Interesting quotes on government

Tom Purcell
Published: December 1, 2008

The Democrats will be running the White House, the House and the Senate soon. Before they make drastic changes, they may want to consider some interesting quotations on government.

My favorites reveal a general wariness of government — a key principle upon which our republic was founded:

- “A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take everything you have.”
— Barry Goldwater

- “A patriot must always be ready to defend his country — against his government.”
— Edward Abbey

- “The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.”
— Edmund Burke

- “Government is inherently incompetent, and no matter what task it is assigned, it will do it in the most expensive and inefficient way possible.”
— Charley Reese

- “The government is good at one thing: It knows how to break your legs, then hand you a crutch and say, ‘See, if it weren’t for the government you wouldn’t be able to walk.’”
— Harry Browne

- “Government’s view of the economy can 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

- “The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.”
— H.L. Mencken

- “One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation.”
— Thomas Reed

- “That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves.”
— Thomas Jefferson

- “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

- “Our best protection against bigger government in Washington is better government in the states”
— Dwight D. Eisenhower

- “The primary function of the government is — and here I am quoting directly from the U.S. Constitution — ‘to spew out paper.’”
— Dave Barry

- “The difference between death and taxes is death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.”
— Will Rogers

-  “Did you ever notice that when you put the words ‘the’ and ‘IRS’’together, it spells ‘THEIRS?’”
— Unknown

Tom Purcell is a humor columnist nationally syndicated by Cagle Cartoons. E-mail .