Ronald Reagan (born on February 6, 1911) in the State of the Union Address (January 25, 1983)
When the Speaker of the House, the Senate majority leader, and I performed the bipartisan—or formed the bipartisan Commission on Social Security, pundits and experts predicted that party divisions and conflicting interests would prevent the Commission from agreeing on a plan to save social security. Well, sometimes, even here in Washington, the cynics are wrong. Through compromise and cooperation, the members of the Commission overcame their differences and achieved a fair, workable plan. They proved that, when it comes to the national welfare, Americans can still pull together for the common good.
Tonight, I’m especially pleased to join with the Speaker and the Senate majority leader in urging the Congress to enact this plan by Easter.
There are elements in it, of course, that none of us prefers, but taken together it performs a package that all of us can support. It asks for some sacrifice by all—the self-employed, beneficiaries, workers, government employees, and the better-off among the retired—but it imposes an undue burden on none. And, in supporting it, we keep an important pledge to the American people: The integrity of the social security system will be preserved, and no one’s payments will be reduced.
In this Annual Message to Congress, Reagan announced a bipartisan compromise plan to shore up the Social Security Trust Fund, The plan included raising taxes.
Source: Ronald Reagan: “Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union ,” January 25, 1983. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=41698.
