How about his advice on stock?
"Buy a stock. If it goes up, sell it. If it don't go up, don't buy it."
(That may not be a legitimate quote, but I've always appreciated it)
Another example of a do nothing president. Great!
"The chief business of the American people is business." 1925. 4 years later he led us into the Great Depression.
"War is my last choice." George Bush, 2002.
..... Well, you know the rest
"4 years later he led us into the Great Depression."
No, no, no. He ENGINEERED the Great Depression. 'Cause, you know, he wanted a lot of people to suffer.
Gee, Pat, thanks for the opening. If you follow the links, you'll discover the filmmaker is a Democrat and he has this to say about the infamous "business" quote:
Litmus tests seem to be in vogue these days. Here's one you can apply. Any historian or commentator who quotes Coolidge as saying "the business of America is business," either is ill informed or has a hidden agenda. That misquote comes from an address President Coolidge gave before the American Society of Newspaper Editors in 1925. Speaking on "The Press Under a Free Government," Coolidge noted that American newspapers serve a double purpose. They bring knowledge and information to the electorate and, at the same time, play an important role in the business community through their news and advertising departments. Is there cause for alarm in this dual relationship?
After analysis of possible conflicts and compromises, Coolidge concluded that we probably are better served by a press which has a working acquaintance with commerce. "After all," he said, "the chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with producing, buying, selling, investing, and prospering in the world."
But there was a more important point. The President went on to observe that:/
The chief ideal of the American people is idealism. I cannot repeat too often that America is a nation of idealists. That is the only motive to which they ever give any strong and lasting reaction... I could not truly criticize the vast importance of the counting room, but my ultimate faith I would place in the idealism of the editorial room of the American newspaper.
Historians who misquote the lesser point, usually are trying to prove Coolidge a Babbitt. In doing so we learn more about the historian than we do about Coolidge.
It may not be a misquote, per se, but it certainly leaves out all of the context. If you follow the link I provide in this comment, you'll see that the filmmaker has also provided a few examples why Democrats could take something away from Coolidge (and Harding, for that matter).
And about the '29 Crash....
Coolidge advocated "rigid economy in government" and dramatic reductions in taxes. Historians continually state that the tax cuts of the 1920's reversed the progressive policies of Woodrow Wilson. Far from it. Exemptions increased so much that by 1927 almost 98 percent of the American people paid no income tax whatsoever. By the time Coolidge left office in March 1929, wealthy people earning over $25,000 a year -- a handsome salary then -- paid 93 percent of the tax load. During Wilson's last year in office they had paid only 59 percent.
It is easy now to fault Coolidge for his unwillingness to seek control of expanding credit or regulation of the securities industry prior to the stock market crash of October 1929. But even if he had chosen to translate his private qualms into public action, it is doubtful that he would have been able to gather necessary support from Congress or the American people for enactment of regulations and reforms adequate to stem the speculative tide. And, in the unlikely event that Coolidge had secured congressional enactment of the necessary machinery, it is even less likely that the Supreme Court would have upheld its constitutionality in the legal context of the pre-depression period. Franklin Roosevelt had a hard enough time of it five years later in the midst of the depression.
How about his advice on stock?
"Buy a stock. If it goes up, sell it. If it don't go up, don't buy it."
(That may not be a legitimate quote, but I've always appreciated it)
Posted by: brassband at August 8, 2007 6:29 PMAnother example of a do nothing president. Great!
"The chief business of the American people is business." 1925. 4 years later he led us into the Great Depression.
"War is my last choice." George Bush, 2002.
..... Well, you know the rest
Posted by: Pat Crowley at August 9, 2007 6:41 AM"4 years later he led us into the Great Depression."
No, no, no. He ENGINEERED the Great Depression. 'Cause, you know, he wanted a lot of people to suffer.
Posted by: SusanD at August 9, 2007 7:48 AMGee, Pat, thanks for the opening. If you follow the links, you'll discover the filmmaker is a Democrat and he has this to say about the infamous "business" quote:
Litmus tests seem to be in vogue these days. Here's one you can apply. Any historian or commentator who quotes Coolidge as saying "the business of America is business," either is ill informed or has a hidden agenda. That misquote comes from an address President Coolidge gave before the American Society of Newspaper Editors in 1925. Speaking on "The Press Under a Free Government," Coolidge noted that American newspapers serve a double purpose. They bring knowledge and information to the electorate and, at the same time, play an important role in the business community through their news and advertising departments. Is there cause for alarm in this dual relationship?
After analysis of possible conflicts and compromises, Coolidge concluded that we probably are better served by a press which has a working acquaintance with commerce. "After all," he said, "the chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with producing, buying, selling, investing, and prospering in the world."
But there was a more important point. The President went on to observe that:/
Historians who misquote the lesser point, usually are trying to prove Coolidge a Babbitt. In doing so we learn more about the historian than we do about Coolidge.
It may not be a misquote, per se, but it certainly leaves out all of the context. If you follow the link I provide in this comment, you'll see that the filmmaker has also provided a few examples why Democrats could take something away from Coolidge (and Harding, for that matter).And about the '29 Crash....
Coolidge advocated "rigid economy in government" and dramatic reductions in taxes. Historians continually state that the tax cuts of the 1920's reversed the progressive policies of Woodrow Wilson. Far from it. Exemptions increased so much that by 1927 almost 98 percent of the American people paid no income tax whatsoever. By the time Coolidge left office in March 1929, wealthy people earning over $25,000 a year -- a handsome salary then -- paid 93 percent of the tax load. During Wilson's last year in office they had paid only 59 percent.
It is easy now to fault Coolidge for his unwillingness to seek control of expanding credit or regulation of the securities industry prior to the stock market crash of October 1929. But even if he had chosen to translate his private qualms into public action, it is doubtful that he would have been able to gather necessary support from Congress or the American people for enactment of regulations and reforms adequate to stem the speculative tide. And, in the unlikely event that Coolidge had secured congressional enactment of the necessary machinery, it is even less likely that the Supreme Court would have upheld its constitutionality in the legal context of the pre-depression period. Franklin Roosevelt had a hard enough time of it five years later in the midst of the depression.
Posted by: Marc Comtois at August 9, 2007 9:31 AM