Quotes from Michael Bloomberg

America is the greatest country on Earth - and when people vote with their feet, they come here.

I mean, you know, we don't live in a perfect world.

Because of my success in the private sector, I had the chance to run America's largest city for 12 years, governing in the wake of its greatest tragedy.

I will say that walking down the street, getting on the subway, taking the elevator, if there's one or two people and they say, 'Great job, Mayor,' that is a real turn-on. I mean, anybody that wouldn't find that satisfying, rewarding, exciting, thrilling - I think they should see the doctor.

You know, I start with the assumption that -or with, with the belief that this president has to succeed. We all have an enormous amount of capital invested in his success. His success is the country's success.

Well, you have the public not wanting any new spending, you have the Republicans not wanting any new taxes, you have the Democrats not wanting any new spending cuts, you have the markets not wanting any new borrowing, and you have the economists wanting all of the above. And that leads to paralysis.

If Warren Buffett made his money from ordinary income rather than capital gains, his tax rate would be a lot higher than his secretary's. In fact a very small percentage of people in this country pay a big chunk of the taxes.

People have no confidence that Washington, both sides of aisle, are coming together to try and do what's right for the economy.

Capitalism works.

We can only create good jobs if we make smarter investments in infrastructure and do more to support small businesses, not stiff them.

Government by three men in a room has turned New York State into a national symbol of governmental dysfunction. Enough is enough!

If it wasn't for O'Flanagan's Pub on Manhattan's Upper East Side, I don't know where I would have spent my Friday nights as a young man.

Many of America's and New York's sons and daughters are around the world fighting for the freedoms that the Statue of Liberty stands for.

Life is too short to spend your time avoiding failure.

Neither party has God on its side, a monopoly on good ideas, or a lock on any single fiscal, social, or moral philosophy.

Jeb Bush is very good on immigration, he's very good on education. He's a smart guy.

You can bet - a good chance of Hillary [Clinton], a good chance of [Donald] Trump - but not 100% in either case.

I've been a Democrat, I've been a Republican, and I eventually became an independent because I don't believe either party has a monopoly on good ideas or strong leadership.

In our democracy, near equality is no equality. Government either treats everyone the same, or it doesn't. And right now it doesn't.

Government should not tell you what to do unless there's a compelling public purpose.

I think fully, that an independent candidate can't win in this country. The Constitution is structured for basically a two-party government, a two-party race.

I was a Democrat before I was a Republican before I became an independent and I never changed my principles.

In New York City, a lot of people think "the great outdoors" is the area between your front door and a taxi cab.

Fighting climate change isn't just an obligation we owe to future generations. It's also an opportunity to improve public health - and drive economic growth - in the here and now.