Yeah, and if you add, well, it's actually about $2,500.

You may as well just exaggerate a bit there.

Sure.

For the average company, it would be about $2,500.

I would say, I like the line, if you could, a vote for a secret, a vote for this secret is a vote against a tax increase.

It's a vote that will provide insurance against a tax increase.

But will there be a tax increase if you don't have it?

The president will fight it.

He's going to fight it through vetoes and so forth.

But a vote for the secret, it means that the Congress joins the president in the responsibility

rather than the irresponsibility of having one.

And it gets you away from having to fight such things as baby care and all the other things that a lot of people are for.

You see, if we get into the business of this thing of fighting all the issues of poverty and child care and all the rest, you'll lose.

You'll be old folks and so forth.

But we want people to be thinking of the fact that their programs will bring an increase in taxes, inflation,

and unemployment, which of course it would.

Also, don't use this yet, because you haven't gotten the figure, but I need you to get that.

The total, when you take the present budget of $250 million, add to it the government budget of $350 million, you are then taking over the, well, you're on the figure that it's over,

total income, personal income of all people in America, but more importantly, looking at a trillion dollar economy, over half that, over 50% of the economy of the United States would have to go in the government.

And that the American, the average American is going to be working more for the government than he is for himself.

And I just think that's a good line, because that's terribly difficult, terribly difficult.

And also, and also, and it's the welfare of people.

to pay for these huge welfare costs.

Now, another line that's interesting that we have developed is that a $100,000 program would add 80 billion people to the welfare rolls.

80 billion people to the welfare rolls.

You could say that's underrated.

But that's true.

That's the God's truth.

It would add 80 billion people.

So all the time, time and time.

Well, we also need to do it all the time.

And incidentally, as time goes on, as you get into the political season, you're going to get more flooding than you're presently getting.

I don't think, actually, the whole business about the private interests and so forth, I mean, they've had their problems, and now they're campaigning against them.

I mean, you say, based on the way they started, it's going to be a highly irresponsible campaign, and we're going to answer the truth.

We're going to answer their distortions, et cetera, their misrepresentations, and use lies a little later than that.

Oh, we hear the truth.

But you're the master of that truth.

Well, I told the press that McGowan, Vice President of the Office, had been outlawed by his Senate colleagues, so he had to go to an in-law.

What?

I'm sorry.

What do you need to do, Paul?

It may not come up.

If it comes up, you can say it.

The president, of course, does not say it.

He says he'll look at it and guess it.

But he has clearly warned the Congress and warned the leaders that if this bill comes here, it's substantially above his budget.

It's a veto candidate.

I'm not going to say what he's going to do, but he said, the president said, he always reserves the right to, I'm going to veto it, I'm sure.

I'm going to veto that.

Unless you have a jury, he's up there.

But this will be vetoed, for sure.

But why is it?

So it acts.

But if it exceeds the budget's extension, what is the extension for ?

We have to be responsible.

We have to.

I think the idea that what the president is asking for $250 billion is for Congress to join with the president in taking responsibility to stop a tax increase on spending.

People want to get a life-spending insurance.

I don't like tax insurance.

But I say it's a vote against the tax

Anybody who votes against that ceiling is voted for, which actually pays attention.

The president paid attention to the ceiling because they didn't think it had a chance of getting through.

Yeah.

With Mills supporting it, or at least in the whole thing.

If he will support it, he's committed to support it.

In fact, he's talking about putting it on the next set of limitations.

Yeah.

Well, if he doesn't can't lead it, we sure will try.

Okay, sir.

Thank you.

Good luck.

Appreciate all your hard work.

You, you take care of yourself now.

We're going to need you again.

I'm in great shape.

I know, Doctor.

I just...

If you want to get your nut cutting out there, it'll help.

I'll be here.

Hey, you.

Yes?

We sent Romney up here to Wilford.

I saw that piece in my class for him.

I did.

Oh, you're not going to let him do that?

No.

Mel Shatner got his first crack in when Shatner was notably inactive.

I will.

But you're strong, I can take care of that myself.

Nixon, Scott & Ford on Economic Policy and George McGovern

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on August 8, 1972

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