The empirical evidence directly contradicts this claim. The "starve the beast" hypothesis — that tax cuts causally restrain government spending — has been tested and rejected by peer-reviewed NBER research, which finds no support and even suggests tax cuts may increase spending. Real-world data from the TCJA and subsequent legislation show tax cuts expanding deficits by trillions without commensurate spending reductions. Cases where spending cuts accompanied tax cuts reflect political negotiation, not a causal mechanism, and the cuts were dwarfed by tax-driven debt increases.

The claim that inflation in Western economies is primarily caused by excessive government spending is not supported by the evidence. The IMF, World Bank, and St. Louis Fed identify energy shocks, supply chain disruptions, monetary policy, and broad demand dynamics as the dominant inflation drivers. While U.S. fiscal stimulus contributed meaningfully to the 2022 inflation spike, this narrow finding cannot be generalized to all Western economies or all time periods. Government spending is a contributing factor in specific episodes, not the primary cause overall.