Lessons from the Past

When faced with a crisis, politicians like to use the term “uncharted territory” when framing their response. This, they hope, absolves them of any consequences stemming from well-intentioned mistakes they might make along the way.

But really, there’s very little new under the sun:

1. In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is a congress.– John Adams

2. If you don’t read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.– Mark Twain

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

4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.– Winston Churchill

5. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.–  George Bernard Shaw

6. A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.– G. Gordon Liddy

7. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.– James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)

8. Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.– Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University

9. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.– P.J. O’Rourke, Civil Libertarian

10. Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.– Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850)

11. 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 (1986)

12. I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.– Will Rogers

13. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free! — P.J.. O’Rourke

14. In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. — Voltaire (1764)

15. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you!– Pericles (430 B.C..)

16. No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session. — Mark Twain (1866)

17. Talk is cheap..except when Congress does it.– Anonymous

18. The government is like a baby’s alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.– Ronald Reagan

19. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.– Winston Churchill

20. The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.– Mark Twain

21. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. — Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

22. There is no distinctly native American criminal class….save Congress.– Mark Twain

23. What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.– Edward Langley, Artist (1928-1995)

24. A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.– Gerald Ford

H/T to Tailspin Tom.