Andrew Mellon

Federal Reserve Warns Against Speculation But Takes No Effective Action

| Importance: 8/10

The Federal Reserve Board issues a public warning that banks should not make loans for stock market speculation, expressing concern about the use of Federal Reserve credit to finance the securities boom. The announcement signals regulatory awareness that margin lending and speculative excess pose …

Federal Reserve Board Benjamin Strong Charles Mitchell Andrew Mellon National City Bank regulatory-failure financial-speculation banking institutional-capture
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Revenue Act of 1926 Slashes Top Tax Rate to 25%, Abolishes Gift Tax in Full Mellon Plan

| Importance: 9/10

President Calvin Coolidge signs the Revenue Act of 1926, the crowning achievement of Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon’s multi-year campaign to restructure federal taxation in favor of the wealthy. The act slashes the top marginal income tax rate from 46 percent to 25 percent on incomes over …

Andrew Mellon Calvin Coolidge U.S. Congress Republican Party tax-policy wealth-concentration institutional-capture mellon-plan
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Revenue Act of 1924 Continues Mellon Tax Cuts for Wealthy, Lowers Top Rate to 46%

| Importance: 8/10

President Calvin Coolidge signs the Revenue Act of 1924, the second installment of Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon’s systematic campaign to slash taxes on the wealthy. The act reduces the maximum income tax rate from 58 percent to 46 percent on incomes over $500,000 (raised from the previous …

Andrew Mellon Calvin Coolidge U.S. Congress Republican Party tax-policy wealth-concentration institutional-capture mellon-plan
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Revenue Act of 1921 Begins Mellon Tax Cuts for Wealthy

| Importance: 8/10

Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon secured passage of the first Republican tax reduction following the 1920 landslide, dropping the top marginal rate from 73 to 58 percent while introducing preferential treatment for capital gains at 12.5 percent. The act repealed the excess profits tax imposed during …

Andrew Mellon Warren G. Harding Republican Party tax-policy wealth-concentration institutional-capture systematic-corruption
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Farm Crisis Begins as Agricultural Prices Collapse While Debt Remains

| Importance: 8/10

American agriculture enters a decade-long depression beginning in summer 1920 as commodity prices collapse following the end of wartime demand. Wheat prices fall from $2.50 per bushel to under $1.00; cotton drops from 35 cents per pound to 13 cents; corn collapses from $1.50 to 42 cents. Meanwhile, …

Andrew Mellon Federal Reserve Farm Bureau U.S. Congress economic-crisis regulatory-failure rural-america banking agricultural-policy
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