“It's very painful to be in debt. I'm the kind of person who would rather almost die than go into debt.” Quote by Mark Helprin
“Give the money directly to people who work hard. Instead of taking the money from the business and then filtering it through the horror of government programs, which is essentially giving it to social workers who live in Bethesda so they can drive their minivans and vote Democratic. Give them the money, so that they go and talk to the worker who is washing dishes, and they say, "Well, we want to help you, you see." And it would be better to help them by taking the money from that minivan-driving social worker and giving it directly to the guy who is really working hard by washing dishes.” PeopleWantGivingWellsHardHelpingGovernmentWould BeGuySocialHard WorkHorrorProgramVoteDemocraticWorkersDrivingDishesWashingSocial WorkerGovernment ProgramsWashing DishesMinivans Author:Mark Helprin
“People's position on immigration, once they get "sophisticated," and they rise to the higher levels of commentary or government, it's usually determined solely by economics. And not by anything else.” PeopleGovernmentLevelsPositionHigherEconomicsDeterminedImmigrationSophisticatedCommentaryHigher Level Author:Mark Helprin
“Every sovereign country has the right to control its borders, and should. The idea that anyone would sneak over our borders without proper documentation to me is absolutely abhorrent.” ShouldIdeasCountryBordersSovereignSneakDocumentationAbhorrent Author:Mark Helprin
“We should have absolute control over our borders. If we want cheap labor to depress wages and disempower the unions, then we could have guest workers. But we have to face that issue. What is it that we want to do? Rather than not facing it, and having porous borders, and the effect is that it disempowers the unions.” IfsWantShouldFacesIssuesEffectsLaborShould HaveAbsolutesUnionsWorkersBordersGuestsDepressingWagesCheap Labor Author:Mark Helprin
“I have always thought limousines make me dreadfully uncomfortable, just the way that suits do. When I wear a suit, I feel like ants and termites are crawling all over my body. It's really, really uncomfortable. People put themselves in a kind of prison. It's like the world of the embassies.” PeopleWorldWayFeelsKindBodyPrisonSuitsUncomfortableAntsCrawlingEmbassyLimousines Author:Mark Helprin
“I had a period in my life, maybe a decade or so, in which I was involved in that kind of thing, associating with the elite of various segments of society. It always made me extremely uncomfortable. I couldn't wait to get out of there and change my clothes. The good part about that was getting home and changing into my regular clothes. Taking off the suit and the tie, taking off the tight shoes, and just relaxing. Being away from that stuff. It was stimulating, but I never liked it. I always felt it was a terrible, terrible burden.” KindMadeHomeFeltStuffWaitingInvolvedPeriodsTerribleClothesShoesVariousBurdenDecadesSuitsUncomfortableTiesElites Author:Mark Helprin
“What I really like to do is to sit quietly and write. All that other stuff is a problem. Publication to reception to negotiation to... everything, it's a problem. And I like to sit outside for long periods of time and just be in the tranquility of nature. That's what I like.” WritingLongProblemStuffPeriodsTranquilityNegotiationPublicationReceptionLong Periods Of Time Author:Mark Helprin
“I believe that Israel is very likely not to survive, it's not going to last forever, and now there's nothing that someone like me can do about it, in that it's a threat of nuclear or biological or chemical attack.” BelieveLastsI BelieveCan DoForeverThreatIsraelNuclearLike MeChemicals Author:Mark Helprin
“World War II is the war that made our world. There's no question about that. The history of all the years in which I will spend my life, every single one, that is the seminal event of the history that we will experience.” WorldYearsMadeWarEventsWar Of The WorldsOur WorldWorld War IiWorld War I Author:Mark Helprin
“La guerre, la guerre, everything la guerre. That's how I grew up. So for me, it's real. It's not something in the past.” RealPastGrewGrew Up Author:Mark Helprin