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Indeed. Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trickle-down_economics) say he used it in 1932, and says the idea is even older (“leak through” in 1896; “If you feed the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows.” in the 1890s)

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“If you feed the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows.”

Boy, an accurate assessment of supply-side economics if there ever was one: "let the plebs pick through our shit to see if we left any excess for them".

> If you feed the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows

Funny enough in that analogy: you're feeding the horse because you care about its well-being and it's doing something helpful in return, whereas the sparrows are actually a nuisance providing no value to anybody and just taking without giving anything in return.

It's a good analogy. The rich don't care about the sparrows.

As Mao Zedong learned late in his life, sparrows do actually provide value.

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