The single most exciting thing you encounter in government is competence, because it's so rare.

The single most exciting thing you encounter in government is competence, because it's so rare.

The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, read more

The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.

That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves.

That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves.

Here is my first principle of foreign policy: good government at home.

Here is my first principle of foreign policy: good government at home.

Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. read more

Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.

That government is best which governs least, because its people discipline themselves.

That government is best which governs least, because its people discipline themselves.

"The liberties of our country, the freedoms of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards; it is our read more

"The liberties of our country, the freedoms of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards; it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors. They purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood. It will bring a mark of everlasting infamy on the present generation – enlightened as it is – if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of designing men." -Samuel Adams

Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If read more

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, subsidise it

A government is not an old pair of socks that you throw away.

A government is not an old pair of socks that you throw away.