Starve-the-beast

Starve-the-beast is a strategy of encouraging public budget deficits in order to force the government to reduce its spending. (This is most commonly done by cutting taxes as under U.S. President George W. Bush.) Economic leftists argue that it relies on misleading the public and can potentially damage the economy due to normal effects of substantial fiscal deficits.

A current well-known proponent of starve-the-beast in the U.S. is Grover Norquist.

The term "starve-the-beast" is commonly used by mass media and economists in the U.S. although the concept behind this term is universal. It appears the earliest reference to "starving the beast" as a doctrine was made during the Reagan administration in the U.S. to describe its fiscal philosophy.