IT’S EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS

foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] thank you [Applause] [Music] [Music] it wasn't so long ago in the history of man's Voyage toward a better world that ships were carrying eager passengers toward the shores of a new nation that was just in the building our forefathers were constructing the foundation of this nation by interlocking inseparably the blocks of our political and economic freedoms [Music] the way of life our forefathers established on this Foundation of freedoms through people from the Far Corners of the Earth and all those who set the foot on these Shores had the opportunity to build a better life for themselves even young Jonathan an unskilled lad from across the sea hoped to find a job where he could progress according to his ability in Enterprise [Music] as the years passed Jonathan's earnings increased but he still felt that for a man of his skill it was about time for another raise [Music] am I not the best Crown rounder in brim trimmer in your business then verily me thinks I'm worth more moolah that you are Jonathan I'm sorry lad no raise Mr blessed gravy I quit sales and profits down fully I could run you business better myself hey why not my own business oh you need is a little capital A little push and an idea and I did let's see so I said to him I would wear that hat to a dog bite why there isn't a decent hat in the entire Village and such prices imagine paying that much for a poke on it why not women's hats my own business [Music] fortunately Jonathan was Thrifty enough to keep a little mistake for such an emergency [Music] foreign [Music] took care of the nest egg and there was nothing left to pay for the necessary tools and equipment but happily Jonathan had a good reputation and as his idea promised to profit his friends and neighbors were willing to invest some of their Savings in his new business [Music] in the nick of time an enterprising chap showed up with the raw materials to make hats before long Jonathan was open for business first he had to advertise shop at Fontan it's the spot 12 new hat stuff that's a lot ladies get that new hat drill 30 days to pay your bill as an expert salesman Jonathan demonstrated the superior style and quality of his product he set a price for his Creations that the consumer was willing to pay and sales dollars poured in from satisfied customers Jonathan had Big Dreams of the wonderful rewards of being in business for himself but before he could buy what he wanted his employees wages had to be paid he had to pay taxes [Music] friends who helped finance the business had to be paid a return on their investment when all of his bills were paid Jonathan had to exchange his big dream for a Little Dream it is the privilege of Alphonse had stylists to all the ground heads of Europe to bring you hats with style so Chic a quality manual seek and a place come on come on to the grand opening the meat competition Jonathan had to plow part of his profits back into the business to develop a better half if customers approve the quality style and price of Jonathan's new designs he still could make his dreams come true with the passing years this strong Foundation of freedoms protected the Dignity of the individual and his family gave everyone the right to worship as he pleased and promised anyone with ability and Enterprise the opportunity to participate in the building of the American way of life as we know it today a way of life that depends upon millions of Thrifty Americans who send a portion of their savings to work in our business system each year [Music] walks of life workers Farmers Housewives all of us send our dollars to work in our business system in the hope of earning dividends or interest on our investment anyone who has an insurance policy a bank deposit or a share of stock is helping to finance our business system a constant stream of savings dollars must flow into big and small business each year these dollars helped to buy the land the buildings the tools and equipment and create new job opportunities for our expanding population the goods we produce are distributed to main streets all over the country while the main street of today doesn't look much like the main street of Jonathan's time the principles of our business system remain the same for businessmen still compete with one another for the consumer's supply of spendable dollars and Mrs consumer is still Mighty critical of everything she buys a hall competition [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the management of every business has a continuing problem to improve their product to stay ahead of competition or else [Music] foreign got the ball we've got to get it back give them that new product play more style better quality new features and at the right price hit the line man let's go micrometer wrench file developer slide rule in addition to creating a better product management develops new tools and more efficient methods to help workers turn out more boxes to sell at a price Mrs consumer will pay [Music] oh [Music] new features about this better product are advertised to point out its competitive advantages [Music] with plenty of room for groceries Galore the magic thermafreeze with the super duper store a Magic Door just press the button for your eyes a feature that is new and extra space all over the place for other items too in Beyond a magic firm a freeze so see you then right away get a firm a freeze today ah yes dear lady Perma freeze is your kind of refrigerator high high quality at a low low price sales dollars from satisfied customers once again flow back to permafreeze a successful business must have enough sales dollars coming in to enable management to pay the expenses of doing business such as salaries and wages materials and supplies research and product development plant maintenance and repair in addition to all of these bills management has to pay taxes to local state and federal governments any money that's left over is known as profit wise management plows part of it back into the business the remainder of the prophet is paid out as dividends [Music] these Dividends are sent back to investors as a reward for risking their Savings in the American Business System although occasionally some of us pick a lemon and have to take a loss the constant investment of our savings through good times and bad has enabled our competitive business system to continue to increase the production of more and better Goods to meet the demands of our Rising population for a better standard of living for example it was only a little more than half a century ago the average worker had only inefficient tools to help him turn out a product low production meant low wages 1800 many men had to work 10 hours a day six days a week to earn enough money to provide their families with the Bare Essentials [Music] and labor was the rule in the home as well as the factory in many families the youngsters had to work to add their earnings to the family budget and forego the opportunity to get an education [Music] and with most families in those days the standard of living left much to be desired a half century later we had invested enough in our business system to provide the average worker with efficient and expensive buildings and Machinery to enable him to produce enough in a 40-hour week to earn twice as much as the 1900 worker earned in a 60-hour week this shorter Work Week gives us all more leisure time to enjoy a standard of living beyond the wildest dreams of anyone who lived a half century ago the more we earn the more our families have to spend the things they need and want young people today have Leisure Time for fun and enjoy educational opportunities denied their fathers and grandfathers and fortunately we have been able to raise our standard of living without sacrificing the spiritual side of life which means so much to the American family [Music] our business system has continued to provide a better life for our increasing population in spite of destructive forces which have pounded against our foundation of freedoms with no avail however Wars or the threat of Wars interrupt the normal operations of our competitive business system [Music] and may result in government controls which crack essential blocks in our foundation of freedoms in World War II wages were controlled many workers were frozen to their jobs Farm prices were controlled and profits of business were limited raw materials were allocated between essential and non-essential business on Main Street USA many of us found less to buy because a good portion of our productive capacity went to the war effort this is we're fixed and the available supply of goods was rationed in war emergencies we allow government to respect certain of our freedoms but we Americans have learned to remove government controls as quickly as possible and to repair the blocks and the foundation of our freedoms to allow our business system to resume its normal operations while we invest part of our savings to help Finance the world's most efficient business system at the same time we pay taxes to government to finance many kinds of services which also contribute to our way of life for example our taxes must provide the necessary funds to improve and expand our school system s must be sufficient to pay for city streets help fire and police protection and of course Aid to the needy thank you our state taxes helped pay for highways educational institutions and among other things help to finance important experiments to increase the productivity of our Farms our federal taxes pay for irrigation and Reclamation projects national parks Postal Services the weather bureau and many other services our taxes have to pay for the enormous cost of past Wars and provide the funds for a defense program which will ensure the safety of our country in addition all of us should be willing to pay whatever taxes are necessary to enable efficient government to improve or expand any essential service but with our present tax load we should avoid pressuring government for any new services that aren't absolutely necessary because we all know the more our government provides the more taxes it's forced to collect foreign [Music] Housewives and all of us have to pay our share demanding more and more from government could create a tax burden heavy enough to crack essential blocks in the foundation of our business system [Music] therefore we shouldn't let our taxes reach a point where they destroy our ability to save and invest far as we have seen our Rising standard of living depends upon a constant flow of savings dollars into our business system each year [Applause] thank you in the future of our country waves of destructive forces will continue to batter against our foundation when any Force weakens the interlocked blocks of our political and economic freedoms as good citizens we must be quick to use the tools our constitution gives us and repair any cracks that may appear as long as we keep the foundation of our business system strong we shall be able to maintain and improve the way of life our forefathers conceived and established a way of life which gave everyone who came to this country the chance to progress according to his ability and Enterprise like the Youth of yesterday the young people of today deserve the same opportunity to earn success and accomplishment and on this Foundation of freedoms continue to build a better life for themselves and their fellow man in the World of Tomorrow [Music] [Applause]