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    "title": "Remarks of the President on the Boardwalk in Front of the Haddon Hall Hotel [Ford Speech or Statement]",
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    "ocrText": "Digitized from Box 33 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\nOCTOBER 27, 1976\nOFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY\n(Atlantic City, New Jersey)\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nREMARKS OF THE PRESIDENT\nON THE BOARDWALK\nIN FRONT OF THE\nHADDON HALL HOTEL\n12:00 NOON EDT\nFritz Haneman, Senator Case, Mayor Lazarow:\nMay I say I am deeply grateful to Dorothy and\nher warm welcome. She comes from Minnesota. That is Gopher\ncountry. I come from Michigan and that is Wolverine country.\nAnd when a Gopher and a Wolverine get together, boy, you\ncan't beat 'em.\nBut I do want to recognize Charlie Sandman,\nTom Kean, Web Todd. And I have two very close and very\ndear friends who have been traveling with me for the\nlast several days, people you know, people you respect,\nand people that I admire, respect and appreciate. First,\nI want to introduce to you Joe Garagiola.\nI was going to introduce former Democratic\nCongressman Edith Green, who was I think one of the\noutstanding Members of the House of Representatives for\n19 years. While we were in the Congress together she\nwas on the Democratic side and I was on the Republican\nside, but I understand that somewhere between the plane\nand here Edith didn't quite make it. I understand that\nshe is not feeling well. But she has been campaigning\nwith us and, believe me, to have that kind of superb\nsupport from a really outstanding Member of the Congress\non the Democratic side, I am deeply grateful and very\nappreciative.\nNow let me say it is great to be back in New\nJersey. I was here a week or 10 days ago. When I was\nhere several weeks ago I saw a sign that said \"Jersey Loves\nJerry\". It has gotten bigger since I was here before.\n(Laughter) But let me say that Jerry loves Jersey, and\nI mean it from the bottom of my heart.\nIt seems that the enthusiasm in New Jersey\nhas gotten even greater than it was when I was here\na few weeks ago. But let me give you all a special\ninvitation because I know that we are going to carry\nNew Jersey, we are going to win the election, but I invite\neach and every one of you to come to Washington on January\n20, 1977 to be there for the inauguration of Jerry\nFord and Bob Dole.\nMORE\nPage 2\nAs we come to the final days, really, of this\ngreat campaign, I want to reiterate where I stand. I\nstand on your side for limited Government, for fiscal\nresponsibility, for rising prosperity, for lower taxes,\nfor military strength that will keep the peace in the\nworld. And may I say with great emphasis, not a single\nyoung American is fighting or dying on foreign soil today,\nand we are proud of it.\nAfter so many years where the defense of this\ncountry was shortchanged by the Congress, I proposed the\ntwo largest defense appropriations in the history of the\nUnited States, and I convinced the Congress in this last\nyear that it was good policy, that it was necessary, so\nthat when the United States meets any challenge in\nnegotiation or otherwise we have the capability, we have\nthe wherewithal so that the United States is number one.\nIt is today, and we are going to keep it that way.\nAfter so many years of runaway inflation, let\nme say that we have made significant progress. We have\nreduced the rate of inflation from over 12 percent to less\nthan 6 percent, and I pledge to you in the next four years,\nwe are going to do better and we are really going to win\nthe battle against inflation in this Government.\nAfter so many years of runaway growth in\nFederal spending, I submitted a budget last January that\ncut the rate of growth in Federal spending by over 50\npercent. I held the line on Government spending with 66\nvetoes, and saved you, the hard-pressed taxpayers of this\ncountry, about $9 billion-plus, which means for each\nfamily a $200 saving in Federal spending, and that is\nprogress.\nBecause I haven't been afraid to say no to\nthose who want to spend and spend, it will be possible\nfor me to submit in 1978 a balanced Federal budget, and\nwe will have another tax reduction at the same time.\nI think you in the great State of New Jersey\nknow how risky it is when a candidate says one thing on\nthe campaign trail and then does something else when he\ngets in public office, in reference to taxes. You learned\nwhat it is like when a candidate faces the voters with\na promise and then turns his back on them after the\nelection and after the inauguration. You will learn\nwith every dollar that you pay for your State income tax\nhere in the State of New Jersey.\nThere is a good alternative to that kind of\npolitical acrobatics. You know where I stand. I am for\nthe little taxpayer and I am against the big tax spender.\nMy idea of tax reform is tax reduction. I proposed\nlast year an increase in the personal exemption from $750\nto $1,000. What does that mean for a family of five --\nthree children, husband and wife? If Congress had had\nthe wisdom to go along with it, you as taxpayers next\nApril would have been able to sit down when you make out\nthat return, and that family of five would have been able\nto have a $1,250 increase in your personal exemption. Now,\nCongress wasn't smart enough to do anything about it.\nMORE\nPage 3\nBut let me tell you, I am going to submit\nthat to the Congress next year, and if they don't do it\nnext year we will go back at them again, and if they\ndon't do it in 1978 we will go to the voters of America\nand we will beat those people who won't give you that\nkind of a tax reduction.\nThe middle income taxpayer in this country for\ntoo long a time has been shortchanged, and we are going\nto change that in the Congress beginning in January of\n1977.\nNow, let me say, we have faced the worst\nrecession in the last 40 years in the last 18 months.\nWe have had unemployment that was far too high. But at\nthe same time, let me say on the affirmative side, we\nhave created 4 million more jobs and we have 88 million\nAmerican people working today -- an all-time high -- and\nwe have achieved this not by deadend taxpayer-paid jobs\nbut by jobs primarily in the private sector where five\nout of the six jobs are today. And as we move ahead in\nthe next few months under the Ford Administration, we are\ngoing to have more jobs. We are going to have more jobs\nin the private sector, because we are going to stimulate\nthe economy with tax reductions for you and for business,\nand that is the way we are going to make America prosperous,\nthe way you want it.\nTwo years ago, the American people suffered\na tragic betrayal of public trust. America, I think we\ncan say with full confidence, has had its faith restored\nin the White House. My Administration has been open,\ncandid, forthright, speaking right straight from the\nshoulder, and I promise you, I pledge to you, we are\ngoing to keep it that way in the next four years.\nIn every field America is on the move, on the\nmarch. This Nation is sound, this Nation is secure, this\nNation has an opportunity for a better quality of life,\nand this Administration has earned the trust of the\nAmerican people for the next four years. I can say with\na clear conscience, my record is one of promise -- progress,\nnot platitudes; performance, not promises.\nYes, we have had our problems, but in the\nlast two years we have come a long, long way. At home\nas well as abroad we are putting our old differences\naside, we are putting our old problems behind us, healing\nour wounds, and I am proud to be a citizen of this great\ncountry. And I look around this wonderful audience and\nI think every one of you are proud to be an American right\nnow.\nSo, as we come to the final countdown, give\nme your mandate and we will reduce the rate of growth\nof the Federal Government.\nMORE\nPage 4\nGive me your mandate and we will insure the\nintegrity of our Social Security system. We will improve\nMedicare so that our older citizens can enjoy the health\nand the happiness that they have so richly earned. There\nis no reason why they should have to go broke just to get\nwell, and they won't under the Ford Administration.\nGive me your mandate and we will create a\ntax structure that is fair to all, that will preserve\nthe family home, the family business, the family farm,\nthat will give business the tax incentives to build new\nplants, to modernize, to create more jobs for America.\nGive me your mandate on November 2 and we will\nlead this country on the paths of peace through strength,\nand we will live in peace and freedom in the United States\nof America in the first four years of our third century.\nI have no fear for the future of the United\nStates. For America the future is a friend. And as we\ngo forward together, I promise you once more, as I promised\nyou before, to uphold the Constitution, to do what is\nright as God gives me the right to see the right, and to\ndo the very best that I can for America.\nGod helping me, I won't let you down.\nThank you very, very much.\nEND\n(AT 12:10 P.M. EDT)"
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