CONTENTS

Acknowledgments Introduction

CHAPTER ONE An America in Danger CHAPTER TWO An America that Reforms Its Politics CHAPTER THREE An America that Pays Its Way CHAPTER FOUR An America that Prospers CHAPTER FIVE An America that Works CHAPTER SIX An America that Heals CHAPTER SEVEN An America that Leads

Afterward Appendix

This book is dedicated to the millions of volunteers who accomplished the seemingly impossible task of getting the petitions signed. You did it brilliantly.

You changed American politics in just five months.

You made it clear that the people, not the special interests, own this country.

Everyone in Washington now understands that the American people own this country, have reasserted their roles as owners, and want the country's problems addressed and solved.

The creativity, ingenuity, and focused dedication to this task are unique in American politics.

The founders of our government must be looking down from heaven, smiling on all of you.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For years I watched with concern as the national debt mounted and our competitive position declined. I collected news items, government reports, outside critiques, and editorial opinions that told the story step by step and instance by instance. I listened to thousands of people in and out of government. These people have good, solid, practical ideas about how to solve our country's problems and put it on the right path.

To all of you who gave me ideas and plans, I offer my thanks. If the content of this book seems familiar, it is because your ideas are valuable and deserve to be studied carefully.

To the team that assembled these ideas into a workable framework I owe a debt of gratitude, especially to: John White, Bob Peck, Richard Fisher, Doug Austin, Steve Brooks, Carol Cimitile, Cathy Eddy, Eric Hoffmann, Mia Lee, Steve Ostrover, David Parkhurst, Susan Bruns Rowe, Laura Sainz, Kevin Warmath, and Andrew Wise. I'm especially grateful to Ashley Chaffin, whose ability to track down any fact or answer any question is first-rate.

Thanks to Tom Luce, David Bryant, Brad Harris, and Clay Mulford for their observations, comments, and help.

I told the American people I would study the issues and tell them my positions on matters that will determine our country's future.

This book and the movement that spawned it are only the beginning. I urge you to continue to monitor your government and to demand results from all candidates and officeholders, especially in this election year.

Only the people can rebuild America.

INTRODUCTION

Unless we take action now, our nation may confront a situation similar to the Great Depressionand maybe even worse. Our economic growth has been sluggish for nearly two decades. The unemployment numbers remain depressing, while the Federal Reserve worries about inflation.

The institutions we depend on to preserve our financial security are shaky. If they fail, millions of people will be devastated. Banks are already weak. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which we as taxpayers guarantee, may incur liabilities greater than those from the recent Savings & Loan crisis.

In other words, our economy is perched on the edge of a cliff. Either we work together to climb back to safety, or we must brace ourselves for potential disaster. This book provides a plan to pull our nation back from the brink. It is the legacy of a movement unparalleled in American history.

I look at this book as a dynamic plan that will stimulate discussion and debate. The only objective is to create the plan that best serves the American people, and then implement it! We want action, not words.

Not everyone who supported me or participated in this great movement will agree with everything I write. I am only one voice in a loud chorus. I do hope that people who agree with me about the symptoms of our national disease, even if they dispute some of my proposed cures, will use this book as a means of judging candidates for national office in the November elections.

In the space of six months, the grassroots movement roused the nation and shook the political establishment to its core. They did it working as a team. That's why they call themselves United We Stand. The result is that candidates for President, Senate, and House of Representatives are listening to the people as they haven't done in years. This movement will succeed if it holds the candidates accountable. Ask them specific questions, and require specific answers: What about the deficit? What about entitlements? What about the special interests? What about foreign governments hiring American lobbyists to write our laws? What about our government's hobbling of business? What about our loss of jobs to foreign countries?

Washington has created a government that comes at us instead of a government that comes from us. Slick campaign commercials and entertaining television spots won't work in 1992 if you ask the questions and demand the answers.

You are the owners of this country. Nobody else can do the job. Our system has been corrupted because we weren't exercising our responsibilities as owners.

This is the year to reassert your ownership.

One voice is tiny, and alone it cannot be heard above the din of politics as usual. The people's voice, when it cries as one, is a great roar. United We Stand: that's the magic. It cannot be ignored.

You can change our country.

You can pass on the American dream to our children.

You can change the world.