Governments never learn.
—Milton Friedman, 1980
There ’s no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for
you.
—Will Rogers
38
***
Government expands to absorb revenue - and then some.
39
—Tom Wicker, 1964
It is easy to be generous with another man’s purse.
—European proverb
The first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough of anything to fully satisfy
all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of
economics.
—Thomas Sowell, 1993
Nothing is easier than spending public money. It does not appear to belong to anybody. The
temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody.
—Calvin Coolidge, 1927
The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but
swindling futurity on a large scale.
—Thomas Jefferson, 1816
There is no such thing as a free lunch.
—Anonymous
40
The state […] can give nothing which it does not take from somebody.
—William Graham Sumner, 1883
The art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one class of the
citizens to give to the other.
—Voltaire, 1764
A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
—George Bernard Shaw, 1944
41
One man’s wage rise is another man’s price increase.
—Harold Wilson, 1997
38
As quoted, without a date, in several collections, starting not later than 1977.
39
The so-called Wicker’s Law—a natural extension of Parkinson’s Law.
40
Frequently misattributed to either Milton Freedman or Robert Heinlein; seems to first appear in
press, in an unsigned newspaper piece, in 1938.
41
Apparently rooted in a European proverb, “To strip Peter to clothe Paul”.
On Government and Politics
177
—Milton Friedman, 1980
There ’s no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for
you.
—Will Rogers
38
***
Government expands to absorb revenue - and then some.
39
—Tom Wicker, 1964
It is easy to be generous with another man’s purse.
—European proverb
The first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough of anything to fully satisfy
all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of
economics.
—Thomas Sowell, 1993
Nothing is easier than spending public money. It does not appear to belong to anybody. The
temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody.
—Calvin Coolidge, 1927
The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but
swindling futurity on a large scale.
—Thomas Jefferson, 1816
There is no such thing as a free lunch.
—Anonymous
40
The state […] can give nothing which it does not take from somebody.
—William Graham Sumner, 1883
The art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one class of the
citizens to give to the other.
—Voltaire, 1764
A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
—George Bernard Shaw, 1944
41
One man’s wage rise is another man’s price increase.
—Harold Wilson, 1997
38
As quoted, without a date, in several collections, starting not later than 1977.
39
The so-called Wicker’s Law—a natural extension of Parkinson’s Law.
40
Frequently misattributed to either Milton Freedman or Robert Heinlein; seems to first appear in
press, in an unsigned newspaper piece, in 1938.
41
Apparently rooted in a European proverb, “To strip Peter to clothe Paul”.
On Government and Politics
177