Hillary Clinton, first presidential debate, Transcript, Washington Post (September 26, 2016)

We've looked at your [Trump's] tax proposals. I don't see changes in the corporate tax rates or the kinds of proposals you're referring to that would cause the repatriation, bringing back of money that's stranded overseas. I happen to support that. I happen to support that in a way that will actually work to our benefit. But when I look at what you have proposed, you have what is called now the Trump loophole, because it would so advantage you and the business you do. ... Trumped-up trickle-down. Trickle-down did not work. It got us into the mess we were in, in 2008 and 2009. Slashing taxes on the wealthy hasn't worked. And a lot of really smart, wealthy people know that. And they are saying, hey, we need to do more to make the contributions we should be making to rebuild the middle class. I don't think top-down works in America. I think building the middle class, investing in the middle class, making college debt-free so more young people can get their education, helping people refinance their debt from college at a lower rate. Those are the kinds of things that will really boost the economy. Broad-based, inclusive growth is what we need in America, not more advantages for people at the very top.

— Hillary Clinton on Trickle-down economics

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "We've looked at your [Trump's] tax proposals. I don't see changes in the corporate tax rates or the kinds of proposals you're referring to that would cause the repatriation, bringing back of money that's stranded overseas. I happen to support that. I happen to support that in a way that will actually work to our benefit. But when I look at what you have proposed, you have what is called now the Trump loophole, because it would so advantage you and the business you do. ... Trumped-up trickle-down. Trickle-down did not work. It got us into the mess we were in, in 2008 and 2009. Slashing taxes on the wealthy hasn't worked. And a lot of really smart, wealthy people know that. And they are saying, hey, we need to do more to make the contributions we should be making to rebuild the middle class. I don't think top-down works in America. I think building the middle class, investing in the middle class, making college debt-free so more young people can get their education, helping people refinance their debt from college at a lower rate. Those are the kinds of things that will really boost the economy. Broad-based, inclusive growth is what we need in America, not more advantages for people at the very top." in the context of "Hillary Clinton, first presidential debate, Transcript, Washington Post (September 26, 2016)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Trickle-down economics" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 05, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Hillary Clinton

About Hillary Clinton

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (born 26 October 1947) is a former United States secretary of state, U.S. senator, and First Lady of the United States. From 2009 to 2013, she was the 67th secretary of state, serving under President Barack Obama. She previously represented New York state in the Senate (2001 to 2009). Before that, as the wife of President Bill Clinton, she was First Lady from 1993 to 2001. In the 2008 election, Clinton was a leading candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. In 2016, she became the first female candidate to be nominated for president by a major U.S. political party. Clinton lost the presidential election to Donald Trump on November 8, 2016.