Ronald Reagan for President 1980 Campaign Brochure

‘The time is now for strong leadership.’

There is a crisis of leadership in America today that only new, strong leadership can correct. A strong leadership tempered with wisdom, decency and compassion. That's Governor Reagan's vision of leadership. And if he is elected President, here is a glimpse of what Americans can expect.

Strong leadership in foreign affairs means a strong peace.

Only a strong America can enjoy the fruits of a strong peace. And only a strong peace can instill in Americans a sense of security and the feeling of confidence they seek.

Says Reagan: "We know only too well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong, but when they are weak. It is then that tyrants are tempted."

Under a Reagan Administration, America would move swiftly to:

Provide the leadership and policy direction necessary to promote a healthy, growing economy, enabling the U.S. to show the world it is a nation in control of its destiny again.

Restore America's military strength, because an America that enjoys a margin of safety in its military preparedness is an America with the greatest chance to keep the peace -- the strong peace that would always be at the heart of Ronald Reagan's foreign policy.

Speak out more often and more eloquently -- in the U.N., through the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and in every other proper forum -- on behalf of peace, freedom, human rights...the principles for which America stands.

Seek greater consultation and cooperation with our European allies -- fully expecting each one of them to bear a fair share of the common defense effort -- in order to maintain a strong NATO as a counterweight to the Soviet Union's continuing arms build-up.

Re-establish an efficient intelligence operation, for the ability to detect and act upon a brewing problem early and peaceably is essential in conducting an effective foreign policy.

Make it clearly understood that detente is a two-way street and that the Soviet Union cannot expect U.S. silence in the face of aggression, such as the invasion of Afghanistan -- or refusal to honor the Helsinki Agreements guaranteeing a free interchange of information and the right to emigrate.

All of these points represent but a sampling of the foreign policy direction that a Reagan Administration would take. Such a foreign policy would not stand alone. It would be linked to a domestic policy that reinforced its strength and credibility in the eyes of the world.

Strong leadership in economic policy means lower taxes, more jobs, and less inflation.

Governor Reagan has an economic program for America that will work because it's a comprehensive program. A program that recognizes the interrelationships and complexity of our economy...one that combines the wisdom of leading American economists with common sense.

Here is the basis of the Economic Plan that can be expected from a Reagan Administration:

The growth of federal spending will be controlled. A freeze on federal hiring will be instituted immediately. And Ronald Reagan will do as President what he did as Governor of California: create a task force composed of the finest minds from industry and labor, to isolate wasteful and fraudulent operations in government, estimated by the Justice Department to amount to as much as $25 billion. No longer will unemployment be used to fight inflation.

An immediate 10% reduction in personal tax rates, along with acceleration of depreciation schedules, will be initiated in order to help generate industrial expansion and the creation of new jobs. Changes will be made in the tax structure, especially aimed at removing those requirements which serve as disincentives in industry. It will be recommended that the tax on savings account interest be further reduced. Upon reducing the tax rates, tax indexing will be proposed to protect taxpayers from automatic tax increases resulting from cost-of-living wage increases.

Action will be taken to review those government regulations which clearly hamper, instead of encourage, economic growth -- and to then change them in as orderly a fashion as possible. This action will not affect regulations in such sensitive areas as health and job safety which do serve a useful purpose.

A sound monetary policy will be restored -- one designed to instill confidence in the American dollar abroad, as well as bring down the rate of inflation at home.

The nation's economic policy, once established, will be adhered to. Abrupt changes in economic policy have, in recent years, aggravated existing problems and created new ones; they have played havoc with the confidence of those in both industry and labor. The right economic policy, held steadily and consistently on course, will do much to establish greater stability in America's economic system.

Beyond these broad economic steps aimed at expanding the economy as a whole, a Reagan Administration would recognize that special problems exist which require special solutions.

A few examples:

For workers who have lost their jobs because they lack certain skills or are victims of a changing

technology, Reagan would act to implement job retraining and job placement programs.

For disadvantaged youths and others unemployed because of the flight of industry from the cities, enterprise zones would be established in depressed urban areas in order to stimulate new businesses and new jobs.

For industries in trouble because of exceptionally aggressive foreign competition -- such as the auto industry -- he would initiate steps to permit American industry to be more competitive in the world market. These would include the elimination of unnecessary and costly regulations...and adopting a firmer, common sense view of future trade agreements with other nations, always with jobs for American workers uppermost in mind.

Strong leadership in meeting human needs means common sense, as well as compassion.

Ronald Reagan believes in the need to devise lasting solutions to problems, and in the need to combine a sense of caring with a sense of the cost involved.

As President, he will:

Strengthen the Social Security system in order to insure that older Americans need never worry about the survival of the system. And he will strive to improve quality health care for the aged and poor through medicare and medicaid.

Act to change the tax structure to make treatment of working spouses more equitable, and remove the present tax provision that penalizes married two-worker families.

Work at both the federal level and with state governments to end welfare fraud by removing ineligibles from the rolls, strengthen "work incentive" programs to help recipients become self-supporting, and at the same time, resolve to never fail to assist those who are truly needy.

Propose a health policy with built-in protections against financial disaster brought on by huge medical expenses.

Sponsor the removal of many of the bureaucratic and costly federal regulations on small businesses, thereby assisting them to be profitable.

Demand vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws intended to assure equal treatment in job recruitment, hiring, promotions, pay, credit, mortgage access and housing.

Support equal rights and opportunities for women in such key areas as employment, but oppose taking away the traditional rights women have enjoyed, such as exemption from the military draft.

Support every effort to guarantee quality education for every American...back tax credits for parents bearing the cost of educating their children in non-public schools...and oppose forced busing of children that is often disruptive and does nothing to improve educational quality.

Ronald Reagan believes -- and is ready to prove -- that strong leadership can make a difference in meeting the human needs of Americans in a way that combines a sense of caring with a sense of what the cost will be to every American taxpayer.

Strong leadership means strong people working as a team to get the job done.

When Ronald Reagan was Governor of California, he was widely acclaimed by friend and foe alike for selecting the most qualified and capable men and women to serve in state government. He would, as President, put together the finest team to assist in the formulation and implementation of both domestic and foreign policies. Here is just a sampling of the talent he has called on during the campaign:

Gerald R. Ford, former President; Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize-winning economist; Donald H. Rumsfeld, former Secretary of Defense; James Lynn, former head of the Office of Management and Budget; George S. Shultz, former Secretary of Labor and Secretary of the Treasury; Rita Hauser, former U.S. Representative to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights; Dr. Fred Ikle, former Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency; Arthur Burns, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Frank Shakespeare, former Director of the U.S. Information Agency; Alexander M Haig, former Supreme Commander of NATO; Carla A. Hills, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; William P. Rogers, former Attorney General, Donald E. Santarelli former Associate Deputy Attorney General and Caspar Weinberger, former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.

What all of these people have in common is experience and expertise in specific areas of government policy. Together, they would bring to a Reagan Administration a reputation for knowledge, sound judgment, and a keen awareness of the type of strong leadership that America needs.

They would also bring the urgent realization that the time for such strong leadership is now.

The time is now, for Reagan.

Reagan. For President.