Work in progress — cycles are added one at a time. Every quote is machine-verified against an archived source; follow the links to read it.
Issues › Federal Budget & Spending
Level of federal spending
| Cycle | Candidate | Position | Solution | Strength | Attribution | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic) | Cut the cost of the federal government by at least 25 percent | Immediate and drastic reduction of federal expenditure by abolishing useless commissions and offices, consolidating departments and bureaus and eliminating extravagance, to save "not less than twenty-five per cent" of th… | specific_pledge | candidate_direct | reversed? |
| 1932 | Herbert Hoover (Republican) | Cut federal spending $1.5 billion below fiscal 1932 and reorganize the executive branch | Reduce expenditure by a further $1,500 million from fiscal 1932 totals if the House cooperates; use the reorganization authority Congress finally granted (effective only after the next Congress approves) to abolish obsol… | specific_pledge | candidate_direct | not_applicable |
| 1936 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic) | Reduce the expenses of government as relief needs decline | Let expenditures fall with unemployment so an increasing share is met from current revenues. | directional_stance | party_platform | broken? |
| 1936 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic) | Defense of the eight-billion-dollar deficit as an investment in America | Justify the net debt increase as the price of averting starvation and concentration of property, offset by six billion in new assets; the debt will be paid out of rising national income, not oppressive taxation. | directional_stance | candidate_direct | not_applicable |