A Return to Normalcy

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On March 4, 1921, President Woodrow Wilson relinquished the office of the presidency to Ohio Senator Warren G. Harding. The state of the union was poor. "With the exception of Lincoln, probably no president in our national history has taken office with as pressing a burden of unresolved questions." Those were the words of the Nation of February 1921. The national economy was in the depths of a depression with an unemployment rate of 20% after a runaway inflation.

On April 12,1921, President Harding went before a contentious Congress and presented his program for economic recovery which he called "A Return to Normalcy". Harding's normalcy program consisted of the following measures.

1) A call for a national budget program (which was vetoed by his predecessor).
2) National debt reduction
3) Tax reduction
4) An emergency tariff to protect American industry and farm commodities.
5) Farm relief legislation (farm bankruptcies were up 20% from 1914).
6) Immigration restrictions to protect American jobs.

read more.
http://www.calvin-coolidge.org/html/the_harding_coolidge_prosperit.html
while the currant administration.
1. no budget has been passed this year.
2. spending out of control.
3. tax increases with more increases coming.
4. no tariffs to control our trade imbalance.
5. bankruptcies climbing
6. the government protects illegal immigrants and could care less about American jobs.
Perhaps now you can see why the Democrats fail at running the economy.

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On April 12,1921, President Harding went before a contentious Congress and presented his program for economic recovery which he called "A Return to Normalcy".

And how'd that turn out?

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

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On April 12,1921, President Harding went before a contentious Congress and presented his program for economic recovery which he called "A Return to Normalcy".

And how'd that turn out?

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President Harding pushed hard for his program and got it passed by Congress in 1921. By late 1922, the economy began to turn around. Harding did not live to see it, but his normalcy program proved to be the foundation that Coolidge prosperity was built on. Harding's successor, Calvin Coolidge had the wisdom to stay the course and build on Harding's program. The American people were the beneficiaries of the unprecedented prosperity of the 1920's. Unemployment was pared from its high in 1921 of 20% to an average of 3.3% for the remainder of the decade. The misery index which is a combination of unemployment and inflation had its sharpest decline in U.S. history under President Harding. The Gross National Product averaged 7% from 1924 to 1929. Wages, profits, and productivity all made substantial gains during the 1920's. Harding slashed federal spending by two billion from Wilson's last year and Coolidge maintained that spending level of 3.3 billion per year for the rest of the decade. The Harding-Coolidge tax cuts produced increased revenue that went to cut the national debt left by Wilson by one-third.

The 1920's saw the tax burden of middle Americans decrease while most lower income Americans were relieved of their tax burden altogether. By 1930, their was a sharp increase in the number of Americans who could afford what were then middle class luxuries such as ranges, ice boxes, radios, vacuum cleaners and other household appliances. There was even an increase in the amount of time Americans found for recreation and entertainment.
The 1920's saw the tax burden of middle Americans decrease while most lower income Americans were relieved of their tax burden altogether. By 1930, their was a sharp increase in the number of Americans who could afford what were then middle class luxuries such as ranges, ice boxes, radios, vacuum cleaners and other household appliances. There was even an increase in the amount of time Americans found for recreation and entertainment.

Many of our historical elite like to characterize the 1920's as the decade of greed and Harding and Coolidge as symbols of greed. This is simply not the truth. During the 1920's, neighbor still helped neighbor and charitable organizations still cared for the poorest of our lot. Few events more characterized the generosity of the American people than the joint private- government relief effort in 1921-1923 to help the victims of famine in Soviet Russia (a nation to which we did not have diplomatic relations). Nearly 30 million citizens of Soviet Russia faced starvation and it was the American people who answered the plea for help and saved countless lives.

Many scholars and historians blame the Harding-Coolidge economic program for the stock market crash of 1929 as well as the great depression. The stock market crash of 1929 was not the calamity Americans have been made to believe. There were no major business or bank failures resulting from the crash. The crash of 1929 occurred in October and by December of that year the economy was once again calm and remained so for the next six months. The depression did not occur because of the stock market crash. There were several errors on the part of policy makers that plunged our economy into a deep depression. The inaction on behalf of President Hoover, New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the Federal Reserve Board to curb over-speculation proved very unwise. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 which President Hoover supported and signed into law helped to paralyze global commerce. The huge tax increases signed into law by Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt retarded economic growth, ballooned the national debt, and sunk the nation deeper into the great depression. If Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt had moved to curb over-speculation and otherwise continued the economic policies of Harding and Coolidge, the nation may have been able to have avoided the great depression. Most certainly, the depression would not have been as deep and prolonged as it was.

Despite what our historical elite have professed to us, the economic policies promoted by Harding and Coolidge during the 1920's created a level of prosperity our nation would not see again until the 1980's. It is long overdue for Harding and Coolidge to receive the acclaim they deserve for rescuing America from economic depression and returning it back to normalcy.

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Where are you copying and pasting this drivel from?

Oh yeah, the Coolidge fan-boi site.

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The World's Most Boring Skydiver

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Where are you copying and pasting this drivel from?

Oh yeah, the Coolidge fan-boi site.

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drivel ? if you dispute any of this, please post proof.
I posted a link to where i got the information from.

Essays, Papers, & Addressess Written Under the Auspices of the
Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation..
http://www.calvin-coolidge.org/html/the_harding_coolidge_prosperit.html

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Where are you copying and pasting this drivel from?

Oh yeah, the Coolidge fan-boi site.

Glenn Beck did a show last week on Coolidge. Are you surprised?

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I posted a link to where i got the information from.

Essays, Papers, & Addressess Written Under the Auspices of the
Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation..
http://www.calvin-coolidge.org/html/the_harding_coolidge_prosperit.html

and exactly how objective would you expect such a source to be?

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The national economy was in the depths of a depression with an unemployment rate of 20% after a runaway inflation.

Imagine that, a post-war economy that fell flat. Same happened post-WWII as with other wars too.

HILLARIOUS to see a neo-con applaud one of the worst presidents in history, one that was considered as corrupt as Nixon. Nice job.

Also, the Harding/Coolidge mess opened a can of worms the 3rd stooge, Hoover, was too idiotic to deal with and that led to a lot of sufferring.

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The Roaring 20's were as the fascist pig Reagan years: Roarinf for the very rich; fucked for the masses.

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The Roaring 20's were as the fascist pig Reagan years: Roarinf for the very rich; fucked for the masses.

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I asked for proof when you dispute what was written and all you post is the same progressive rhetoric.

[Andy9o8 2]

You really sure that, in your RW copy & paste frenzy, you want to embrace Warren G. Harding? Because when I think of Warren G. Harding, I immediately think of The Teapot Dome Scandal.

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The Teapot Dome Scandal was an unprecedented bribery scandal and investigation during the White House administration of United States President Warren G. Harding. Before the Watergate scandal, it was regarded as the "greatest and most sensational scandal in the history of American politics".[1] The scandal also was a key factor in posthumously destroying the public reputation of Harding, who was extremely popular at the time of his death in office in 1923

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You really sure that, in your RW copy & paste frenzy, you want to embrace Warren G. Harding? Because when I think of Warren G. Harding, I immediately think of The Teapot Dome Scandal.

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The Teapot Dome Scandal was an unprecedented bribery scandal and investigation during the White House administration of United States President Warren G. Harding. Before the Watergate scandal, it was regarded as the "greatest and most sensational scandal in the history of American politics".[1] The scandal also was a key factor in posthumously destroying the public reputation of Harding, who was extremely popular at the time of his death in office in 1923

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It had little to do with Hardinge and nothing to do with Coolidge but rather the Secretary of the Interior Albert b.Fall.
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0848032.html#axzz0wdQ7PZgq
Nice try...

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The Roaring 20's were as the fascist pig Reagan years: Roarinf for the very rich; fucked for the masses.

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I asked for proof when you dispute what was written and all you post is the same progressive rhetoric.

You post some rancid RW POS articel from the Coolidge library - hardly objective - and you want proof? I'll get it for ya.

Here's a start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States

Even the WSJ, who loves tax-cutting RW maggots, could only put him at 23. Most others put him in the high 20's, which is more reasonable. To his credit he is ~ 10 slots better than his twin brother, Harding. The 2 cut the top brkt from 73% to 25% in a couple years, I'm sure this contributed to profit-taking from Wall Street, leading to the GD. The low tax rate certainly hindered/made impossible recovery, so as the 3rd turd, Hoover, had to raise taxes back up to 63%, virtually where the 2 turds before him cut it from - then there was slow recovery.

Here's someone's essay, I've read these numbers before on a few occcassions. BTW, this essay actually supports a lot of what the 3 stooges (Harding, Coolidge, Hoover) did.

http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=49163

However, the rewards of the "Coolidge Prosperity" of the 1920's were not shared evenly among all Americans. ¡§In 1929, the top 0.1 percentages of Americans had a combined income equal to the bottom 42%. That same top 0.1 percentages of Americans in 1929 controlled 34% of all savings, while 80% of Americans had no savings at all. Wages increased at a rate one fourth as fast as productivity increased. As production costs fell quickly, wages rose slowly, and prices remained constant, the bulk benefit of the increased productivity went into corporate profits.¡¨ [loose translation from Simon, 3/14/00]

So the top .01% held as much income as the bottom 42%, I read 40% before, same thing. Just liketeh era of the fascist pig, hand it all upward and brag of prosperity. So growth followed by a crash/recession/depression is empty growth. Growth, as Clinton had, where the wealth was shared is was stable is real sustainable growth. African Americans and farmers were groups that was left in the cold, as farm equipment made them too slow by contrast.

Here's a college doc: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:XO6Ny24CVbgJ:sitemaker.umich.edu/kw.teach/files/lesson_1.doc+were+the+1920's+prosperous+for+all+.01%25+wealthiest&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

1) Rising prices while wages remain the same:

· Consumers spend less because incomes not rising fast enough in comparison to prices. During 1920s, nearly half of nation’s families earned less than $1500/year (minimum amount for decent standard of living). Even families earning twice as much could not afford many products manufacturers produced. Average man/woman bought a new outfit of clothes only once a year. Scarcely half the homes in cities had electric lights or a furnace for heat. Only one in ten had an electric refrigerator.

· In contrast, rich Americans are doing very well. Between 1920-1929, income of wealthiest 1% of population increases by 75% compared with a 9% increase for Americans as a whole. In 1929, wealthiest 5% of families took in nearly a third of the nation’s income.


I could go on and on, but your fascist years weregreat ones for the rich, not so much for the poor, just as under Reagan and GWB or any POS Republican trash that is so embraced by the RW conservative movement. Notice I don't include Eisenhower or GHWB, as they are not embraced by the RW conservative garbage movement.

Pretend the 1920's were all about growth for everyone all you want, you're delluded if you think they were; they were roaring for the wealthiest for sure, that we can agree upon.

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You really sure that, in your RW copy & paste frenzy, you want to embrace Warren G. Harding? Because when I think of Warren G. Harding, I immediately think of The Teapot Dome Scandal.

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The Teapot Dome Scandal was an unprecedented bribery scandal and investigation during the White House administration of United States President Warren G. Harding. Before the Watergate scandal, it was regarded as the "greatest and most sensational scandal in the history of American politics".[1] The scandal also was a key factor in posthumously destroying the public reputation of Harding, who was extremely popular at the time of his death in office in 1923

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It had little to do with Hardinge and nothing to do with Coolidge but rather the Secretary of the Interior Albert b.Fall.
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0848032.html#axzz0wdQ7PZgq
Nice try...

Just like the outting of Valery Plame had nothing to do with Bush or Cheney, Iran-Contra had nothing to do with GHWB or fascist Ronnie. Now, you were saying?

[kallend 2,150]

[url "http://www.usnews.com/listings/worst-presidents/warren-harding"]Ranked #2 in the "Worst Presidents" list.

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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

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[url "http://www.usnews.com/listings/worst-presidents/warren-harding"]Ranked #2 in the "Worst Presidents" list.

And his twin brother, Coolidge was a little less culpable, or at least history sees it that way, altho cut from the same cloth.

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The Roaring 20's were as the fascist pig Reagan years: Roarinf for the very rich; fucked for the masses.

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I asked for proof when you dispute what was written and all you post is the same progressive rhetoric.

I provided it, let's see your response. SUMMARY of my post: Many middle class people were pushed to lower class and could not afford the goods they made, esp the higher dollar goods. Many/most farmers were put our in the cold, many/most blacks were thrown well into poverty amongst these supposed glory times.

The Roaring 20's weren't roaring for millions, just like the 80's. The 90's, however, were great for most, unemp was down to

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The Roaring 20's were as the fascist pig Reagan years: Roarinf for the very rich; fucked for the masses.

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I provided it, let's see your response. SUMMARY of my post: Many middle class people were pushed to lower class and could not afford the goods they made, esp the higher dollar goods. Many/most farmers were put our in the cold, many/most blacks were thrown well into poverty amongst these supposed glory times.

The Roaring 20's weren't roaring for millions, just like the 80's. The 90's, however, were great for most, unemp was down to
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you offered proof? what the ranking of the president? ranked by who?
the 1920 brought on a transformation like no other .
people started buying cars and radios and household appliances and the Manufacturers prospered and in turn were able to hire more people and this cycle of spending allowed America to prosper . and the only thing you worry about were that some people didn't?
The people will never be equal in terms of dollar amount and the progressives will never be able to make all people financially equal. and as for fascist , i think the progressives are Marxist.
As for farmers being put out in the cold..
I think you better read #5 again as you sound like a fool.

1) A call for a national budget program (which was vetoed by his predecessor).
2) National debt reduction
3) Tax reduction
4) An emergency tariff to protect American industry and farm commodities.
5) Farm relief legislation (farm bankruptcies were up 20% from 1914).
6) Immigration restrictions to protect American jobs.

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The Roaring 20's were as the fascist pig Reagan years: Roarinf for the very rich; fucked for the masses.

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I provided it, let's see your response. SUMMARY of my post: Many middle class people were pushed to lower class and could not afford the goods they made, esp the higher dollar goods. Many/most farmers were put our in the cold, many/most blacks were thrown well into poverty amongst these supposed glory times.

The Roaring 20's weren't roaring for millions, just like the 80's. The 90's, however, were great for most, unemp was down to

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you offered proof? what the ranking of the president? ranked by who?

If you bothered to look at the cite created or even read my post you would have seen that the WSJ ranked them at 23 and Coolidge was one of the most pro-Wall Street presidents of all time, so he got a bump. Siena and others ranked him high 20's. This is stuff I've already written; try reading it.

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the 1920 brought on a transformation like no other .
people started buying cars and radios and household appliances and the Manufacturers prospered and in turn were able to hire more people and this cycle of spending allowed America to prosper . and the only thing you worry about were that some people didn't?

Some people? The top .01% had the same income as the lower 42% and that's some people???? Yea, almost 1/2 of all Americans made shit and couldn't afford the products they made with their low-paying jobs.

"Scarcely half the homes in cities had electric lights or a furnace for heat. Only one in ten had an electric refrigerator."

As for wages, "In contrast, rich Americans are doing very well. Between 1920-1929, income of wealthiest 1% of population increases by 75% compared with a 9% increase for Americans as a whole. In 1929, wealthiest 5% of families took in nearly a third of the nation’s income."

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The people will never be equal in terms of dollar amount and the progressives will never be able to make all people financially equal.

Sure, people will never be equal, but when you have an era you label as roaring and prosperous for all, then you have gross disparity in income and worth that's spreading, millions are w/o electricity and refridgerators, etc; you have not illustrated an era of overall prosperity, but one of upper-end greed and profit.

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and as for fascist , i think the progressives are Marxist.

You don't understand the terms: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/202210/fascism/219364/Opposition-to-Marxism

Conventional Fascism and Marxism opposed each other, hence the war between the USSR and Italy circa 1930's. I'm refering more of neo-fascism / corporatism that the RW is so impressed with.

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As for farmers being put out in the cold..
I think you better read #5 again as you sound like a fool.

Awwww, now you have to resort to PA's as you don't understand that Fascism and Marxism oppose each other. OK, read the pro-Coolidge fluffy site? I did and of course it makes him look golden. I'm trying to bring in other evidence and you are so unable to defend the farmers/blacks being put out into the cold during your roaring years that you need to defer to your fluff as tho it's gospel. The idea of these discussions is to bring in discourse from ALL PEOPLE'S IDEAS, so why not address the info I brought in. FARMERS WERE THROWN OUT AS A RESULT OF YOUR GLORY YEARS, SO APPARENTLY THEY WERE ROARING FOR EVERYONE. THE LOWER 42% MADE AS MUCH AS THE TOP .01%, SO NOT EVERYONE WAS KICKING ASS. That's corporate fascism when the gov devises a set of rules/laws to entice this.

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1) A call for a national budget program (which was vetoed by his predecessor).
2) National debt reduction
3) Tax reduction
4) An emergency tariff to protect American industry and farm commodities.
5) Farm relief legislation (farm bankruptcies were up 20% from 1914).
6) Immigration restrictions to protect American jobs.

Now show us what they did for farmers. Was it to cover 5% of the loss? You still have to make your case. And after that, make a case for all the disparity in wealth and wages, THE ENORMOUS DISPARITY. Explain how half the homes in cities had electric lights or a furnace for heat. Only one in ten had an electric refrigerator in this so-caled great time of proseperity. Of course not, hell, you obviously didn't read my post #13 as you didn't address any of it.

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[url "http://www.usnews.com/listings/worst-presidents/warren-harding"]Ranked #2 in the "Worst Presidents" list.

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this was ranked by Mort Zuckerman who has close ties to Obama . yep leave it to you to come up with a rank ranking.

[kallend 2,150]

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Ranked #2 in the "Worst Presidents" list.

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this was ranked by Mort Zuckerman who has close ties to Obama . yep leave it to you to come up with a rank ranking.

I refer you to post #7 on this thread.

He's even #6 on a recent CONSERVATIVES' Worst Presidents List.

townhall.com/columnists/JohnHawkins/2010/08/10/the_7_worst_presidents_of_the_last_hundred_years

And then there's the presidential scholars rankings:

A new Siena poll of 238 presidential scholars ranks the top presidents in American history: Franklin Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

"Teddy Roosevelt had, more than any other president the 'right stuff', and tops the collective ranking of a cluster of personal qualities including imagination, integrity, intelligence, luck, background, and being willing to take risks. Lincoln, according to the experts, demonstrated the greatest presidential abilities while FDR ranks first in overall accomplishments."

The bottom five: Andrew Johnson, James Buchanan, Warren G. Harding, Franklin Pierce and George W. Bush.

"Andrew Johnson leads the 'worst ever' in both abilities and accomplishments finishing below both Buchanan and Harding, but Harding tops the worst in personal attributes including integrity where he finishes just slightly ahead of Richard M. Nixon." Bush was rated "especially poorly in handling the economy, communication, ability to compromise, foreign policy accomplishments and intelligence."


And in a 1982 comparison survey of both liberals AND conservatives your guy comes dead last in both groups:

Rank 	Liberals (n=190) 	Conservatives (n=50)

1 	Lincoln                              Lincoln

2 	Franklin Roosevelt             Washington

3 	Washington                      Franklin Roosevelt

4 	Jefferson                          Jefferson

5 	Theodore Roosevelt           Theodore Roosevelt

6 	Wilson                             Jackson

7 	Jackson                           Truman

8 	Truman                            Wilson

9 	Lyndon Johnson                Eisenhower

10 	John Adams 	               John Adams

...

30 	Coolidge                           Carter

31 	Pierce                               Nixon

32 	Buchanan                          Pierce

33 	Andrew Johnson                 Andrew Johnson

34 	Grant                                Buchanan

35 	Nixon                                Grant



36 	Harding                             Harding

Pretty telling to be ranked below Nixon by both groups!

And in a poll in The Times (a Rupert Murdoch paper, not exactly liberal) (2008-10-28). "Who's the greatest? The Times US presidential rankings" he was ranked in the bottom quartile by all respondents.

Not only have you really backed a loser with this thread, you also gave us a nice insight into your judgment.

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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

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[url "http://www.usnews.com/listings/worst-presidents/warren-harding"]Ranked #2 in the "Worst Presidents" list.

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this was ranked by Mort Zuckerman who has close ties to Obama . yep leave it to you to come up with a rank ranking.

Had you bothered to click on it and read, as you disregarded my post 13 with all kinds of source, you would see Kallend was referring to Harding, not Coolidge. Harding is considered amongst the worst presidents of all times by most professional rankers, both liberal and conservative, corruption, started the tax rate onslaught; basically paved the way for the Great Depression.

Even teh WSJ had him at 39 in 2005 and Harding was a Wall Street favorite, so *TRY* to understand what you're talking about.