George W. Bush: Trickle-Down TheoryIn the run-up to the 2004 presidential election, George W. Bush was harshly criticized for cutting taxes (particularly marginal tax rates and capital gains and inheritance taxes) for the rich, effectively shifting more of the nation's tax burden to the middle and lower classes. Such cuts, the administration promised, would "trickle down" and generate economic growth (because wealthy individuals are more likely to invest, rather than spend, their money).
In January 2004, Bush gave NBC's David Gregory an elementary lesson in Bushonomics at a restaurant in New Mexico: "You get paid a lot of money," he said. "You ought to be buying some food here. It's part of how the economy grows. You've got plenty of money in your pocket, and when you spend it, it drives the economy forward. So what would you like to eat?"
The name of the restaurant? Ironically enough, the "Nuthin' Fancy Café."
["We got the down," Democratic gadfly Al Sharpton later remarked of the so-called trickle-down theory. "We never did get the trickle."]
Bush, George Walker [George Bush, Jr] [Dubya] (1946- ) American politician, Texas governor (1995-2000), 43rd President of the United States (2001- )
[Sources: The Economist]More George Bush anecdotesRelated Anecdote Keywords:
Economics Dummies Restaurants Taxes
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