Quotes About Government

Now the Whigs also had to abide by the rule of law, the principle that laws should not be applied selectively or arbitrarily and that nobody is above the law.

Countries such as Great Britain and the United States became rich because their citizens overthrew the elites who controlled power and created a society where political rights were much more broadly distributed, where the government was accountable and responsive to citizens, and where the great mass of people could take advantage of economic opportunities.

Liberty needs the state and the laws. But it is not given by the state or the elites controlling it. It is taken by regular people, by society. Society needs to control the state so that it protects and promotes people's liberty rather than quashing it like Assad did in Syria before 2011. Liberty needs a mobilized society that participates in politics, protests when it's necessary, and votes the government out of power when it can.

Cuando el Estado no logra prácticamente ninguna centralización política, la sociedad, tarde o temprano, llega al caos

But in many other cases, just the opposite takes place, and the process of political centralization also ushers in an era of greater absolutism.

revolution that overthrew Mubarak will lead to a new set of institutions capable of bringing prosperity

Many citizens in Rome did not need to work: they lived off the handouts from the government.

the prime determinant of why agricultural productivity—agricultural output per acre—is so low in many poor countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, has little to do with soil quality. Rather, it is a consequence of the ownership structure of the land and the incentives that are created for farmers by the governments and institutions under which they live.

Unlike Iturbide, Santa Ana, and Díaz, however, none of these military men used force to get into power. Nor did they use force to avoid having to relinquish power. They abided by the Constitution.

The point is, our health-care system is a terrible mess. It's expensive, wasteful, inefficient, unresponsive, and infested with lawyers. Which is why there has been a big push, in some quarters, to place it under the management of... The federal government. This is like saying that if your local police department has a corruption problem, the solution is to turn law enforcement over to the Sopranos.

The question, from pundits and constituents, was obvious and loud: If you aren't transparent, what are you hiding? Though some citizens and commentators objected on grounds of privacy, asserting that government, at virtually every level, had always needed to do some things in private for the sake of security and efficiency, the momentum crushed all such arguments and the progression continued. If you weren't operating in the light of day, what were you doing in the shadows?

Public-private leads to private-private, and soon you have the Circle running most or even all government services

The country he had left thirty years ago had been a realistic place. There were political realities there, then and now, that precluded blind faith, that discouraged one from thinking that everything, always, would work out fairly and equitably. But he had come to believe such things in the United States. Things had worked out. Difficulties had been overcome. He had worked hard and achieved success. The machinery of government functioned.

it cost the nation billions per year for government-funded shelters, dental care, and cost-of-living allowances (which frequently exceeded the minimum wages in neighboring

Could there be another civil war in the United States?

National security trumps a lot. It can trampke civil rights. It can denude personal liberties. But it cannot and never will triumph over political gamesmanship. - Kelly Paul

The money folks will forgive a lot if the cash keeps rolling in. Same goes for the government.

when people stop believing in their institutions, the government often gets toppled.

I know. I admit that. You're working with NSC now. And the FBI." "So?" "So how would you like to be part of a joint effort with NIC?" "I already have enough alphabet letters, thanks." "You

There were sixteen hundred officers on the Capitol police force to guard roughly one square mile of land. It was a ratio any other city would have killed for. Congress liked to feel safe, and it did control the purse strings. And

government leaders made decisions that would have massive impact on millions of people, all without their knowledge or consent.

fifteen major intelligence agencies eating up 50 billion in budget dollars a year spread over 120,000 employees

Energy is my specialty and I do white papers and briefing documents and I help write speeches for the administration

civil liberties