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1932 › Herbert Hoover (Republican) › Balancing the federal budget
A balanced budget as 'the foundation of all public and private financial stability'
defense_of_recordspecific_pledgecandidate_directevidence A Federal Budget & SpendingEconomy & Fiscal Policy⚡ The Great Depression similar solutions · similar reasoning
Solution
Balance the budget by drastic expenditure cuts plus the Revenue Act of 1932's new taxes; revise those temporary taxes if they 'sap the vitality of industry'; hold the credit of the federal government 'impregnable.'
Rationale
Federal revenue fell by nearly half; 'no country can squander itself to prosperity on the ruins of its taxpayers'; the Treasury's ability to sell $500 million of notes at 3 percent proves the policy works.
Statements (3)
I have insisted upon a balanced budget as the foundation of all public and private financial stability and of all public confidence. I shall insist on the maintenance of that policy. Recent increases in revenues, while temporary, should be again examined, and if they tend to sap the vitality of industry, and thus retard employment, they should be revised.
We determined we would stand up like men and render the credit of the United States Government impregnable through the drastic reduction of Government expenditures and increased revenues until we balanced that budget.
If there is a deficit this year, it will be due to the Democratic Members of Congress.
Follow-through
not_applicable
Hoover lost the election; the pledge could not be tested in office. Roosevelt's Economy Act pursued the same retrenchment for ordinary expenses while relief spending produced far larger deficits.
Other positions on this issue
- Balance the federal budget annually within revenues — Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932 specific_pledge
- Balance the budget by cutting expenditures, not by raising taxes — Alf Landon, 1936 specific_pledge
- A budget balanced immediately and a currency based on and convertible into gold — Frank Knox, 1936 specific_pledge
- Balance the budget within a year or two out of rising national income, without new taxes — Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936 specific_pledge
1932-hoover-balanced-budget · created by claude-fable-5-1 · review: unreviewed