Calvin Coolidge Comments: "the real reform which society in these days is seeking will come as a result of our religious convictions, or they will not come at all."

‎"There is no way by which we can substitute the authority of law for the virtue of man. Of course we endeavor to restrain the vicious, and furnish a fair degree of security and protection by legislation and police control, but the real reform which society in these days is seeking will come as a result of our religious convictions, or they will not come at all. Peace, justice, humanity, charity—these cannot be legislated into being. They are the result of divine grace." -- Calvin Coolidge

 

Calvin Coolidge Comments on the Negative Effects of Taxes on the Economy

"Another and most important consideration, a fact that cannot be controverted, is that taxes have to be paid by the public. They cannot be imposed on any class. There is no power that can prevent a distribution of the burden. The landlord may be the one who sends a check to the public treasury, but his tenants nevertheless make the payment. A great manufacturer may contribute a large share to his income, but still the money comes from the consumer. Taxes must and do fall on the people in whatever form or name they are laid. There is no other source rich enough or powerful enough to meet the public requirements. It is useless to delude ourselves, and fraudulent to attempt to delude others, with the claim that the public revenues are or can be derived from any source save the people them selves. Property cannot long be taxed. It can be confiscated. Ultimately it is always the user of property that is taxed. In Massachusetts the users of the property are the people. The taxes are paid by the people.

It is impossible to escape the conclusion that high taxes make high prices. So long as the cost of government is high the cost of living will be high. This is usually a source of misunderstanding and always a source of discontent. The duty that government now owes to the people is to reduce their burdens by paying off the obligations that came from the war rather than imposing additional burdens for the support of new projects. The Commonwealth needs a double portion of the civilizing influence of conservation and economy. Having met our war obligation to pay, let us meet our peace obligation to save.

The unsound social and economic theories which deluge the earth from time to time are not the progeny of stalwart men and women. Sound bodies do not breed unsound doctrines. Along with a vigorous training for physical development should go a teaching to think healthful thoughts. For after all it must be remembered that "as a man thinketh in his heart so is he."

By His Excellency, Governor Calvin Coolidge- from his Address to the Massachusetts General Court- January 8, 1920

Calvin Coolidge Comments: "The best that is in man is not bought with a price."

"We need to change our standards; not of property but of thought. We need to stop trying to be better than some one else, and start doing something for some one else. If we put all the emphasis on our material prosperity, that prosperity will perish, and with it will perish our civilization. The best that is in man is not bought with a price. To offer money only is to appeal to his weakness not his strength. Man is more than of the earth. He will not find his satisfaction in things that are of the earth earthy. Employer and employed must find their satisfaction not in a money return, but in a service rendered; not in the quantity of goods, but the quality of character. Industry must be humanized not destroyed. It must be the instrument not of selfishness but of service. Change not the law but the attitude of the mind. Let our citizens look not to false prophets but to the Pilgrims; let them fix their eyes on Plymouth Rock as well as Beacon Hill. The supreme choice must be not the things that are seen but the things that are unseen." 

By His Excellency Governor Calvin Coolidge- from his Address to the Massachusetts General Court- January 8, 1920

Calvin Coolidge Comments: "The taxes of the Nation must be reduced now as much as prudence will permit, and expenditures must be reduced accordingly."

"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."
President Calvin Coolidge- first annual message- December 6, 1923

Christmas is not a time or season, but a state of mind.

"To the American People: Christmas is not a time nor a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. If we think on these things, there will be born in us a Savior and over us will shine a star sending its gleam of hope to the world." 

~ Calvin Coolidge -  Presidential message (December 25, 1927).