Amity Shlaes, Author, "Coolidge"

Our guest is Bloomberg syndicated columnist and author Amity Shlaes. She discusses her soon to be released biography of the 30th President of the United States, titled "Coolidge." She traces the life of Calvin Coolidge from his early days in Plymouth Notch, Vermont through his presidency and ultimate return to New England where he died at the age of 60.

[@HaukurIceland]

I love her talk. Alsoo on Uncommon Knowledge. Coolidge was að great man. "It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones." is the best prinsipal that a president sould have.

[@leejacobus5305]

Haukur Hauksson plus, he quit, saying, “ I hav done what I needed to fo,”

[@danieljones-tg9oe]

I could listen to Amity for days.

[@PatriotsFan01752]

Unlike some presidents of contemporary times, President Coolidge always talked to the people as a father would talk to his son or daughter. He always told them the truth and never let them down. He told the people what they needed to know in order to improve their minds as well as their souls.

[@crosenblum]

We need a new Coolidge!

[@thomasbuchanan7451]

Coolidge cut taxes, lowered the debt, balanced the budget, and kept us at peace...not bad.

[@danb2622]

The history of the 1920s speaks for itself, and for Coolidge's policies of reducing both taxation rates and spending by government entities. Tighten the belt and let the people be free. That works for me. Coolidge was the best president of the 20th century. His presidency enjoyed a 4.3% misery index score, less than half of any other president since him. As for Amity Shlaes, keep an eye on her - she's got some gusto that we need to see a lot more of. Thank you, Amity!!!

[@Rpzinna]

Dan B Yes and the economy went bust. Maybe we should keep wages low, and collective bargaining down, so our labor market is entirely cheap. Let's keep technology out, keep wages low, and unions down, and you will never advance the nation. are we in agreement? We will not adapt to the successes of Australia, Latin America, and Europe. If Europe wants to pay high wages and unions fine! but we will not do that.

[@Ctajm]

@@Rpzinna What I don't recall Amity mentioning in her book "The Forgotten Man" was the fact that between 1925 and 1929, while the economy was stable, the Federal Reserve increased the money supply by 62% with low rates and easy credit, which caused speculation in real estate and stocks. Then, in 1929, the Fed tightened credit, raised rates, and caused the Crash of 1929 and blamed it on a failure of capitalism.

[@vilniusonvideo]

The book is out now, a great read about a great man. Her talk at the Heritage Foundation is also online.

[@tedbaxter5234]

Wonderful Interview!

[@markfrank0924]

Very good interview.

[@kevinw9073]

Great book on a very good president. No flare and no nonsense.

[@sranney1]

I Luv this Gal!!

[@gsilcoful]

Thank you.

[@timorourke7868]

My favorite POTUS!

[@kevinbrown4073]

Greatest president of the 20th century imho

[@lordmaster5363]

Loved the book

[@vfiore0]

Shlaes finally found the right haircut. No, seriously. And her books are good, too.

[@dariowiter3078]

Yes, indeed. 😁

[@markfrank0924]

I am surprised in reading some of the comments that people cannot stay on subject, commenting about something totally unrelated makes no sense. This is about Coolidge not about all those other characters that are mentioned, keep comments about Coolidge. You people that want to discuss Bush and Reagan save it for another discussion.

[@kingkat8080]

Happy Presidents Day!

[@elvispresley718]

Fantastic author of "The FOrgotten Man"

[@terryg8516]

Elvis!! You're alive!!

[@sranney1]

I think your right.

[@kirkbowyer3249]

"THOUGH THE PEOPLE SUPPORT THE GOVERNMENT, THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT SUPPORT THE PEOPLE." PRESIDENT GROVER CLEVELAND (DEMOCRAT) 1887

[@synon9m]

just found her wow she's awesome

[@KittredgeRitter]

None of it can be blamed on him. The fractional reserve banking system is to blame.

[@dariowiter3078]

Plus, aggressive over-speculation by the stock market(s) which lead to a gargantuan fall of stock prices, and, an over-productive economy that expanded far too much than it should have.

[@ShakaCthulu]

@@dariowiter3078 which Coolidge’s laissez-faire approach permitted. He slept 14 hours a day while 5,000 banks in the Midwest & South went bust.

[@austinhenning4935]

Best president in American history

[@josky852]

Certainly one of the best. Best of the 20th Century in my opinion, and the man who most comprehensively embodied the ideal a President whose top priorities were freedom and prosperity. It helps that he didn’t have to deal with any major wars during his tenure, but in a way that only adds to his prestige. After all, most men can endure adversity but it takes real character to behave with integrity when times are good and you have ample temptation not to.

[@remember_annie]

No pbs docs on Coolidge.

[@JayCity10]

That's because PBS is a liberal organization. They worship Clinton, Obama, FDR and Wilson, four of the most overrated presidents in history. Coolidge was better than all four.

[@JeffSkilling69]

Replace clinton with jfk and i would agree 100%.

[@brincam124]

She is cute and very intelligent

[@thefakejarvis6181]

Coolidge bore no responsibility for the depression because he felt it wasn't the government's job to intervene. It makes perfect sense, just like when your neighborhood fire department bears no responsibility for when the church burns down because they don't believe in fires.

[@kirkbowyer3249]

SAINT JOHN 14:6 JESUS SAITH TO HIM: I AM THE WAY, AND THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. NO MAN COMETH TO FATHER , BUT BY ME.

[@jesuisravi]

he sent Lindbergh "to cheer up the Mexicans" ? ? ?

[@paulietteburnett7270]

Taft queen katerra Neferterra. Terry Terri Scandalous

[@damolaaderinwale833]

ron paul didnt win so coolidge wouldnt win

[@TeaParty1776]

Keep cool with Miles Davis.

[@crowbird213]

There is a new Ayn Rand.

[@viktorwolfe8333]

There's just something about skinny, geeky girls. Imagine her on top, explaining why the 1920s were so prosperous under Coolidge. Yeeeeaahhh!!

[@johnsteinman5496]

Trump is about BUSINESS just like Coolidge

[@zoperxplex]

I suspect this tome is bound to fall in the dust bin of historiography. How anyone could find inspiration out of a mentality of the caliber of Calvin Coolidge is a sign of a mediocre intellect. We must never fail to forget that only seven months following his departure the nation was struck by the most catastrophic economic collapse in its history. This was directly tied into his incessant drive to reduce the ambit of government regulation in society and its concomitant financial burden. Coolidge's only acumen was to know when it was time to leave.

[@LePrince1890]

He was not of a mediocre intellect as you say. He actually translated Dante's Divine Comedy in college. In 1929 nobody (except Keynes) had any idea of how to handle a depression.

[@donald_the_savage1234]

zoperxplex It was bad monetary policy and protectionist trade policies that turned the recession into a depression.

[@dariowiter3078]

Boy, you really are thick in between your ears, huh? 😒

[@Darthdesmond]

Put down the thesaurus and pick up another book. Increasing your vocabulary to absurd levels does not bolster your intellect. =]

[@garrylafferty100]

Coolidge was a failure as president. Coolidge pat help on the back screw them same time. Sounds like Regan. Regan ate lunch with UAW then turned on them. He tricked me first term but not second. Senator Bond road his coat tail that year. I shook that guys hand. Worst 2 votes I every made.

[@garrylafferty100]

***** Tax cut don't pay the bills especially in time of war like that idiot Bush.