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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.

Taxes levied according to ability to pay; lower taxes for 99 percent, higher at the top — Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936

Similar by solution solution · rationale

ScoreCycleCandidateIssuePosition
0.711932Franklin D. RooseveltIncome and inheritance tax progressivityRaise revenue by graduated income, inheritance and profits taxes, not taxes on necessities
0.701936Franklin D. RooseveltBalancing the federal budgetBalance the budget within a year or two out of rising national income, without new taxes
0.631932Norman ThomasIncome and inheritance tax progressivitySteeply increased income and inheritance taxes
0.581936Franklin D. RooseveltLevel of federal spendingDefense of the eight-billion-dollar deficit as an investment in America
0.551932Franklin D. RooseveltBalancing the federal budgetBalance the federal budget annually within revenues
0.551932Norman ThomasUnemployment insuranceCompulsory unemployment insurance funded by employers and by higher income and inheritance taxes
0.551936Huey P. LongDistribution of national income and purchasing powerShare Our Wealth: cap fortunes, guarantee every family a homestead and income
0.511936Alf LandonHow to finance old-age and unemployment insurance (contributory reserve vs. pay-as-you-go)Repeal the compulsory old-age insurance plan; pay every needy citizen over 65 a pension from a direct, widely distributed tax
0.511932Herbert HooverBalancing the federal budgetA balanced budget as 'the foundation of all public and private financial stability'
0.501936Alf LandonFarm prices and agricultural surplusCash benefits on the domestically consumed portion of export crops to make the tariff effective, limited to the family-type farm; no scarcity program, no processing tax
0.491932Herbert HooverPhilippine independenceGradual Philippine independence — economic independence first, with duty-free sugar cut from 600,000 tons downward every year
0.491932Herbert HooverLocal government consolidation and the tax burden on landA national review of federal-state-local taxation to relieve farms and homes of property taxes
0.481936Franklin D. RooseveltIncome and inheritance tax progressivityDefense of the undistributed-profits tax as a loophole-closer; correct imperfections if found
0.471932Herbert HooverTariff levelsPreserve the bipartisan Tariff Commission's flexible power to adjust rates without congressional log-rolling
0.451932Franklin D. RooseveltRestoring the commodity price level (reflation)Restore commodity prices toward their former dollar value rather than write down all debts
0.451936Alf LandonBalancing the federal budgetBalance the budget by cutting expenditures, not by raising taxes
0.441932Herbert HooverLevel of federal spendingCut federal spending $1.5 billion below fiscal 1932 and reorganize the executive branch
0.441932Herbert HooverPublic works as employment policyFederal construction at three times normal and $1.5 billion of RFC loans for self-liquidating works — but no pork-barrel or non-productive projects
0.441936William LemkePublic control of the central bank and money creation'Drive the money changers out of the temple': public control of money and credit, further inflation of the currency
0.441932Franklin D. RooseveltLocal government consolidation and the tax burden on landPresidential leadership to consolidate local governments and lift the tax burden on land
0.431932Franklin D. RooseveltPlanned use of land and retirement of marginal farmlandA national policy of planned land use — economic soil survey and retirement of marginal farmland
0.431936Franklin D. RooseveltLevel of federal spendingReduce the expenses of government as relief needs decline
0.421932Franklin D. RooseveltLevel of federal spendingCut the cost of the federal government by at least 25 percent
0.411932Herbert HooverVeterans' bonus and benefitsOppose cash prepayment of the veterans' bonus, especially by fiat money
0.411932Franklin D. RooseveltFarm prices and agricultural surplusRaise staple farm prices by a tariff-equivalent benefit plus voluntary production control, at no cost to the Treasury