Regional President Speech

S U M M A R Y OF REMARKS Before the Georgia-Carolina Council of Boy Scouts of America Explorer Scouts - Project Free Enterprise Augusta, Georgia October 16, 1968 by Monroe Kimbrel, President Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta When free enterprise is functioning as it should, rewards for superior achievement go to those who have made contributions in the form of hard work, initiative, and determination. The free enterprise system provides more opportunities for more people for personal advancement than any other type of economic system. But there are other reasons to favor free enterprise than the oppor­ tunities it gives for personal gain. I am firmly convinced that free enterprise should be supported because it is a system under which we can make the greatest contribution to bettering the lot of mankind in general. This particular thought came to me the other day when I was reading a newspaper story of the thousands of starving Biafrans. That set me (to thinking about other stories I have read of the thousands of children in the world who every night go to bed hungry. I asked myself why this was. Was it because the world lacked the physical resources that, if used properly, could feed the world's people? Was it because th.e world did not have the technical knowledge to increase the production of the essential things of life? The answer to both of these questions, I believe, is "No. 11 Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 2 Then I was reminded of the statement that I heard someone say at one time: "When Communism comes, hunger follows. " I do not think you have to look very far away from this area to areas throughout the world where history has proved how correct that statement is. When each person is told what to do, what he must consume, what he must invest, and what kind of work he must choose, we get into difficulties. That kind of system simply does not work when it comes to creating produc­ tion that is required to adequately feed, clothe, and house people. When each person is free to choose what he wants to produce and chooses to do so because that is what people want and are willing to pay for and when he is rewarded according to how well he has responded to their demands, a nation prospers. If we are going to expect to reap the rewards of free enterprise system and if we believe that this kind of a system is most likely to produce the goods and services the people in the world need, we must accept the obli­ gations that go along with it. We cannot accept certain privileges for our­ selves, business advantages, special government programs, and the like because they will give personal advantage over others. None of us should try to obtain special privileges rather than directing our energies and the freedom we have been given toward working to produce the kinds of goods and services the other people want. . When we all try to obtain special privileges, we destroy the very system of free enterprise to which we give lip service. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 3 America has indeed been blessed. In turn, each of us has been able to enjoy an abundance of blessings. We have enjoyed certain talents the path to true happiness is entwined with the use of these talents and the opportunities so abundant. Be true to yourself. Use them! Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Monroe Kimbrel (1968, October 15). Regional President Speech. Speeches, Federal Reserve. https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/regional_speeche_19681016_monroe_kimbrel

@misc{wtfs_regional_speeche_19681016_monroe_kimbrel,
  author = {Monroe Kimbrel},
  title = {Regional President Speech},
  year = {1968},
  month = {Oct},
  howpublished = {Speeches, Federal Reserve},
  url = {https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/regional_speeche_19681016_monroe_kimbrel},
  note = {Retrieved via When the Fed Speaks corpus}
}