The Congress finds that the Nation has suffered substantial unemployment and underemployment, idleness of other productive resources, high rates of inflation, and inadequate productivity growth, over prolonged periods of time, imposing numerous economic and social costs on the Nation. Such costs include the following:

(1) The Nation is deprived of the full supply of goods and services, the full utilization of labor and capital resources, and the related increases in economic well-being that would occur under conditions of genuine full employment, production, and real income, balanced growth, a balanced Federal budget, and the effective control of inflation.

(2) The output of goods and services is insufficient to meet pressing national priorities.

(3) Workers are deprived of the job security, income, skill development, and productivity necessary to maintain and advance their standards of living.

(4) Business and industry are deprived of the production, sales, capital flow, and productivity necessary to maintain adequate profits, undertake new investment, create jobs, compete internationally, and contribute to meeting society’s economic needs. These problems are especially acute for smaller businesses. Variations in the business cycle and low-level operations of the economy are far more damaging to smaller businesses than to larger business concerns because smaller businesses have fewer available resources, and less access to resources, to withstand nationwide economic adversity. A decline in small business enterprises contributes to unemployment by reducing employment opportunities and contributes to inflation by reducing competition.

(5) Unemployment exposes many families to social, psychological, and physiological costs, including disruption of family life, loss of individual dignity and self-respect, and the aggravation of physical and psychological illnesses, alcoholism and drug abuse, crime, and social conflicts.

(6) Federal, State, and local government budgets are undermined by deficits due to shortfalls in tax revenues and in increases in expenditures for unemployment compensation, public assistance, and other recession-related services in the areas of criminal justice, alcoholism and drug abuse, and physical and mental health.

The Congress further finds that:

(1) High unemployment may contribute to inflation by diminishing labor training and skills, underutilizing capital resources, reducing the rate of productivity advance, increasing unit labor costs, and reducing the general supply of goods and services.

(2) Aggregate monetary and fiscal policies alone have been unable to achieve full employment and production, increased real income, balanced growth, a balanced Federal budget, adequate productivity growth, proper attention to national priorities, achievement of an improved trade balance, and reasonable price stability, and therefore must be supplemented by other measures designed to serve these ends.

(3) Attainment of these objectives should be facilitated by setting explicit short-term and medium-term economic goals, and by improved coordination among the President, the Congress, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

(4) Increasing job opportunities and full employment would greatly contribute to the elimination of discrimination based upon sex, age, race, color, religion, national origin, handicap, or other improper factors.

The Congress further finds that an effective policy to promote full employment and production, increased real income, balanced growth, a balanced Federal budget, adequate productivity growth, proper attention to national priorities, achievement of an improved trade balance, and reasonable price stability should (1) be based on the development of explicit economic goals and policies involving the President, the Congress, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, with maximum reliance on the resources and ingenuity of the private sector of the economy, (2) include programs specifically designed to reduce high unemployment due to recessions, and to reduce structural unemployment within regional areas and among particular labor force groups, and (3) give proper attention to the role of increased exports and improvement in the international competitiveness of agriculture, business, and industry in providing productive employment opportunities and achieving an improved trade balance.

The Congress further finds that full employment and production, increased real income, balanced growth, a balanced Federal budget, adequate productivity growth, proper attention to national priorities, achievement of an improved trade balance through increased exports and improvement in the international competitiveness of agriculture, business, and industry, and reasonable price stability are important national requirements and will promote the economic security and well-being of all citizens of the Nation.

The Congress further finds that the United States is part of an interdependent world trading and monetary system and that attainment of the requirements specified in subsection (d) is dependent upon policies promoting a free and fair international trading system and a sound and stable international monetary system.

(Pub. L. 95–523, § 2, Oct. 27, 1978, 92 Stat. 1888.)