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Health & Fitness

The American dream is dead? Many people say that the country is in a state of economic and cultural decline and that we are in an era of unenlightened self government. What would Calvin Coolidge do?

The American dream is dead? Many people say that the country is in a state of economic and cultural decline and that we are in an era of unenlightened self government.

To those who are out of work, I say: lose faith in Obama, not in God or the country.

Calvin Coolidge once said: "Review the past not in order to return to it but that you may find in what direction, straight and clear, it points to the future.”

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From President Coolidge's first annual message of December 6, 1923:

"...the people have borne with uncomplaining courage the tremendous burden of national and local taxation. These must both be reduced. The taxes of the Nation must be reduced now as much as prudence will permit, and expenditures must be reduced accordingly. High taxes reach everywhere and burden everybody. They gear most heavily upon the poor. They diminish industry and commerce. They make agriculture unprofitable. They increase the rates on transportation. They are a charge on every necessary of life. Of all services which the Congress can render to the country, I have no hesitation in declaring to neglect it, to postpone it, to obstruct it by unsound proposals, is to become unworthy of public confidence and untrue to public trust."

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With the assault by the highly socialistic Obama administration on our economy and national identity, what America needs is a return to Normalcy- a return to simpler times and a period of less economic uncertainty and much less government intrusion. President Coolidge once noted: "Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of my administration has been minding its own business."

Central planning and top down legislation by the so called "Progressives"  has hurt our industrial capacity and the checks and balances within our constitutional republic. As a result, the free enterprise system's ability to provide jobs has been greatly diminished. Repealing Obamacare would help very much to correct this condition. Uncertainty surrounding the mandates and requirements of Obamacare have caused businesses to hold back on hiring or to provide part-time rather than full-time jobs. The repeal of Sarbanes-Oxley and a drastic reworking or pairing down of the Dodd-Frank law are also in order. All other federal regulations should be reviewed by an independent bi-partisan commission and all unnecessary and overly burdensome regulations should be rescinded. It is my estimation that this would result in the repeal of about 15% of all regulations.

Washington needs to do much less and government must be made to be less of a threat. President Obama needs to faithfully execute the laws and should stop using executive orders to frustrate the will of the Congress. He should also immediately approve the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. As Coolidge once said: "It is more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones."

Calvin Coolidge on illegal immigration- From Coolidge's third annual message of December 8, 1925:

"While our country numbers among its best citizens many of those of foreign birth, yet those who now enter in violation of our laws by that very act thereby place themselves in a class of undesirables. Investigation reveals that any considerable number are coming here in defiance of our immigration restrictions, it will undoubtedly create the necessity for the registration of all aliens. We ought to have no prejudice against an alien because he is an alien. The standard which we apply to our inhabitants is that of manhood, not place of birth. Restrictive immigration is to a large degree for economic purposes. It is applied in order that we may not have a larger annual increment of good people within our borders than we can weave into our economic fabric in such a way as to supply their needs without undue injury to ourselves."

More on immigration- From Coolidge's first annual message of December 6, 1923:

"American institutions rest solely on good citizenship. They were created by people who had a background of self-government. New arrivals should be limited to our capacity to absorb them into the ranks of good citizenship. America must be kept American. For this  purpose, it is necessary to continue a policy of restricted immigration. It would be well to make such immigration of a selective nature with some inspection at the source, and based either on a prior census or upon the record of naturalization. Either method would insure the admission of those with the largest capacity and best intention of becoming citizens. I am convinced that our present economic and social conditions warrant a limitation of those to be admitted. We should find additional safety in a law requiring the immediate registration of all aliens. Those' who do not want to be partakers of the American spirit ought not to settle in America."

"Our country has one cardinal principle to maintain in its foreign policy. It is an American principle. It must be an American policy. We attend to our own affairs, conserve our own strength, and protect the interests of our own citizens; but we recognize thoroughly our obligation to help others, reserving to the decision of our own Judgment the time, the place, and the method. We realize the common bond of humanity. We know the inescapable law of service."

In stark contrast to the state of affairs in which our nation currently finds itself, the economy under President Coolidge was ROARING: per capita income was UP 30% and the unemployment rate was DOWN to 3.2%. He did this by reducing government expenditures by 35% and bringing tax rates DOWN by 20%.

What would Calvin Coolidge do?

I'm sure he would recommend that Obama drastically cut tax rates and government expenditures and greatly improve economy in government which among other things would entail ending free healthcare, education and welfare to non citizens. Coolidge would stop giving free cell phones and cell phone service to those on welfare. I would bet that Coolidge would also endorse eliminating the Federal Departments of Education, Energy, and Commerce and would support returning those functions to the states where they belong. I'm sure he would also support drastically reducing farm subsidies and the Department of Welfare. This would bring the budget more into balance which would affect interest rates and the financial markets in a positive way. Control over the budget would also help to make sure that that in the future, the interest costs on the national debt do not crowd out needed programs such as Social Security and Medicare to which their contributors are entitled.

On illegal immigration, I'm sure that at the very least Coolidge would make sure that our borders are secure and that illegal aliens- those who have broken our laws are put at the rear of the line in the immigration process. I'm also sure that President Coolidge would do his best to foster a new found respect of the American citizen and of the American taxpayer by  the executive and legislative branches, and by the nations governors.  Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has been deficient in that regard.

Times were much better economically for our country during the Coolidge administration of the1920s, so President Coolidge was able to write the following closing paragraph in his sixth and final annual message of December 4, 1928:

"The end of government is to keep open the opportunity for a more abundant life. Peace and prosperity are not finalities, they are only methods. It is too easy under their influence for a nation to become selfish and degenerate. This test has come to the United States. Our country has been provided with the resources with which it can enlarge its intellectual, moral and spiritual life. The issue is in the hands of the people. Our faith in man and God is the justification for the belief in our continuing success."

If Obama adopts Coolidge's thinking, then maybe he will be able to close his final State of the Union speech with a similar expression of achievement.


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