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2/10/76 - Lincoln Day Dinner
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2/10/76 - Lincoln Day Dinner
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This file contains material relating to Single Family Home Ownership.
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Carla A. Hills Speeches
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The original documents are located in Box 2, folder "2/10/76 - Lincoln Day Dinner" of the
Carla A. Hills Speeches at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald Ford donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Digitized from Box 2 of the Carla A. Hills Speeches at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
LINCOLN DAY DINNER
FEBRUARY 10, 1976
I WAS so PLEASED TO RESPOND TO THE REQUEST OF YOUR
VERY ABLE CONGRESSMAN, LARRY COUGHLIN, TO PARTICIPATE IN
THIS LINCOLN DAY DINNER. As YOU KNOW, HE SERVES ON THE
HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE, AND SO THIS GIVES ME AN
EXTRA OPPORTUNITY TO DESCRIBE WHAT GREAT THINGS HUD PROPOSES
TO DO WITH THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET THAT WILL SOON BE BEFORE
HIM FOR CONSIDERATION. ALSO, LARRY WENT TO YALE, WHERE I
OBTAINED MY LAW DEGREE, AND I SELDOM MISS AN. OPPORTUNITY
FOR A SCHOOL REUNION, PARTICULARLY WHEN IT INCLUDES DINNER.
AND, THIS IS A VERY SPECIAL DINNER.
EACH YEAR IN FEBRUARY, WE REPUBLICANS ALONG WITH ALL
AMERICANS REVISIT THE TIME OF LINCOLN TO PAY HIM AND OUR
COUNTRY HONOR -- TO EXPRESS OUR THANKSGIVING THAT OUR NATION
SURVIVED THAT MOST CONTENTIOUS TIME.
TODAY, WE MARVEL AT THE STRENGTH AND THE FORESIGHT THAT
ENABLED LINCOLN TO STEER THE STEADY COURSE THAT PRESERVED
OUR UNION. YET, IF WE LOOK TO THAT PERIOD A HUNDRED AND
TWELVE YEARS AGO, WHICH PRECEDED HIS NOMINATION AND REELECTION,
WE CAN ONLY WINCE AT THE VICIOUS ATTACKS THAT WERE MADE
HIS GOVERNMENT AND HIS CAPACITY,
GERALO OFORD LIERARY
-2-
THE NEW YORK HERALD CALLED HIS REELECTION "IMPOSSIBLE".
HIS FISCAL POLICIES WERE CALLED "CAPRICIOUS AND SUPERFICIAL".
HIS SUPPORT FOR "HARD MONEY" ADVISORS WAS ATTACKED, HIS
APPOINTMENTS WERE CALLED THE WORK OF "A BACKWARD LAWYER
WITHOUT SUFFICIENT MENTAL ENLARGEMENT".
ONE OF HIS VETOES CAUSED HIS CONGRESSIONAL CRITICS TO
CHARGE:
"A MORE STUDIED OUTRAGE ON THE LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY
OF THE PEOPLE HAS NEVER BEEN PERPETRATED -- THE
AUTHORITY OF THE CONGRESS IS PARAMOUNT AND MUST BE
RESPECTED."
THE NEW YORK WORLD SAID:
"HE WRITES WORSE ENGLISH THAN ANY PRESIDENT WE EVER
HAD."
THE NEW YORK HERALD'S THEME WAS THAT:
"A CLOWN RAN THE GOVERNMENT."
LIGRARY
FORD
a
-3-
IT IS FITTING THEREFORE, THAT WE HONOR TONIGHT THE
COURAGE OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN WHICH TEMPERED THE COUNTRY
AS WELL AS THE PARTY ENABLING THEM BOTH TO SURVIVE A
PERIOD OF INCOMPARABLE POLITICAL SAVAGERY.
IT IS EQUALLY FITTING THAT WE REFLECT ON THE PERSPECTIVE
OF THAT HISTORY AS WE DECIDE UPON THOSE POLICIES AND THOSE
PERSONS WHOM WE SHALL CHOOSE TO LEAD THIS COUNTRY IN THE YEARS
AHEAD.
LOOK BACK 18 MONTHS AND RECALL THE NATIONAL MOOD -- THE
DESPAIR, THE CYNICISM AND THE MUSHROOMING DOUBTS AS TO THE
DESTINY OF OUR NATION.
THE OUTRAGE OVER WATERGATE;
THE DESPAIR OVER A DESECRATED ENVIRONMENT;
THE EROSION OF ONCE MAJESTIC CITIES; AND,
THE ABRUPT SHOCK AT OUR ENERGY CRISIS.
-5-
THAT GLUTTONY BOUGHT US NO REAL SOLUTIONS TO THE COMPLEX
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ISSUES BEFORE US. INSTEAD, IT FUELED A
RAGING INFLATION AS WE BEGAN TO FOOT THE BILLS FOR OUR WELL-
MEANING MISTAKES, WHICH CREATED THE EVEN TOUGHER PROBLEMS THAT
WE FACE TODAY.
As WE MAKE OUR CHOICE OF LEADERS FOR THE FUTURE, WE CANNOT
IGNORE THE LESSON so VIVIDLY TAUGHT IN THE 1960's: THAT A
NATION CANNOT PURCHASE SOLUTIONS TO THE DIFFICULT PROBLEMS THAT
IT FACES WITH MASSIVE SPENDING ALONE; THAT EASY SOLUTIONS BASED
SIMPLY UPON MORE SPENDING FAIL TO DEAL WITH THE ROOT ECONOMIC
AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS,
YET, TOO FEW RECALL THE PRESIDENT'S PERSONAL OPPOSITION
AND VETO OF SPENDING PROPOSALS DURING 1975, AND TOO FEW GIVE
HIM CREDIT FOR THE POLITICAL SHREWDNESS THAT CAUSED MOST OF
THOSE VETOES TO BE SUSTAINED IN THE FACE OF THE SO-CALLED
"VETO-PROOF" CONGRESS.
THE PRESIDENT HAS BY HIS CONSISTENT STRENGTH HELPED US
TO LEARN IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THE STATE GOVERNMENT AND
THE CITY GOVERNMENT THAT AMERICA'S RESOURCES ARE NOT BOUNDLESS;
THEY ARE DEMONSTRATIVELY FINITE,
-6-
As WE FACE ELECTION OF A GOVERNMENT WHICH WE WILL CHARGE
WITH A CONTINUING JOB OF NURTURING OUR RECUPERATING ECONOMY
BACK TO HEALTH, WE CANNOT AFFORD TO IGNORE THESE HARD CHOICES
MADE IN 1975 BY OUR PRESIDENT, WHICH HAVE BROUGHT US THE
RECOVERY NOW UNDERWAY.
I SPEAK OF WHAT HAS TOO OFTEN BEEN A DEVISIVE ISSUE, ONE
THAT WILL UNDOUBTEDLY BE PLAYED TO THE HILT IN THE FORTHCOMING
POLITICAL MONTHS.
IN SPITE OF RECENT HISTORY, LADEN WITH PROOF THAT THE
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT IS SIMPLY INCAPABLE OF "BUYING" AMERICA
OUT OF EVERY PROBLEM -- FOREIGN OR DOMESTIC -- THERE WILL BE
HEATED CALLS ON ALL SIDES FOR UNCLE SAM TO RUSH IN WITH MONEY
TO CURE AN ENDLESS PHALANX OF NATIONAL ILLS.
ALREADY WE READ THAT ONE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE IS
CALLING FOR A LARGE INCOME TAX CUT ALONG WITH INCREASED
FEDERAL SPENDING "TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL ECONOMIC STIMULUS".
ANOTHER TALKS OF "STIMULATIVE FEDERAL SPENDING TO CREATE
JOBS AND SOLVE THE HOUSING AND ENERGY SHORTAGES". AND,
A THIRD WOULD TAX THE DICKENS OUT OF "THE SUPER-RICH AND
GIANT CORPORATIONS
so WE CAN LIGHTEN THE BURDEN ON
THE REST OF us."
-7-
THERE WILL ALWAYS BE PIED PIPERS FOR PROSPERITY WHOSE
TUNE WILL FOREVER BE SPEND. THEIR TUNE FALLS PLEASANTLY
ON THE EAR BECAUSE IT FAILS TO REMIND THE LISTENERS THAT
THEY ARE THE GOVERNMENT -- AND THE SOURCE -- IN THE LAST
ANALYSIS OF GOVERNMENT MONEY.
THESE PIED PIPERS CAN LEAD US INTO A SEALED MOUNTAIN
UNLESS WE SAY TO OURSELVES A THOUSANDFOLD TIMES -- "BEWARE"
-- THE MORE THE GOVERNMENT SPENDS, THE HIGHER THE COST FROM
INFLATION FOR INDIVIDUALS.
THE PIPER'S TUNE HAS NO VERSE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO
INTEREST RATES AND THE AVAILABILITY OF MORTGAGE MONEY, AND
NO REFRAIN THAT CAUTIONS ABOUT THE $100 MILLION WE PAY EACH
AND EVERY DAY JUST TO COVER THE INTEREST ON OUR EXISTING
FEDERAL DEBT -- WHICH NOW EXCEEDS $350 BILLION.
LET ME BE MORE SPECIFIC AND TREAT WITH THE DISTRESSED
STATE OF HOUSING AND OF THE CITIES, HUD's MAIN CONCERN.
-8-
THERE ARE SOPHISTICATED WAYS AND WORDS, CHARTS AND
THEORIES, TO EXPLAIN THE EFFECTS OF PAST NATIONAL FISCAL
POLICIES ON THE HOUSING MARKET. BUT, NO MATTER HOW IT IS
DEFINED IN THE LEXICON OF THE ECONOMIST, IT IS THE BLUNT
LANGUAGE OF THE FAMILY BANK ACCOUNT -- MULTIPLIED BY ALL
THE FAMILIES WHO HAVE BEEN DRIVEN OUT OF THE HOUSING MARKET
BY INFLATION -- THAT TELLS US WHAT HAS GONE ON IN THE HOME
BUILDING BUSINESS OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS.
TODAY, AS ALWAYS, PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN GOVERNMENT,
INSTITUTIONS AND INDUSTRIES -- IS IN DIRECT PROPORTION TO
OUR CONFIDENCE TO OVERCOME -- WHATEVER THE DIFFICULTIES.
So, OUR POLITICAL SPEECHES AND PUBLIC RHETORIC CAN
SOUND THE CLARION FOR NATIONAL CONFIDENCE. BUT, IF WE DON'T
POOL OUR ENERGIES AND RESOURCES TO MAINTAIN A STABLE NATIONAL
ECONOMY, ALL OF THE "CAN DO" CONFIDENCE WE GENERATE, WILL
ONLY COLLIDE WITH THE HOMEBUYER'S "NO CAN DO" POCKETBOOK.
BROAD GENERALITIES AND PLATITUDES ARE TOO OFTEN THE
PREMISE OF POLITICAL SPEECHES. ALLOW ME ON THIS OCCASION,
THEREFORE, TO TRACE WITH SOME PRECISION THE DEVELOPMENT UNDER
PRESIDENT FORD OF AN ECONOMIC POLICY THAT IS BY ANY FAIR
MEASURE WORKING AND WORKING WELL.
-9-
You AND I KNOW THAT IT IS FAR MORE EXPEDIENT IN THE
POLITICS OF AN ELECTION CYCLE TO SAY "YES" TO MORE FEDERAL
EXPENDITURES. So, I AM VERY PROUD OF PRESIDENT FORD'S
COURAGE IN SAYING "NO" TO A SUCCESSION OF MEASURES THAT
WOULD HAVE FUELED THE INFLATION HE HAS CUT IN HALF.
I LOOK BACK WITH EQUAL PRIDE AT THE PRESIDENT'S
WILLINGNESS TO SAY "YES" TO CAREFULLY THOUGHT-OUT MEASURES
TO INDUCE ECONOMIC RECOVERY, THESE HAVE BEEN THE VERY
TOUGH POLICY CALLS THAT HAVE LED US TO THE TURN-ABOUT NOW
FIRMLY IN PROGRESS.
HE SAID "YES" TO THE USE OF MORTGAGE PURCHASE ASSISTANCE,
ENABLING HUD -- OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS -- TO OFFER TO BUY
OVER 500,000 MORTGAGES ON NEWLY CONSTRUCTED SINGLE-FAMILY
HOMES, THUS PERMITTING HOMEBUYERS TO PURCHASE HOMES AT INTEREST
RATES BELOW THOSE AVAILABLE IN THE MARKET.
HE SAID "YES" AGAIN IN OCTOBER, ENABLING HUD TO
REACTIVATE ITS HOMEOWNERSHIP SUBSIDY PROGRAM UNDER WHICH
IT SUBSIDIZES DOWN TO 5 PERCENT THE INTEREST ON A MORTGAGE
IN THE RANGE OF $20,000 TO $25,000, THUS ASSISTING LOW AND
MODERATE INCOME FAMILIES WHO TRADITIONALLY HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL
BUYERS OF NEW SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES BUT WHO, BECAUSE OE
LIBRARY
INFLATION, HAVE BEEN PRICED OUT OF THE MARKET.
ONOA
-10-
THIS PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE AN INTEREST SUBSIDY FOR OVER
250,000 MORTGAGES, GENERATE $6.5 BILLION IN CONSTRUCTION
ACTIVITY AND PUT 500,000 PEOPLE BACK TO WORK.
USE OF THE TAXPAYERS MONEY IN THIS WAY HAS SPURRED
SINGLE-FAMILY HOME CONSTRUCTION AND HAS EXPANDED HOMEOWNERSHIP
OPPORTUNITIES DURING A PERIOD WHEN INFLATION DROVE BUYERS FROM
THE MARKET AND SLOWED THE HOUSING INDUSTRY ALMOST TO A POINT
OF STOPPING.
THESE SPECIFIC PROGRAMS HAVE HELPED TO OFFSET THE
ESCALATING COSTS OF HOME FINANCING AND HAVE CUSHIONED THE
SEVERITY OF THE DEPRESSION IN THE SINGLE-FAMILY MARKET,
REMEMBER, HOWEVER, THAT THE PRESIDENT ISSUED A RESOUNDING
"NO" TO CONGRESSIONAL EFFORTS TO PASS A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR
HOUSING BILL THAT WOULD BY EVERY REASONABLE STANDARD HAVE BEEN
COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE.
THE HOUSING RECOVERY IS CLOSELY TIED, PERHAPS MORE so
THAN ANY OTHER INDUSTRY, TO THIS COUNTRY'S OVERALL ECONOMIC
RECOVERY. UNLESS THIS NATION CAN KEEP ITS EXPENDITURES UNDER
CONTROL, INFLATION WILL NOT BE CURBED, INTEREST RATES WILL
NOT FALL AND HOMEBUYERS WILL BE UNABLE TO ENTER THE MARKET,
-11-
WHAT WE HAVE NOW IS A SLOW BUT STEADY HOUSING RECOVERY,
WHAT WE COULD HAVE HAD WAS A DISASTROUS SPENDING BILL HAD IT
NOT BEEN FOR THE PRESIDENT'S STRENGTH IN ISSUING A VETO
UNPOPULAR AT THE TIME AND THE POLITICAL CAPACITY TO MAKE
THAT VETO HOLD,
THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME DID RISE IN THE PAST DECADE --
BUT SO DID EVERYTHING THE FAMILY HAD TO BUY. THE KEY TO
HOUSING INDUSTRY HEALTH IS TIED, NOT TO THE AMOUNT THE FAMILY
MAKES, BUT HOW MUCH IT HAS TO SPEND FOR HOUSING AFTER IT PAYS
FOR ALL ITS OTHER NEEDS.
IN 1974, THE RATE OF INCREASED HOUSING COSTS OUTRAN THE
NATION'S DISPOSABLE FAMILY INCOME -- AND, PREDICTABLY, HOUSING
STARTS DECLINED.
IN 1975, THAT TREND WAS REVERSED. BETWEEN THE FIRST AND
THIRD QUARTERS INCOME ROSE THREE TIMES AS FAST AS NEW HOME PRICES
THUS, THE SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSING MARKET REGAINED ITS
HISTORICALLY NEEDED ECONOMIC EQUASION -- AND THE IMMEDIATE
AFTER EFFECT WAS FELT IN INCREASED HOUSING STARTS AND SALES.
-12-
IN SHORT, WE USED DISCRETE PROGRAMS, TO ZERO IN ON THE
SINGLE-FAMILY MARKET -- WHERE ASSISTANCE WAS NEEDED BUT WE
DID NOT FEDERALIZE THE HOUSING MARKET. WHAT WE DID WAS TO
PROVIDE LIMITED AND FOCUSED ASSISTANCE TO ENCOURAGE RECOVERY
THROUGH THE PRIVATE INDUSTRY.
AND, PRIVATE INDUSTRY HAS RESPONDED -- CUTTING COSTS AND
BUILDING MORE MODEST HOMES TO BRING HOMEOWNERSHIP WITHIN THE
REACH OF A LARGER PROPORTION OF AMERICAN FAMILIES.
FOR IT IS NOT ONLY THE INCREASED COSTS BUT ALSO THE
INCREASED SIZE OF THE MEDIAN HOME WHICH HAS PRICED IT OUT
OF REACH OF A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS.
IN FACT THE MEDIAN PRICED HOUSE OF THE 1970's IS ALMOST
50 PERCENT LARGER THAN IT WAS IN THE 1950's AND HAS BECOME
LADENED WITH AMENITIES, EXTRA BEDROOMS, RECREATION ROOMS,
LAUNDRY ROOMS, POWDER ROOMS, FAMILY ROOMS AND TWO ROOMS TO
HOUSE THE CARS PLUS EVERY CONCEIVABLE ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE
HAVE BECOME ALMOST STANDARD,
-13-
BUT, AMERICA IS RETHINKING THE KIND OF HOME IN WHICH
IT LIVES JUST AS IT HAS RECONSIDERED THE KIND OF CAR IT
WILL DRIVE, THE SMALLER HOUSE IS HAVING AN IMPACT. THE
AVERAGE PRICE OF A NEW HOME SOLD IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF
1975 DROPPED BY $400.
So WITH FOCUSED FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO GET THE CONSTRUCTION
MACHINERY MOVING AGAIN AND WITH INDUSTRY HOLDING THE LINE ON
COSTS, THE SINGLE-FAMILY MARKET HAS MADE A REAL COME-BACK AND
IS NOW JUST BELOW ITS PEAK YEARS.
BUT, THE MULTI-FAMILY MARKET CONTINUES TO LAG,
To ASSIST THIS MARKET, WE ANNOUNCED, FOUR WEEKS AGO,
THAT $3 BILLION OF MORTGAGE PURCHASE ASSISTANCE WOULD BE
DIRECTED THROUGH FHA TO MULTI-FAMILY CONSTRUCTION. THOSE
DOLLARS TRANSLATE INTO ROUGHLY 120,000 UNITS,
BUT, THERE IS A POINT TO BE MADE AND REMADE -- WE ARE
NOW IN A STAGE OF RECOVERY, AND WE ARE NOT IN A NEW WAVE OF
INFLATION, PRECISELY BECAUSE MONIES HAVE BEEN SPENT TO AID
SPECIFIC PROGRAMS -- AND BECAUSE THE PLANS TO EXPEND HUGE
SUMS OF POORLY FOCUSED FUNDS PROPOSED BY so MANY LAST WINTER
AND SPRING WERE REJECTED.
-14-
THE PRESIDENT BELIEVES THAT GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO WHAT
IT DOES BEST -- TO USE ITS POWERS AND THE TAXPAYERS DOLLARS
JUDICIOUSLY TO "PRIME THE PUMP" AND TO PERMIT PRIVATE INDUSTRY
TO TAKE IT FROM THERE.
THE PRESIDENT BELIEVES THAT GOVERNMENT DECISIONS TO SPEND
SIMPLY CANNOT REPLACE PRIVATE DECISIONS TO INVEST MADE IN THE
OPEN MARKET BY THOSE WHO LIVE BY AND ENJOY THE BENEFITS OF
AMERICAN FREE ENTERPRISE.
I OFFER THIS ANALYSIS OF THE PRESIDENT'S LEADERSHIP IN
ECONOMIC MATTERS AS A TESTAMENT TO MY OWN CONVICTION THAT WE
ARE ON A SOUND COURSE, PATIENCE NOW, SUPPORT NOW, AND RESTRAINT
NOW WILL RESTORE OUR FAITH IN OURSELVES AS A NATION AND IN OUR
LEADERSHIP IN A WORLD BADLY IN NEED OF A REBIRTH OF FAITH IN
FREE DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT.
WE MIGHT RECALL TONIGHT THAT IN THE CENTER OF THE STORM
OF PERSONAL ATTACKS ON PRESIDENT LINCOLN, HARRIET BEECHER
STOWE WROTE:
-15-
"LINCOLN'S STRENGTH IS OF A PECULIAR KIND, IT IS
NOT AGGRESSIVE so MUCH AS PASSIVE AND AMONG PASSIVE
THINGS IT IS LIKE THE STRENGTH NOT SO MUCH OF A
STONE BUTTRESS, AS OF A WIRE CABLE.
***
"SURROUNDED BY ALL SORTS OF CONFLICTING CLAIMS
HE HAS LISTENED TO ALL, WEIGHED THE WORDS OF ALL,
WAITED, OBSERVED, YIELDED NOW HERE AND THERE, BUT
IN THE MAIN KEPT ONE INFLEXIBLE, HONEST PURPOSE,
AND DRAWN THE NATIONAL SHIP THROUGH."
WITHOUT FORCING ANY BROAD COMPARISONS TO PRESIDENT
LINCOLN'S TIME AND NOW, I DO FIND A SUFFICIENT THREAD OF
COMPARABLE STRENGTH AND PURPOSE IN OUR PRESENT GOVERNMENT
FOR ME TO SEEK SUPPORT FOR ITS POSITIONS AND TO BE PROUD
TO BE A PART OF IT.