Something Seems Very Wrong Here: Economic History of the Great Depression Department
A correspondent emails:
Just watched this animation about Sylvia Nasar's new book... but is the following really true??
1931: President Herbert Hoover responds to the Great Depression with tax cuts, easier money, and public works spending…
It seems extremely off…
Herbert Hoover's Budget Message for Fiscal Year 1932 (July 1, 1931-June 30, 19320:
This is not a time when we can afford to embark upon any new or enlarged ventures of Government. It will tax our every resource to expand in directions providing employment during the next few months upon already authorized projects. I realize that, naturally, there will be before the Congress this session many legislative matters involving additions to our estimated expenditures for 1932, and the plea of unemployment will be advanced as reasons for many new ventures, but no reasonable view of the outlook warrants such pleas as apply to expenditures in the 1932 Budget. I have full faith that in acting upon these matters the Congress will give due consideration to our financial outlook. I am satisfied that in the absence of further legislation imposing any considerable burden upon our 1932 finances we can close that year with a balanced Budget. When we stop to consider that we are progressively amortizing our public debt, and that a balanced Budget is being presented for 1932, even after drastic writing down of expected revenue, I believe it will be agreed that our Government finances are in a sound condition...
Herbert Hoover's Budget Message for Fiscal Year 1931 (July 1, 1930-June 30, 1931):
[E]stimates of appropriations payable from the Treasury in this Budget is $145,696,000 less than the appropriations for 1930. The estimates in the Budget, however, contain no amount for the revolving loan fund for the Federal Farm Board, for which $150,000,000 is included in the appropriations for 1930.... Eliminating this item from the 1930 total the estimates of appropriations in the Budget for 1931 exceed the appropriations for 1930 by $4,304,000.... Through nonrecurring items and justified reductions in other items funds have been found to make increases in certain of our activities without enlarging to any appreciable extent the total of the estimates for 1931 over the appropriations for 1930...
