PresidentialPositionsIssuesReceptionTimelineDocuments

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.

Balance the budget by cutting expenditures, not by raising taxes — Alf Landon, 1936

Similar by rationale solution · rationale

ScoreCycleCandidateIssuePosition
0.581932Franklin D. RooseveltLevel of federal spendingCut the cost of the federal government by at least 25 percent
0.581936Franklin D. RooseveltHow 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
0.571936Alf LandonGold standard and currency basisSound currency 'at all hazards'; no further devaluation; repeal the laws delegating the money power to the Executive
0.571932Franklin D. RooseveltGold standard and currency basisA sound currency preserved at all hazards
0.561932Franklin D. RooseveltVeterans' bonus and benefitsNo early payment of the veterans' bonus until the budget is balanced with a cash surplus
0.541932Franklin D. RooseveltIncome and inheritance tax progressivityRaise revenue by graduated income, inheritance and profits taxes, not taxes on necessities
0.511936Franklin D. RooseveltIncome and inheritance tax progressivityTaxes levied according to ability to pay; lower taxes for 99 percent, higher at the top
0.491932Franklin D. RooseveltPublic ownership of electric powerPublic development of hydro-electric power on the St. Lawrence model, with national control of interstate transmission
0.481932Herbert HooverVeterans' bonus and benefitsOppose cash prepayment of the veterans' bonus, especially by fiat money
0.471932Franklin D. RooseveltRestoring the commodity price level (reflation)Restore commodity prices toward their former dollar value rather than write down all debts
0.471932Alfred E. SmithEuropean war debts and reparationsA twenty-year moratorium on the war debts, writing them off in proportion to each nation's purchases of American goods
0.471932Franklin D. RooseveltEuropean war debts and reparationsNo cancellation of the war debts — make payment possible by restoring trade
0.471932Herbert HooverBalancing the federal budgetA balanced budget as 'the foundation of all public and private financial stability'
0.471932John Nance GarnerVeterans' bonus and benefitsThe Patman cash bonus and $2.3 billion of greenbacks, passed by the House under his speakership
0.461932Herbert 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
0.451932Herbert HooverGold standard and currency basisHold the gold standard and the 'honest dollar'; no fiat money, no 'rubber dollar' price-fixing
0.451932Franklin D. RooseveltBalancing the federal budgetBalance the federal budget annually within revenues
0.441932Herbert HooverLevel of federal spendingCut federal spending $1.5 billion below fiscal 1932 and reorganize the executive branch
0.441932Franklin D. RooseveltLevel of military spendingAn adequate Army and Navy without a near-billion-dollar peacetime burden
0.441932Franklin D. RooseveltTariff levelsRevise the tariff downward through reciprocal trade agreements
0.431932Herbert HooverRegulation of banks and securitiesThe RFC and the 'shield of Government credit' saved 5,000 institutions and must continue — but no direct government lending to everyone
0.431932Herbert HooverEuropean war debts and reparationsNo cancellation of war debts; apply any annual payment to opening foreign markets for American farm products
0.431932Franklin D. RooseveltInternational economic and monetary conferencesConvene international monetary and economic conferences to stabilize currencies and restore trade
0.421932Franklin D. RooseveltRegulation of banks and securitiesSeparate investment banking from commercial banks; tighter national-bank supervision; faster payouts to depositors of closed banks
0.421932Franklin D. RooseveltRailroad regulation and consolidationSix-point railroad program — conditional federal support, receivership reform, ICC regulation of trucks and holding companies, consolidation