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.

Use every effort to collect the war debts due from foreign countries — Alf Landon, 1936

Similar by solution solution · rationale

ScoreCycleCandidateIssuePosition
0.681932Franklin D. RooseveltEuropean war debts and reparationsNo cancellation of the war debts — make payment possible by restoring trade
0.631932Alfred 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
0.551932Newton D. BakerEuropean war debts and reparationsEntry into the World Court and cancellation of the war debts (the record that made him 'politically unpopular')
0.551936Franklin D. RooseveltLevel of federal spendingDefense of the eight-billion-dollar deficit as an investment in America
0.531932Herbert HooverEuropean war debts and reparationsNo cancellation of war debts; apply any annual payment to opening foreign markets for American farm products
0.531932Herbert 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
0.501936Franklin D. RooseveltBalancing the federal budgetBalance the budget within a year or two out of rising national income, without new taxes
0.491932Herbert HooverLevel of federal spendingCut federal spending $1.5 billion below fiscal 1932 and reorganize the executive branch
0.481932Norman ThomasEuropean war debts and reparationsCancel the war debts (against cancellation of reparations) and raze the tariff wall
0.471936Franklin D. RooseveltNeutrality, arms embargoes and staying out of foreign warsKeep the United States out of war: true neutrality, take the profits out of war, no political commitments
0.471932Franklin D. RooseveltLevel of military spendingAn adequate Army and Navy without a near-billion-dollar peacetime burden
0.461932Franklin D. RooseveltRestoring the commodity price level (reflation)Restore commodity prices toward their former dollar value rather than write down all debts
0.451932Herbert 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
0.451932Norman ThomasFederal responsibility for reliefA $5 billion federal appropriation for immediate relief of those in need
0.441936Franklin D. RooseveltLevel of federal spendingReduce the expenses of government as relief needs decline
0.431936Franklin D. RooseveltFarm prices and agricultural surplusContinue soil conservation and domestic allotment payments; end ruinous surpluses; commodity loans on seasonal surpluses
0.431932Herbert HooverNaval arms and disarmamentCut world armaments by one-third through the Geneva conference while keeping forces strong enough that 'no foreign soldier will land'
0.431936Franklin D. RooseveltBenefits for disabled and service-connected veteransContinue just treatment of war veterans and dependents
0.421932Franklin D. RooseveltVeterans' bonus and benefitsNo early payment of the veterans' bonus until the budget is balanced with a cash surplus
0.421932Franklin D. RooseveltBenefits for disabled and service-connected veteransFull justice and generosity for veterans disabled by actual wartime service — silence on the bonus
0.421932Franklin D. RooseveltBalancing the federal budgetBalance the federal budget annually within revenues
0.421932Herbert HooverFederal responsibility for reliefRelief through voluntary mobilization and local responsibility, with RFC loans to exhausted states — no federal dole
0.411932Norman ThomasPublic works as employment policyA $5 billion federal public-works program — roads, reforestation, slum clearance, workers' housing — and idle factories and land turned over to the unemployed
0.411932Herbert HooverPhilippine independenceGradual Philippine independence — economic independence first, with duty-free sugar cut from 600,000 tons downward every year
0.401932Herbert HooverFarm prices and agricultural surplusFarm prices can be restored only by general recovery and markets — no production control, no subsidies; repeal Farm Board stabilization