Date: December 9, 1930
Location: Northampton, MA
Summary: Rigid governmental economy will solve two distinct problems: providing revenue for obligations already incurred and encouraging business.
(Original document available here)
The Congress has before it two distinct problems which in their solution conflict with each other. One is the necessity of providing revenue to meet obligations already incurred, or any new commitments for relief. The other is to do what it can to encourage business. The obligations must be met. But that requires taxes and perhaps more taxes. That will retard business. The answer may lie in temporary borrowing to meet temporary emergency. The· danger there is extravagance.
It would seem perfectly clear that business will not be improved by spending tax money. Taxes are already too high. With all the national reductions, states and municipalities have raised taxes until the grand total is about $13,000,000,000.
Nothing would, so encourage business. as a reduction of this local and national burden. In 1921 it was particularly the drastic cut in Federal expenses and taxes that brought economic revival.
While relief must be provided, those who now advocate higher taxes may be meeting the Treasury requirements but are postponing prosperity. Those who seek to improve our economic position by spending more tax money are going in the wrong direction. Rigid governmental economy would finally solve both problems.
Citation: Calvin Coolidge Says: Dispatches Written by Former-President Coolidge and Syndicated to Newspapers in 1930-1931 (Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation)
The Coolidge Foundation gratefully acknowledges the volunteer efforts of Paige Gibbs who prepared this document for digital publication.