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Show THE VOICe OF BUSINESS For jus? once. Set's putf America first By Richard L. Lesher President Chamber of Commerce of the United States Following President Reagan's nationally televised address on his program for economic recovery, and a detailed analysis of the program by our own Board of Directors, the U.S. Chamber made its single-most important im-portant decision in my memory: We endorsed the program in full and without qualification. What's more, we were the first national organization to do so. The main reason this decision was so important for us was that it was such a difficult one. Going into our Board Meeting. I had already begun receiving personal telegtams from some of our members complaining about various proposed cuts Let me cite just a few and believe me. I stress few of those objections: Export-oriented companies were disturbed by the severe reduction in Export-Import Bank loans; energy producers having made sizeable financial commitments to synfuel projects objected to the virtual elimination of that program; many small businesses and local chambers which had benefited from Urban Development Action Grants, and worked closely with the Economic Development Administration, disliked the reduction of the former and the abolition of the latter; food companies didn't like the cutback in food stamp benefits, and construction companies were unhappy with cuts in public housing, mass transit and airport modernization. I could go on and on and on. Indeed, an extremely large part, and certainly a much larger part than has been reported, of the proposed spending cuts will have an adverse, short-term impact im-pact on one business or another. But the point our Board kept coming back to was this: Our economic problems are now so serious, so potentially disastrous, that we Americans, and especially we in the business community com-munity who have warned so often of the grave dangers of past government policies, no longer have the luxury of permitting the President to fail. So we voted YES, and I'm proud of our Board. 1 might add that we will follow this up with the most massive campaign of legislation action ever mounted by the U.S. Chamber. Thousands upon thousands of mailgrams are being sent to local chambers, small businesses, trade associations and Chamber members belonging to the Fortune i.ixo. their all-out support for the prv Our goal is nothing short of mot;! giant cross-section of milliE? Americans who will rise atovfV interest and demand thai ConjrsT, on with the job or else. I hope my tone will not becctr. as belligerent, for in no way is i;r. to be. I am simply convinced Ik:; do not succeed in this endeavor.;:-time, endeavor.;:-time, we may not have ano'be:-portunity ano'be:-portunity for decades to come, i.'; We must succeed. Others apparently disagree " tainly I never anticipated lay hierarchy would lead the charge :':: President, but quite frankly, ever.!: stunned by the vengeance -; r they condemned his p-:;:: Rejecting the plan with a tee--: reaction that betrayed an uwlie to give it any thought whatsc,:.-contented whatsc,:.-contented themselves witi the : derwhelming argument of: "I:; work." Are these people really liviri : 20th century? Do they ever fc their rank and file? The fact is, :-: one-half of voting union merr.':ev-: for Ronald Reagan last Nov;: These are individuals who h:y believe a hemorrhaging federal:.: and a national debt rapidly ner trillion dollars just rr.ijh: :. something to do with inflatix They also wonder why they shx: catapulted into tax brackes f; reserved for millionaires jus'.fe" to earn some extra money b; overtime. Undoubtedly, some it workers are participating ir - -revolt now underw ay in Micv.-'-; as I write. Then, too. there was good ok'.-" Nader. With his usual flair-' derstatement and total ob::r- mused,: "Why not get the :.;:-administration :.;:-administration out of the pecfc: middle class by eliminate orr welfare rather than trying K inflation on the backs of tK ;; responsible for it?" Ralph to own, supposedly, superior spending cuts. But of ur; always had this luxury since be policy-making process. A rr answers to no one is quite fnss1 in the name of anyone. If we want to get out of this" of us have to start being re and accept the need f J s; sacrifice . But if we do. if " e" ; little, thev we'll all erdupg. in the form of a real a e economic recovery. |