ECONOMIC REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT To the Congress of the United States: A healthy and productive economy is a bulwark of freedom. Around the world and here at home, our trials of strength, our works of peace, our quest for justice, our search for knowledge and understanding, our efforts to enrich our environment are buttressed by an amazing productive power. Americans have confronted many challenges in this century. The ones we face in 1967 are as trying of men's spirits as any we have known. But the overwhelming majority of us face our challenges in comfort, if not affluence. The sacrifices required of most of today's generation are not of income or security; rather we are called on to renounce prejudice, impatience, apathy, weakness, and weariness. In purely material terms, most Americans are better off than ever before. That fact expands our responsibilities, as it enlarges our resources to meet them. RECENT ECONOMIC GAINS An average of 74 million persons were at work in 1966-2 million more than in 1965. Nonfarm payrolls averaged 64 million, a gain of 3 million. On the whole, these jobs were better paying than ever, and more regular and more secure than most workers can remember. The value of our total production of goods and services in 1966 was $740 billion $58 billion, or 81⁄2 percent, higher than in 1965. More of the increase than we wanted represented higher prices. Still, the gain was nearly 51⁄2 percent after correction for price changes. Labor, business, and the farmer all contributed to this major gain in production, and they rightly shared the benefits. Aggregate compensation of employees rose 10.3 percent. Average compensation per man-hour in the private economy rose 6.5 percent, reflecting increased wages and fringe benefits, more overtime, the shift to higher-paying jobs, and increased employer contributions to Social Security. Corporate profits after taxes advanced more than 8 percent; per |