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.

The RFC and the 'shield of Government credit' saved 5,000 institutions and must continue — but no direct government lending to everyone — Herbert Hoover, 1932

Similar by rationale solution · rationale

Score	Cycle	Candidate	Issue	Position
0.62	1932	Herbert Hoover	Level of federal spending	Cut federal spending $1.5 billion below fiscal 1932 and reorganize the executive branch
0.56	1932	Norman Thomas	Income and inheritance tax progressivity	Steeply increased income and inheritance taxes
0.55	1932	Herbert Hoover	Public works as employment policy	Federal construction at three times normal and $1.5 billion of RFC loans for self-liquidating works — but no pork-barrel or non-productive projects
0.52	1932	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Regulation of utility rates and holding companies	Eight-point federal utility program: publicity, Federal Power Commission control of holding companies, prudent-investment rate base
0.52	1932	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Veterans' bonus and benefits	No early payment of the veterans' bonus until the budget is balanced with a cash surplus
0.50	1932	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Public ownership of electric power	Public development of hydro-electric power on the St. Lawrence model, with national control of interstate transmission
0.48	1932	Herbert Hoover	Farm and home mortgage relief	Reorganize and enlarge the Federal Land Banks to refinance farm mortgages; curb Joint Stock Land Bank abuses
0.47	1932	Herbert Hoover	Gold standard and currency basis	Hold the gold standard and the 'honest dollar'; no fiat money, no 'rubber dollar' price-fixing
0.47	1932	Norman Thomas	Federal responsibility for relief	A $5 billion federal appropriation for immediate relief of those in need
0.46	1936	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Housing and slum clearance	Extend the federal housing program toward adequate housing for those in slums; encourage private building
0.46	1932	Herbert Hoover	Balancing the federal budget	A balanced budget as 'the foundation of all public and private financial stability'
0.46	1932	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Farm and home mortgage relief	Government assistance to keep home-owners and farm-owners from foreclosure
0.46	1932	Norman Thomas	Working hours and labor standards	The six-hour day and five-day week without reduction in wages
0.45	1936	Alf Landon	Reorganization of the executive branch	Cooperate with Congress to reorganize agencies, abolish unnecessary ones and eliminate duplication
0.45	1932	Herbert Hoover	Restriction of immigration	Continue the executive order practically prohibiting immigration except relatives of residents
0.45	1932	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Public works as employment policy	Public works spending is only a stopgap, not a cure for unemployment
0.45	1932	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Distribution of national income and purchasing power	A more equitable distribution of national income — higher reward to labor, lower to speculative capital
0.45	1932	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Balancing the federal budget	Balance the federal budget annually within revenues
0.44	1932	Herbert Hoover	Regulation of banks and securities	Reform the banking laws; stop credit flowing to speculation; relieve depositors of closed banks
0.43	1936	Alf Landon	Balancing the federal budget	Balance the budget by cutting expenditures, not by raising taxes
0.43	1932	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Public works as employment policy	'Employment for all surplus labor at all times' through self-liquidating public works (the Shearon letter, as Hoover read it)
0.43	1932	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Tariff levels	Revise the tariff downward through reciprocal trade agreements
0.43	1936	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Income and inheritance tax progressivity	Defense of the undistributed-profits tax as a loophole-closer; correct imperfections if found
0.42	1932	Herbert Hoover	Naval arms and disarmament	Cut world armaments by one-third through the Geneva conference while keeping forces strong enough that 'no foreign soldier will land'
0.42	1932	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Level of federal spending	Cut the cost of the federal government by at least 25 percent