History 101

[Jeff Carnahan]

Thought I would put some history together for all my friends to read!!  Hope you all take the time to read this, I thought it was a very interesting part to our history.
 
John Calvin Coolidge President during 1920s  (ROARING 20s)
 
His tax and debt reduction are a point of pride:
• National debt of $22.3 billion in 1923 lowered to $16.9 billion by 1929.
• Federal expenditures (budget) of $5.1 billion in 1921 were reduced to $3.3 billion in 1929.
• Cut taxes four out of his six years as president.
• Cut effective tax rate on the wealthy was 50 percent (1922) to 20 percent. Revenue from that tax bracket then rose from $77 million to $230 million.
• By 1927, 98% of the population paid no income tax
• Tax burden on those making under $10,000 fell from $130 million in 1923 to under $20 million in 1929.
 
Industry: “American industry during the 1920’s not merely flourished but triumphed:”
• Unemployment averaged 3.3% from 1922 to 1929.
• Gross National Product increased annually by 7% from 1924 to 1929.
• Per capita income grew 30 percent from 1922 to 1928.
• Real earnings for employed wage earners increased 22% from 1922 to 1928.
• Industrial Production increased 70% from 1922 to 1928.
• The average workweek decreased 4% from 1922 to 1928.
 
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Herbert Clark Hoover  President during 1930s  (GREAT DEPRESSION)
Taxing and Spending
Government spending was needed for the massive programs that Hoover initiated. Among these was a public works program which took billions of dollars out of the private sector that could have otherwise been used to revive the economy.
Another program was the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which bailed out failing businesses, mainly railroads and banks—the Republicans’ two most important special-interest groups. To receive bailout money, a business had to be on the verge of failure. Thus the RFC propped up failure instead of allowing these businesses to liquidate so their resources could be redirected to more successful enterprises.
In addition, the RFC funds often went not to businesses most in need, but to businesses with the best political connections. Thus government corruption and special-interest lobbying ensured that the RFC would have a minimal impact on combating the Depression.
By 1931, excessive government spending on these programs created a deficit that could only be remedied by higher taxes. So Hoover approved the largest peacetime tax increase up to that time. Taxes were raised on virtually everything, including individuals and businesses. Raising taxes deterred many from private investment, thus stunting economic growth and preventing job creation even further.

Conclusion

President Hoover’s policies of maintaining high wages, setting price and production controls, implementing protectionism, and increasing spending and taxing essentially destroyed any chance for the economy to correct itself following the stock market crash.
In light of these facts, it can be argued that the true failure of the Hoover administration was not that it did too little to combat the Great Depression, but that it did too much and actually made the crisis worse. In fact, Hoover turned a recession into the Great Depression.
 
 
Barack Obama  President from 2008 to ???   (???????????????) you tell me