Government Welfare Quotes

• The nine most terrifying words in the English language are "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help."

  Ronald Reagan

  Government, Nine, Helping

  United States. President (1981-1989 : Reagan), Ronald Reagan (1982). “Ronald Reagan”

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• We should measure welfare's success by how many people leave welfare, not by how many are added.

  Ronald Reagan

  Success, People, Political

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• How do you tell a communist? Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin.

  Ronald Reagan

  Business, Government, Political

  United States. President (1981-1989 : Reagan), Ronald Reagan (1982). “Ronald Reagan”

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• 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

  Freedom, Military, Moving

  Remarks to state chairs of National White House Conference on Small Business, 15 Aug. 1986

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• We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Government Debt, Historical, Liberty

  Thomas Jefferson (2011). “Jefferson on Freedom: Wisdom, Advice, and Hints on Freedom, Democracy, and the American Way”, p.26, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

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• Man is not free unless government is limited.

  Ronald Reagan

  Men, Liberty, Libertarian

  Farewell Address to the Nation, delivered 11 January 1989, Washington D.C.

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• And having looked to Government for bread, on the very first scarcity they will turn and bite the hand that fed them.

  Edmund Burke

  Hands, Scarcity, Bread

  'Thoughts and Details on Scarcity' (1800)

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• The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.

  Taylor Caldwell

  Freedom, Work, Rome

  61 Copy quote

• History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.

  Ronald Reagan

  Veterans Day, Money, Peace

  United States. President (1981-1989 : Reagan), Ronald Reagan (1984). “Ronald Reagan”

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• People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.

  Taylor Caldwell

  People, Libertarian, National Debt

  "A Pillar of Iron". Book by Taylor Caldwell, 1965.

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• Social Security is a government program with a constituency made up of the old, the near old and those who hope or fear to grow old. After 215 years of trying, we have finally discovered a special interest that includes 100 percent of the population. Now we can vote ourselves rich.

  P. J. O'Rourke

  Government, Years, Special

  P. J. O'Rourke (2007). “Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government”, p.220, Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

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• The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

  Ronald Reagan

  Funny, Business, Military

  "Biography / Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

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• The tragedy of government welfare programs is not just wasted taxpayer money but wasted lives. The effects of welfare in encouraging the break-up of low-income families have been extensively documented. The primary way that those with low incomes can advance in the market economy is to get married, stay married, and work—but welfare programs have created incentives to do the opposite.

  Michael Tanner

  Government, Opposites, Welfare Programs

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• Government welfare programs contribute to the disintegration of poor families. They make women and children dependent on government; dependent for food, for clothing, for shelter; and reward fatherless families with extra benefits and welfare perks.

  Hans F. Sennholz

  Children, Government, Welfare Programs

  11 Copy quote

• The rationale for the vast network of government welfare programs as well as regulation and control over private enterprise is based on the socialist analysis of the market economy.

  Richard Ebeling

  Government, Welfare Programs, Analysis

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• The vital consideration of incentives is almost systematically overlooked in the proposals of agitators for more and bigger government welfare schemes. We should all be concerned about the plight of the poor and unfortunate. But the hard two-part question that any plan for relieving poverty must answer is: How can we mitigate the penalties of failure and misfortune without undermining the incentives to effort and success.

  Henry Hazlitt

  Two, Effort, Plight

  Henry Hazlitt (1971). “Man Vs. the Welfare State”, p.211, Ludwig von Mises Institute

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• Instead of solving economic problems, government welfare socialism created monstrous moral and spiritual problems - the kind of problems that are inevitable when individuals turn responsibility for their lives over to others.

  Star Parker

  Spiritual, Responsibility, Government

  Star Parker (2015). “Blind Conceit: Politics, Policy and Racial Polarization: Moving Forward to Save America”, p.6, Sumner Books

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