Nearly half a century ago, in this Chamber, another American President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in his second State of the Union message, urged America to look to the future, to meet the challenge of change and the need for leadership that looks forward, not backward.

“Throughout the world,” he said, “change is the order of the day.  In every nation economic problems long in the making have brought crises to (of) many kinds for which the masters of old practice and theory were unprepared.”  He also reminded us that “the future lies with those wise political leaders who realize that the great public is interested more in Government than in politics.”

So, let us, in these next 2 years—­men and women of both parties, every political shade—­concentrate on the long-range, bipartisan responsibilities of government, not the short-range or short-term temptations of partisan politics.

The problems we inherited were far worse than most inside and out of government had expected; the recession was deeper than most inside and out of government had predicted.  Curing those problems has taken more time and a higher toll than any of us wanted.  Unemployment is far too high.  Projected Federal spending—­if government refuses to tighten its own belt—­will also be far too high and could weaken and shorten the economic recovery now underway.

This recovery will bring with it a revival of economic confidence and spending for consumer items and capital goods—­the stimulus we need to restart our stalled economic engines.  The American people have already stepped up their rate of saving, assuring that the funds needed to modernize our factories and improve our technology will once again flow to business and industry.

The inflationary expectations that led to a 21 1/2-percent interest prime rate and soaring mortgage rates 2 years ago are now reduced by almost half.  Leaders have started to realize that double-digit inflation is no longer a way of life.  I misspoke there.  I should have said “lenders.”

So, interest rates have tumbled, paving the way for recovery in vital industries like housing and autos.

The early evidence of that recovery has started coming in.  Housing starts for the fourth quarter of 1982 were up 45 percent from a year ago, and housing permits, a sure indicator of future growth, were up a whopping 60 percent.

We’re witnessing an upsurge of productivity and impressive evidence that American industry will once again become competitive in markets at home and abroad, ensuring more jobs and better incomes for the Nation’s work force.  But our confidence must also be tempered by realism and patience.  Quick fixes and artificial stimulants repeatedly applied over decades are what brought us the inflationary disorders that we’ve now paid such a heavy price to cure.

The permanent recovery in employment, production, and investment we seek won’t come in a sharp, short spurt.  It’ll build carefully and steadily in the months and years ahead.  In the meantime, the challenge of government is to identify the things that we can do now to ease the massive economic transition for the American people.