Little more than 100 weeks ago I assumed the office of President of the United States.  In seeking the help of the Congress and our countrymen, I pledged no easy answers.  I pledged—­and asked—­only toil and dedication.  These the Congress and the people have given in good measure.  And today, having witnessed in recent months a heightened respect for our national purpose and power—­having seen the courageous calm of a united people in a perilous hour—­and having observed a steady improvement in the opportunities and well-being of our citizens—­I can report to you that the state of this old but youthful Union, in the 175th year of its life, is good.

In the world beyond our borders, steady progress has been made in building a world of order.  The people of West Berlin remain both free and secure.  A settlement, though still precarious, has been reached in Laos.  The spearpoint of aggression has been blunted in Viet-Nam.  The end of agony may be in sight in the Congo.  The doctrine of troika is dead.  And, while danger continues, a deadly threat has been removed in Cuba.

At home, the recession is behind us.  Well over a million more men and women are working today than were working 2 years ago.  The average factory work week is once again more than 40 hours; our industries are turning out more goods than ever before; and more than half of the manufacturing capacity that lay silent and wasted 100 weeks ago is humming with activity.

In short, both at home and abroad, there may now be a temptation to relax.  For the road has been long, the burden heavy, and the pace consistently urgent.

But we cannot be satisfied to rest here.  This is the side of the hill, not the top.  The mere absence of war is not peace.  The mere absence of recession is not growth.  We have made a beginning—­but we have only begun.

Now the time has come to make the most of our gains—­to translate the renewal of our national strength into the achievement of our national purpose.

I.

America has enjoyed 22 months of uninterrupted economic recovery.  But recovery is not enough.  If we are to prevail in the long run, we must expand the long-run strength of our economy.  We must move along the path to a higher rate of growth and full employment.

For this would mean tens of billions of dollars more each year in production, profits, wages, and public revenues.  It would mean an end to the persistent slack which has kept our unemployment at or above 5 percent for 61 out of the past 62 months—­and an end to the growing pressures for such restrictive measures as the 35-hour week, which alone could increase hourly labor costs by as much as 14 percent, start a new wage-price spiral of inflation, and undercut our efforts to compete with other nations.

To achieve these greater gains, one step, above all, is essential—­the enactment this year of a substantial reduction and revision in Federal income taxes.