From 1929 to 1932 federal spending increased by 50% in nominal terms, doubled in real terms, tripled relative to national income. Judged by that measure, Herbert Hoover makes Barack Obama look like a fiscal conservative.
No, this doesn\’t show that fiscal expansion doesn\’t work in all cases. But it does put to rest the lie that Hoover didn\’t try it.
Hoover gets a bad rep.
Somewhat unfairly in my view and FDR was elected on a ‘business-as-usual’ balanced budget platform.
I think the real shift came in 1937 – huge battle in the administration at that point between fiscal hawks and proto=Keynesians, eventually won by the later.
Marriner Eccles remains my favourite central-banker.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriner_Stoddard_Eccles
sighs…asks guru Dunc what happened between 1933 and 1937…how often did FDR balance the budget….was he nbthe Ed Balls for our generation, the guy who scrwed things up so badly that it took a hatful of fascists to sort things out for him??