Starve the Squander Bug. Buy War Bonds
Green and black bond poster: a hairy, fanged, rodent-like creature with insect feelers sits on a green globe, clutching dollar bills with a bulging money bag at its feet, under the arched headline 'Starve the Squander Bug'. Name-calling by creature imagery gives personal spending a monster's face; 'Buy War Bonds' is the remedy.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1941
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- U.S. government war bond campaign (issuer not printed; U.S. Government Printing Office imprint only)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Fundraise
- Themes
- Economy and finance, Home front
- Event
- World War II
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
U.S. Government Printing Office imprint; issuer not printed. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1801B (NAID 515480).
Text on the object
STARVE THE SQUANDER BUG BUY WAR BONDS [imprint: U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 16—35253-1]
