With major entitlement programs approaching bankruptcy, it has been projected that the federal government would have to borrow at least $9 trillion to pay for President Obama’s agenda. In solving these problems, policy makers should contemplate the approach taken by the Harding administration in response to severe economic downturn. In 1921, Harding came into office facing an economic depression with 11.7 percent unemployment. He and his Treasury Secretary, Andrew Mellon, responded by calling for an economic policy that consisted of reducing government spending, reforming and cutting taxes, and reducing the regulatory burden. By 1923 the Harding-Mellon economic plan had ushered in a roaring economy filled with expansion and a growth in entrepreneurship. President Calvin Coolidge and Mellon, after the death of Harding, continued to pursue the agenda of fiscal restraint and tax reform, which resulted in budget surpluses, reducing the national debt, and restoring employment.