Conversation No. 452-004
Date: February 19, 1971
Time: 10:07 am - 10:48 am
Location: Oval Office
The President met with George P. Shultz, Paul W. McCracken, Peter G. Peterson, Hedley W.
Donovan, Robert Lubar, Daniel Seligman, William Bowen, Gilbert Burck, Lawrence Mayer, and
Louis Banks; the White House photographer was present at the beginning of the meeting
Introductions
Beach site
Photograph of meeting
-Oliver F. (“Ollie”) Atkins
Beach area
-Site
-Unknown person
-The President’s forthcoming meeting with President’s Council on Physical Fitness
-Exercise
-Importance
-Swimming as exercise
Economy
Page | 7
White House Tapes of the Nixon Administration, 1971-1973
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
-Purpose of meeting
-McCracken
-Views of participants
-Wage and price controls
-Proposal in Congress
-Administration’s position
-Herbert Stein
-Spending restraint
-Peterson’s efforts
-Full employment
-Executive branch reorganization
-Office of Management and Budget [OMB]
-Shultz
-Ash Council recommendations on regulatory agencies
-Creation of Council on International Economic Policy [CIEP]
-President’s position
-Example
-Departments of Transportation and State
-Defense Department
-Lockheed contracts
-David Packard
-Trans World Airlines
-Effect of Lockheed’s financial problems
-Subcontracts
-General Electric and Rolls Royce
-Need for international economic policy coordination
-National Security Council’s [NSC] role
-Henry A. Kissinger
-Domestic Council’s role
-John D. Ehrlichman
-Participation
-Commerce, Transportation, Treasury, and State Departments
-Regulatory agencies
-Quotas
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Page | 8
White House Tapes of the Nixon Administration, 1971-1973
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
[Previous National Security (B) withdrawal reviewed under MDR guidelines case number
LPRN-T-MDR-2014-020. Segment declassified on 10/10/2018. Archivist: DR]
[National Security]
[452-004-w001]
[Duration: 57s]
Economy
-Executive branch reorganization
-The President’s conversation with Emilio Colombo
-Italian economic improvement
-Previous Italian governments
-Wine
-Shoe industry
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Economy
-Executive branch reorganization
-The President’s conversation with Emilio Colombo
-The President’s role in policy making
-Quotas
-Industries
-Cabinet departments
-Foreign trade
-Need for coordination
-State Department role
-Balance of payments and quotas
-Peterson
-Role of subordinates
-Peterson, Ehrlichman, Kissinger, Shultz, and McCracken
-Shultz’s speech in New York
-Fortune magazine
-Businessmen
-Wage and price controls
-Government efforts at controlling economy
-Inflation and employment
-Government spending during 1950s and 1960s
-Wage and price controls
Page | 9
White House Tapes of the Nixon Administration, 1971-1973
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
-Construction
-The President’s conversation with Colombo
-Free trade
-Great Britain’s role in Europe
-European Economic Community [EEC]
-Agriculture
-United States
-Free trade
-Textile and steel industries
-Agricultural trends
-The President’s conversations with Colombo and Edward R. G.
Heath
-Public concerns
-Employment
-Possible statements by President
-Inflation
-Wage and price controls
-Construction industry
-Possible steel strike
-Labor leaders
-Federal government spending
-The President’s meeting with labor leaders
-James D. Hodgson
-Administration’s policy
-Operation below capacity
-Increased spending option compared to restraint
-Inflation
-Budget
-President’s policy
-Effect on inflation
-Possible veto of health bill
-Deficit
-Recommended government action
-Food prices
-Imports
-Removal of controls from corn prices
-Percentage of Consumer Price Index [CPI]
-Agriculture in major industrial countries
-Colombo
Page | 10
White House Tapes of the Nixon Administration, 1971-1973
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
-Japan and Great Britain
-Food prices in CPI
-Wholesale Price Index [WPI]
-Corn supply
-Inflation as major concern
-Unemployment
-Creation of public service jobs
-Manpower training
-Administration policy
-Goals
-The President’s meeting with press
-Laos
-Number of questions on economy
-President’s preparation
-Importance of manpower training
-Need for public relations efforts
-Welfare reform
-Assistance to the working poor
-Compared to Laotian and Cambodian operations
-President’s policy
-Manpower training
-Focus of government action
-Inflation and unemployment
-Possible Presidential statement
-Administration policy
-Manipulation of the money supply
-Aerospace industry’s unemployment situation
-Dr. Edward E. David, Jr.
-The President’s conversation with an unnamed labor leader
-Outlook of highly educated people
-International trade
-Creation of CIEP
-Peterson
-Businessmen’s views on free trade
-Trade policy
-Quotas
-Controls
-Fortune editor’s view
-Balance of payments
Page | 11
White House Tapes of the Nixon Administration, 1971-1973
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
-Arthur F. Burns
-Japan
-Effect of Japanese imports into United States
-Auto industry
-Trade barriers to foreign imports into Japan
-Okinawa Agreement
-Role
-Future
-Republic of China
-Discussions with Eisaku Sato
-Textile industry
-Europe
-EEC
-Free Trade versus Protectionism
-The President as college student, 1933
-President’s view
-EEC agricultural policy
-British
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
-Japanese
-US policy
-As political issue
-United States’ position vis-a-vis Europe and Japan compared with
Japanese position vis-a-vis Europe
-United States’ industry
-Problem of dislocation
-Fortune editor view
-Latin America
-Nelson A. Rockefeller mission
-Diplomacy
-EEC
-Trade in areas with special relationship
-President’s policy
-Latin America
-Economic problems
-Role of government
-Administration’s policy
-Wage and price situation
-Germany, Japan, and Italy
Page | 12
White House Tapes of the Nixon Administration, 1971-1973
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
-The President’s conversation with Sato
-Inflation
-Role of government in controlling inflation
-Fiscal policies
-Leverage with business and labor
-President’s view
-Steel settlement
-Labor
-Construction industry
-Possible wage and price freeze
-Construction industry
-Davis-Bacon Act
-Effect of governmental policies
-Hodgson
-George Meany
-Davis-Bacon Act
-Influence on industry decision makers
-Responsibility of business and labor
-Regional bargaining
-Construction industry
-Wages
-Government’s anti-trust policy
-President’s view
-Diversification
-Corporations’ situation compared to government reorganization
-Cartels and combinations
-United States’ position
-Airlines
-Pam Am, Eastern, American, and United
-President’s policy
-Japan and Europe
-Interstate Commerce Commission [ICC]
-Wage and price controls
-The President’s work at the Office of Price Administration, 1942
-Unknown man
-Meany
-Effectiveness of controls
-1946 election
-Price and wage controls as election issue
Page | 13
White House Tapes of the Nixon Administration, 1971-1973
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
-Rationing
-Effectiveness in wartime compared to peacetime
-Justification
-Rationing
-Public opinion
-Polls
-Potential effect
-Inflation in United States
-Compared to other countries
-Italy, France, and Great Britain
-Brazil
-Congressional action
-President’s view
-Administration view
-Options
-Construction
-As political issue
-Administration by federal bureaucracy
-The President’s conversation with members of the Business Council
-Fortune magazine
-Questions for President
-Wage controls as administrative problem
-Prices
-Linkage between wages and prices
-Market competition
-Role of unions
-Great Britain compared with United States
-Heath
-Hodgson’s report to President
-Union membership
-Significance of economic issue
-Effect on foreign policy
-South Africa and Sudan
-Future world role
-Heath’s efforts
-Denmark
-Inflation
-Policies of the 1960's
-CPI
Page | 14
White House Tapes of the Nixon Administration, 1971-1973
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
-1968
-Effect on President’s policies
-Public perception
-Unemployment
-Effect of President’s policies
-Decreases
-Economic growth
-Price stability
-Effect of Vietnam War
-Effect on President’s policies
-Psychological effect on the public
-Unemployment
-Future leaders
-Barry M. Goldwater
-Industry
-The President’s prediction on economy
-Unemployment
-Growth and productivity
-CPI
-Wages
-Inflationary psychology
-Stock market
-Importance of action against inflation
-Wage control
-Forum of possible presidential statement
-Need for informing the public
-Possible press conference
-Fortune editor’s view
-Productivity
-Steel industry
-Germany and Japan
-President’s view
-Balance of payments
Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 10:07 am
Schedule
Presidential gifts
Page | 15
White House Tapes of the Nixon Administration, 1971-1973
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
-Golf balls
Bull left at an unknown time before 10:48 am
Economy
-Priorities and problems
-President’s view
-Productivity
-Prices
-Position vis-a-vis world markets
-The President’s forthcoming Quadriad meeting in afternoon
-Burns and Connally
-Switzerland
-Domestic policies
-Opening markets abroad
Presidential golf balls
-Anecdote
[General conversation]
Shultz, et al. left at 10:48 am