A wise government knows how to enforce with temper, or to conciliate with dignity, but a weak one is odious read more

A wise government knows how to enforce with temper, or to conciliate with dignity, but a weak one is odious in the former, and contemptible in the latter.

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.

The primary function of the government is - and here I am quoting directly from the U.S. Constitution - "to read more

The primary function of the government is - and here I am quoting directly from the U.S. Constitution - "to spew out paper."

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.

Talk is cheap - except when Congress does it.

Talk is cheap - except when Congress does it.

Christmas is the time when kids tell Santa what they want and adults pay for it. Deficits are when adults read more

Christmas is the time when kids tell Santa what they want and adults pay for it. Deficits are when adults tell government what they want and their kids pay for it.

For in reason, all government without the consent of the governed is the very definition of slavery.

For in reason, all government without the consent of the governed is the very definition of slavery.

Franklin Roosevelt stands like a sharply formed rock in a shapeless sea.
spoken on Book TV by a Jackson biographer.

Franklin Roosevelt stands like a sharply formed rock in a shapeless sea.
spoken on Book TV by a Jackson biographer.

Only a government that is rich and safe can afford to be a democracy, for democracy is the most expensive read more

Only a government that is rich and safe can afford to be a democracy, for democracy is the most expensive and nefarious kind of government ever heard of on earth.