magic money tree
Imaginary funding source
A magic money tree is a fictional source of unlimited funds, invoked sarcastically to dismiss spending proposals as unrealistic.
The phrase became prominent in British political discourse when used to argue against increased public spending: There is no magic money tree we can shake to pay for this.
It implies that money must come from somewhere—taxes, borrowing, or cuts elsewhere.
- wishful thinkingBelief shaped by desire
- fairy taleMagical children's narrative
- house of cardsStructure prone to collapse
- mythicalOf folklore, not fact
- pipe dreamUnrealistic aspiration
castle in the air · too good to be true · gold · smoke and mirrors · alchemy · enchanted · free lunch · blank check · printing press · fiscal policy · quantitative easing · deficit · unrealistic · coins · national budget · public debt · pie in the sky · inflation
magic money treefiscal responsibility
Prudent management of funds
balanced budget · austerity · fiscal discipline · finite resources · budget constraints
magic money treeausterity measures
Policies reducing government spending
fiscal conservatism · spending cuts · belt-tightening · monetarism · hard money
magic money treescarcity
Insufficiency of something needed
finite resources · budget constraint · trade-offs · opportunity cost · zero-sum
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