Well, not exactly. But in his column from today, which Jim posted earlier, Krugman makes the case for massive government spending, arguing that balancing the budget during an economic downturn would lead to dire consequences.
But the two instances he gives from history have another thing in common (emphasis mine):
The first took place in 1937, when Franklin Roosevelt mistakenly heeded the advice of his own era’s deficit worriers. He sharply reduced government spending, among other things cutting the Works Progress Administration in half, and also raised taxes. The result was a severe recession, and a steep fall in private investment.
The second episode took place 60 years later, in Japan. In 1996-97 the Japanese government tried to balance its budget, cutting spending and raising taxes. And again the recession that followed led to a steep fall in private investment.
