Churchill, Reagan, Twain, Voltaire, and More

They all have something to say about government. Heed their warnings.

I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. — Winston Churchill

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. — Winston Churchill

There is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress. — Mark Twain

If you don’t read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed. — Mark Twain

Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress…. But then I repeat myself. — Mark Twain

No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session. — Mark Twain

The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. — Mark Twain

Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. — Ronald Reagan

The government is like a baby’s alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other. — Ronald Reagan

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. — George Bernard Shaw

A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money. — G Gordon Liddy

Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. — James Bovard, Civil Libertarian

Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries. — Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. — P.J. O’Rourke

If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free! — P.J. O’Rourke

Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. — Frederic Bastiat, French Economist

I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts. — Will Rogers

In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. — Voltaire

Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you! — Pericles

Talk is cheap…except when Congress does it. — Unknown

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. — Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher

What this country needs are more unemployed politicians. — Edward Langley, Artist

A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have. — Thomas Jefferson