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.
| Score | Cycle | Candidate | Issue | Position |
|---|
| 0.43 | 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 |
| 0.43 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Overall role and scale of the federal government | "A new deal for the American people" — work and security through liberal, planned government action |
| 0.40 | 1932 | Norman Thomas | Working hours and labor standards | The six-hour day and five-day week without reduction in wages |
| 0.40 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Railroad regulation and consolidation | Six-point railroad program — conditional federal support, receivership reform, ICC regulation of trucks and holding companies, consolidation |
| 0.39 | 1936 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Direct relief for the unemployed | Provide useful work at prevailing wages for the needy unemployed rather than a dole |
| 0.38 | 1936 | William Lemke | Minimum wages | A 'living annual wage' -- $1,800 for a family of five -- by federal law and a constitutional amendment if necessary |
| 0.38 | 1932 | Herbert Hoover | Maintenance of wage levels in depression | Uphold wages and spread work by voluntary agreement of employers and labor; shorter hours in government service |
| 0.37 | 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 |
| 0.37 | 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) |
| 0.37 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Public works as employment policy | Public works spending is only a stopgap, not a cure for unemployment |
| 0.37 | 1932 | Herbert Hoover | Public ownership of electric power | Federal regulation of interstate power; opposition to government operation of the power business |
| 0.37 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Overall role and scale of the federal government | An "economic declaration of rights" — the right to make a living and the right to safe savings |
| 0.37 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Income and inheritance tax progressivity | Raise revenue by graduated income, inheritance and profits taxes, not taxes on necessities |
| 0.37 | 1936 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | How to finance old-age and unemployment insurance (contributory reserve vs. pay-as-you-go) | Defense of the payroll-tax financing: the employer pays an equal share and the reserves are safe |
| 0.37 | 1932 | Norman Thomas | Federal responsibility for relief | A $5 billion federal appropriation for immediate relief of those in need |
| 0.36 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Restoring the commodity price level (reflation) | Restore commodity prices toward their former dollar value rather than write down all debts |
| 0.36 | 1932 | Norman Thomas | Public works as employment policy | A $5 billion federal public-works program — roads, reforestation, slum clearance, workers' housing — and idle factories and land turned over to the unemployed |
| 0.36 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Farm prices and agricultural surplus | Restore purchasing power to the farming half of the nation |
| 0.36 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Child welfare and schooling | Maintain the Children's Bureau; keep children in school to sixteen; expand vocational education |
| 0.35 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Reforestation and land policy | Employ a million men reforesting marginal and abandoned land |
| 0.34 | 1936 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Communism, radicalism and "alien isms" as a political issue | Repudiate Communist support; the New Deal is the answer to Communism, not its ally |
| 0.34 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Veterans' bonus and benefits | No early payment of the veterans' bonus until the budget is balanced with a cash surplus |
| 0.34 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Farm prices and agricultural surplus | Raise staple farm prices by a tariff-equivalent benefit plus voluntary production control, at no cost to the Treasury |
| 0.34 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Child labor | No return to sweatshops or children working in factories |
| 0.33 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | National economic planning | Industry leaders to organize cooperatively for the common good; government regulates only as a last resort |