I am trying to find the original source for this quote ... this is the only source I have found, and it is talking about Free Trade & only uses the 'tax itself into prosperity' part as an analogy to support Free Trade. "Will the shutting out of foreign goods increase the total amount of wealth in this country? Can foreign nations grow rich at our expense by selling us goods under cost price? Can a people tax themselves into prosperity? Can a man stand in a bucket and lift himself up by the handle? " --Speech at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England (1904) "For Free Trade", as cited in Churchill by Himself (2008), Ed. Langworth, PublicAffairs, p. 387 ISBN 1586486381