Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 768 › Conversation 768-002

Nixon, Buchanan & Bull on Economic policy and Inflation

Monday, August 14, 1972 · 8:45 AM–9:00 AM ET · Oval Office ·9 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Buchanan, Patrick J.; Bull, Stephen B.Conversation768-002 onTape 768StartMonday, August 14, 1972 at 8:45 AMEndMonday, August 14, 1972 at 9:00 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 768-002 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Patrick J. Buchanan and Stephen B. Bull to dictate a memorandum outlining economic talking points for a new fact sheet. Nixon emphasized the need for a more dramatic and effective presentation of the administration's economic successes, specifically comparing U.S. growth rates, inflation reduction, and consumer food costs favorably against international benchmarks. He directed Buchanan to refine these statistics to better illustrate how the American worker has gained ground against inflation compared to the 1966–1969 period.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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This memorandum is written to all for the purpose of jacking up the status as much as it is intended to.

I have a lot of questions.

I can give the responsibility for writing that.

I then began to make fights, which I assumed would be covered very precisely in the economic actions prepared by Erskine and the National Council.

All three of the

who had studied the economic sheets.

And frankly, more often than I did, said that while the whites were covered, they weren't covered in as dramatic and effective a fashion as I had laid it out.

This really surprised me, because I thought I had made the same points the leaders made, and also that it cost something else to me.

In a nutshell,

but on one piece of paper that's covered the following points.

One, the second, the economy of the United States at this time has a higher rate of growth than that

don't put this in the I based this on where I asked a specific question, and he said that that was correct.

Just for back on the trail.

It is 80% to 90%.

Japan, 5%.

England, 5%.

Germany, 5%.

France, 5%.

Italy, France.

So that's our new economic policy.

The real spendable earnings, or real wages, i.e., wages after taxes and increases.

increased 5%.

This compares with the period from 1966 through 1969 when there was virtually no increase whatever in real income for Americans' wages.

Increases in taxes and prices data.

That's right, increases in prices data.

Virtually all the increases in wages that waiters receive in that period.

We finally have the American worker bottom of the inflation credit bill.

And now he's making real gains against the price of the free.

The increase in America's growth are demonstrated by these facts.

It's a paragraph one.

Every year, the American economy grows a new people.

Every year, the American economy grows a new France, etc.,

Every two years, the American economy grows.

Now, I am only simply putting this in for guidance.

I know, for example, our economic growth this year by a factor of approximately $910 billion.

I am sure that that is more than

I'm sure your facts are right, and I put them in in a way that will grab people.

We have cut the rate of inflation in half over the past two years.

The rate of inflation in the United States

He's supposed to.

land, Europe, Germany, etc.

Finally, the fifth question.

The people of the United States are by far the best people in the world.

And yet,

people in the United States pay less, a smaller percentage of their average tax dollars on food than any people in the world.

For example, in the United States, the average person pays $0.15 out of each average tax dollar on food.

In Britain, he pays $0.25 a turkey, but it's bigger than that.

Donna, it's 60%.

That's the end of the memorandum.

I would like for you to get these backs up.

If you can, .

End of tape.

NARA Description

On August 14, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Patrick J. Buchanan, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:45 am and 9:00 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 768-002 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 768-2

Date: August 14, 1972
Time: Unknown between 8:45 am and 9:00 am
Location: Oval Office

                                       (rev. Nov-03)

The President dictated a memorandum to Patrick J. Buchanan.

            Memorandum
               -H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
               -Buchanan
               -Fact sheet
                   -Tricia Nixon Cox
                   -Edward R.F. Cox
                   -Julie Nixon Eisenhower

            Economy
               -Fact sheets
                   -Herbert Stein
                   -Domestic Council
                   -The President’s view
                        -Leadership meeting
                        -Cost of Living Council [COLC] meeting
                   -Instructions from the President
                        -US economic growth rate
                             -Compared to other industrial nations
                                  -Japan
                                  -The President’s previous conversation with Stein
                                  -Japan
                                  -Great Britain
                                  -West Germany
                                  -France
                                  -Italy
                   -Increase in real spendable earnings
                        -Compared to increase of real income from 1966 to 1969
                             -Price increases
                        -The Administrations success against inflation
                   -Growth of US economy
                        -Compared to foreign countries
                             -Great Britain
                             -Italy
                             -France
                             -Japan
                             -Need for correct facts
                   -Inflation

                                           (rev. Nov-03)

Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 8:45 am.

             The President's schedule
                 -John B. Connally
                     -Completion of the President’s memorandum
                 -Haldeman

Bull left at an unknown time before 9:00 am.

             Economy
                -Reduction of inflation
                    -Compared to other countries
                         -Japan
                         -Great Britain
                         -West Germany
                -Food costs
                    -Percentage of income spent on food
                         -Compared to other countries
                              -Great Britain
                              -Ghana
                -Distribution of fact sheet
                    -Tricia Nixon Cox
                    -Edward Cox
                    -Julie Nixon Eisenhower

Also recorded on August 14, 1972

768-001 8:38 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:38 am to 8:45 am.
768-003 8:45 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:45 am and 9:00 am.
768-004 9:00 AM · 1 hr 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John B. Connally, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John N. Mitchell, and Clark MacGregor met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:00 am to 10:42 am.
768-005 10:42 AM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William D. Eberle, Peter M. Flanigan, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:42 am to 11:09 am.
768-006 11:09 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:09 am to 11:11 am.
768-007 11:11 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:11 am and 11:14 am.
768-008 11:14 AM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Kenneth B. Keating, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:14 am to 11:28 am.
768-009 11:28 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:28 am and 11:29 am.

All 49 conversations from August 14, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 768-002, August 14, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/768-002 (accessed September 18, 2026).