Cox Richardson Mentions that Hoover's Tax Decrease Was Ineffective But Does Not Mention His Larger and Equally Ineffective Tax Increase

 What Heather Cox Richardson said about President Hoover: ( https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-28-2021 )

President Hoover knew little about finances, let alone how to fix an economic crisis of global proportions. He tried to reverse the economic slide by cutting taxes and reassuring Americans that “the fundamental business of the country, that is, production and distribution of commodities, is on a sound and prosperous basis.” But taxes were already so low that most folks would see only a few extra dollars a year from the cuts, and the fundamental business of the country was not, in fact, sound.

What in fact did Hoover do? The opposite. Here are some excerpts from  economist Steve Horwitz in “Hoover’s Economic Policies,” in David R. Henderson, ed.  The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics.

First, on taxes on imports, aka, tariffs:

Even those with only a casual knowledge of the Great Depression will be familiar with one of Hoover’s major policy mistakes—his promotion and signing of the Smoot-Hawley tariff in 1930. This law increased tariffs significantly on a wide variety of imported goods, creating the highest tariff rates in U.S. history. While economist Douglas Irwin has found that Smoot-Hawley’s effects were not as large as often thought, they still helped cause a decline in international trade, a decline that contributed to the worsening worldwide depression.

Hoover initially requested a tax cut but then proceeded to a tax increase.  

President Herbert Hoover asked Congress for a $160 million tax cut in October 1929. He believed that lower taxes would help businesses and the economy. However, the tax cut had little effect on the economy. 

Explanation

• Hoover asked for the tax cut to help prevent panic after the stock market crash of 1929. 
• He also asked Congress to double spending on public works projects to create jobs. 

Results:  

• Congress passed Hoover's tax cut in 1929, but it had little effect on the economy. 
• In December 1930, Hoover reversed the tax cut. 
• In 1932, Congress passed the Revenue Act, which increased taxes for everyone. 

On top of these spending proposals, most of which were approved in one form or another, Hoover proposed, and Congress approved, the largest peacetime tax increase in U.S. history. The Revenue Act of 1932 increased personal income taxes dramatically, but also brought back a variety of excise taxes that had been used during World War I. The higher income taxes involved an increase of the standard rate from a range of 1.5 to 5% to a range of 4 to 8%. On top of that increase, the Act placed a large surtax on higher-income earners, leading to a total tax rate of anywhere from 25 to 63%. The Act also raised the corporate income tax along with several taxes on other forms of income and wealth.