Greater attention must be directed to the needs of low-income farm families.  Twenty-eight per cent of our farm-operator families have net cash incomes of less than $1,000 per year.  Last year, at my request, careful studies were made of the problems of these farm people.  I shall later submit recommendations designed to assure the steady alleviation of their most pressing concerns.

Because drought also remains a serious agricultural problem, I shall recommend legislation to strengthen Federal disaster assistance programs.  This legislation will prescribe an improved appraisal of need, better adjustment of the various programs to local conditions, and a more equitable sharing of costs between the States and the Federal Government.

The prosperity of our small business enterprises is an indispensable element in the maintenance of our economic strength.  Creation of the Small Business Administration and recently enacted tax laws facilitating small business expansion are but two of many important steps we have taken to encourage our smaller enterprises.  I recommend that the Congress extend the Small Business Act of 1953 which is due to expire next June.

We come now to the third great purpose of our government-its concern for the health, productivity and well-being of all our people.

Every citizen wants to give full expression to his God-given talents and abilities and to have the recognition and respect accorded under our religious and political traditions.  Americans also want a good material standard of living—­not simply to accumulate possessions, but to fulfill a legitimate aspiration for an environment in which their families may live meaningful and happy lives.  Our people are committed, therefore, to the creation and preservation of opportunity for every citizen to lead a more rewarding life.  They are equally committed to the alleviation of misfortune and distress among their fellow citizens.

The aspirations of most of our people can best be fulfilled through their own enterprise and initiative, without government interference.  This Administration, therefore, follows two simple rules:  first, the Federal Government should perform an essential task only when it cannot otherwise be adequately performed; and second, in performing that task, our government must not impair the self-respect, freedom and incentive of the individual.  So long as these two rules are observed, the government can fully meet its obligation without creating a dependent population or a domineering bureaucracy.

During the past two years, notable advances were made in these functions of government.  Protection of old-age and survivors’ insurance was extended to an additional ten million of our people, and the benefits were substantially increased.  Legislation was enacted to provide unemployment insurance protection to some four million additional Americans.  Stabilization of living costs and the halting of inflation protected