Quotes: On Government

As I watch the radar with amazement (severe weather just seems to part around Barton County, MO), I ran across these quotes and thought they were worthy of being shared.

BE

"No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size.  Government programs, once launched, never disappear.  Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!"
-- Ronald Reagan
(1911-2004) 40th US President
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Ronald.Reagan.Quote.F1B8

"Government is not the generator of economic growth;  working people are."
-- Sen. Phil Gramm
(1942- ) US Senator
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Phil.Gramm.Quote.FAA2

Quips from Reagan, Chesterton and a Jewish Carpenter

From Reagan:

"Government is the people's business and every man, woman and child becomes a shareholder with the first penny of tax paid."
-- Ronald Reagan
(1911-2004) 40th US President
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Ronald.Reagan.Quote.68B3

While Ronald Reagan was far from perfect (he gave us some of our most liberal supreme court justices), he has several if not many sayings which are very applicable to our lives today.

From Chesterton:

"Tolerance is the virtue of a man without convictions."
-- Gilbert Keith Chesterton
(1874-1936) British essayist, critic, poet, and novelist
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Gilbert.Keith.Chesterton.Quote.D443

I need to find time to actually read Chesterton. I have heard much about him and his writings, but have yet to really evaluate him and his writing.  However, the few quotes I have seen have really been 'spot-on' so to speak.

These quotes remind me of something some one else said:

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
(Mat 12:30 ESV)

Our answers today do not lie in government programs, or laws passed by congress, or supreme court decisions. All of these things are in the hand of God. No, the real question for us is are we on the Lord's side,... or not.

I know where I want to be found.

BE

Reagan on the Federal Government

Going through the Inbox and found this quote by Ronald Regan:

"The federal government has taken
too much tax money from the people,
too much authority from the states, and
too much liberty with the Constitution."
-- Ronald Reagan
(1911-2004) 40th US President
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Ronald.Reagan.Quote.70F8