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

A government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth. ~ Ronald Reagan

A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. ~ Edward R. Murrow

The trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money. ~ Margaret Thatcher

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. ~ Winston Chruchill

If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law. ~ Winston Chruchill

Government has no resources of its own. Government can only give to us what it has previously taken from us. ~ Florida Gov. Rick Scott

A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned -- this is the sum of good government. ~ Thomas Jefferson

Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms [of government] those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny. ~ Thomas Jefferson

Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have .... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases. ~ Thomas Jefferson

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. ~ George Washington

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. ~ Ronald Reagan

I don't make jokes, I just watch the government and report the facts. ~ Will Rogers

It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong. ~ Thomas Sowell

Liberty has never come from government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of government. The history of liberty is the history of resistance. ~ Woodrow Wilson

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

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. ~ Plato

There's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you. ~ Will Rogers

Somehow liberals have been unable to acquire from life what conservatives seem to be endowed with at birth: namely, a healthy skepticism of the powers of government agencies to do good. ~ Daniel P. Moynihan

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

That government is best which governs least. ~ Thomas Paine

That's the difference between governments and individuals. Governments don't care, individuals do. ~ Mark Twain

The best minds in government? If any were, business would hire them away. ~ Ronald Reagan

The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests. ~ Patrick Henry

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. ~ Thomas Jefferson

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

There is no distinctly native American criminal class - save Congress. ~ Mark Twain

Quotes about Government