You're right that Hoover ran a deficit. There's a common misconception that he was all for austerity when he in fact increased spending with a variety of stimul

You're right that Hoover ran a deficit. There's a common misconception that he was all for austerity when he in fact increased spending with a variety of stimulus programs. However, his stimulus programs were tiny compared to the size of the hole. FDR's programs got progressively bigger over time, until he blinked in 1937, but were still quite small compared to what was required. When WWII came along is when things got serious. Here's a nice table: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/budget.php http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/budget.php That's the basic Keynesian view as I understand it. I find it credible, but the fact is that I don't actually know that much about economics. One thing that I am quite sure of, however, is that nearly no one else talking does either. Or if they do then they usually have got several axes to grind and are selective in their data, disingenuous in their arguments, or too emotional to be trusted. Wow, I'm getting pretty cynical about the whole thing.