Herbert Hoover Raised Spending Quite A Bit

See Krugman’s Forgotten History at Cafe Hayek by Donald J. Boudreaux. Excerpt:

"From 1924 to 1928 Uncle Sam’s real per-capita spending fell by 4.3 percent. But this spending rose significantly during Hoover’s term in the White House. From 1928 to 1929 real per-capita spending rose by 4.7 percent; from 1929-30 by 8.0 percent; from 1930-31 by 17.2 percent; and from 1931-32 by 15.8 percent. (This spending rose by another 28.4 percent from 1932-33.) The overall increase in real per-capita spending from 1928 to 1932 was a whopping 53.5 percent. Real per-capita spending excluding outlays for defense and interest on government debt increased during Hoover’s years in office even more dramatically, skyrocketing by 130 percent.*"

* Randall G. Holcombe, “The Growth of the Federal Government in the 1920s,” Cato Journal, Vol. 16, Fall 1996.