Though he greatly favored tax cuts, Coolidge refused to put them above budget reduction. He insisted on marrying the two goals. To empahsize this, the twin lion cubs presented to Coolidge by the mayor of Johannesburg were named "Budget Bureau" and "Tax Reduction."
Coolidge didn't champpion tax cuts as a means to increase revenue or to buy off Democrats. He championed them because they took government, which he saw as the people's servant, out of the way of the people. (Such a contrast to today's thinking.) This sense of government as a servant to the people extended to his own office.
His views made Coolidge few friends in Washington, a fact underscored by notes kept by White House usher Ike Hoover. These notes record the excuses given by lawmakers for not attending breakfasts hosted by Coolidge at the White House.
"Senator Heflin: Regrets, sick. Senator Norris: Unable to Locate. Senator PIttman: Regrets, sick." And so on. It was a slap in the face to the President.
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