Government shapes daily life in ways most people never think about. These quotes cover democracy, policy, power, corruption, civic duty, and the endless debate over how much government is too much — or not enough.
“I'm in politics. I'm in government, so nothing surprises me.”
“I forget what the relevant American rate is, but I can tell you that our goal is to have a combined federal-provincial corporate tax rate of no more than 25 percent. We're on target to do that by 2012. We will have significantly - by a significant margin the lowest corporate tax rates in the G-7, and that's our - our government's objective.”
“Nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced.”
“In Michigan, a liberal democrat raised taxes and kept their government programs at the same level. And guess what? Their economy continued into the toilet, it continued down.”
“We are all representatives of the American people. We all do town hall meetings. We all talk to our constituents. And I've got to tell you, the American people are engaged. And if you think they want a government takeover of health care, I would respectfully submit you're not listening to them.”
“I promised to empower the taxpayer - instead of a handful of big government union bosses.”
“When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, This you may not read, this you must not see, this you are forbidden to know, the end result is tyranny and oppression no matter how holy the motives.”
“I believe that for the small numbers of Jewish people in the United States, they exercise a tremendous amount of influence on the affairs of government.”
“While democracy in the long run is the most stable form of government, in the short run, it is among the most fragile.”
“Television of course actually started in Britain in 1936, and it was a monopoly, and there was only one broadcaster and it operated on a license which is not the same as a government grant.”
“I've got the greatest job in the world. There's no other job in government where cause and effect is so tightly coupled where you can make a difference every day in so many different ways and in so many different people's lives. It's a great challenge.”
“Under the administration of George W. Bush, you will recall, federal spending grew pretty significantly. At the same time, the number of people directly employed by the federal government shrank. One of the factors that explained the difference was contracting.”
“If somebody invented cigarettes today, the government would not legalize them.”
“Open the way before the new government to prove that it is for serving the people.”
“In the rush to become all things to all people, the federal government has lost sight of its core responsibilities. As a result we're stuck in this frustrating paradox where Washington actually neglects things it's clearly supposed to be doing, while interfering in other areas where they are neither welcome nor authorized.”
“It is unclear exactly how many law enforcement agencies are currently using this capability, but it is reasonable to say that while resource limitations used to discourage the government from tracking you without a good reason, these constraints have largely disappeared.”