“I do know that all of the Michigan delegation worked very hard as related to the revival of the auto industry. There was really a choice between bankruptcy and liquidation. There was no one that was willing to come up not only with the cash to keep them afloat but also to serve the warranties of everyone, you and I that drive all these cars. There was no one that could have picked up those pieces other than the federal government. [The auto bailout was] bipartisan from the get-go. [Without it,] Michigan would have hit 40 percent unemployment rates.” KnowsHardGovernmentChoicesPiecesCarWillingIndustryRepublicanPercentRateCome UpRelatedCashUnemploymentFederal GovernmentRevivalBankruptcyMichiganBipartisanDelegationBailoutsUnemployment RateAuto IndustryWarranty Author:Fred Upton
“Japanese people cut their energy use by 25 percent immediately after Fukushima. They showed there was huge opportunity there. And instead, the government simply wants to get those plants up and running again.” PeopleWantUseGovernmentRunningOpportunityEnergyCuttingHugePercentPlantEnergy UseFukushima Author:David Suzuki
“The whole financial structure of Wall Street seems to rise or fall on the mere fact that the Federal Reserve Bank raises or lowers the amount of interest. Any business that can't survive a one percent change must be skating on thin ice. Why even the poor farmer took a raise of another ten percent just to get a loan from the bank, and nobody from the government paid any attention. But you let Wall Street have a nightmare and the whole country has to help to get them back into bed again.” CountryWholeFactsHelpingSeemsGovernmentFallInterestPoorAttentionStreetsWallAmountBedTenPercentEconomicsPaidRaisesStructureMereFinancialIceNightmareFarmersReservesLoanSkatingFederal ReserveSkating On Thin Ice Author:Will Rogers
“I think we should just tip the government if it does a good job. Fifteen percent is the standard tip, isn't it?” IfsThinkingShouldDoeGovernmentJobsStandardsPercentFifteenGood Job Author:Pat Paulsen
“I can spend somebody else's money on somebody else. And if I spend somebody else's money on somebody else, I'm not concerned about how much it is, and I'm not concerned about what I get. And that's government. And that's close to 40 percent of our national income.” IfsI CanGovernmentPercentConcernedIncome Author:Milton Friedman
“Tell me why the limousine fleet has increased by 42 percent since Barack Obama took office. Why are we spending taxpayers' money on that? Limos should be for weddings and proms, certainly not for government officials to be riding around in.” ShouldGovernmentOfficePercentSpendingBarackOfficialsRidingTaxpayersPromGovernment OfficialsLimosLimousines Author:Mark Neumann
“Spending by government currently amounts to about 45 percent of national income. By that test, government owns 45 percent of the means of production that produce the national income. The U.S. is now 45 percent socialist.” MeanGovernmentProduceAmountPercentTestsProductionsSpendingIncomeSocialist Author:Milton Friedman
“We are shrinking the size of the federal government as a percent of our economy from over 21 percent of the economy to 19 percent of the economy. At the same time, we're growing the private economy.” GovernmentEconomyGrowingPercentSizeFederal GovernmentShrinking Author:Franklin Raines
“When two working people decide to marry, their federal income tax is usually increased. As soon as one spouse earns at least 20 percent of a married couple's total income, the couple pays a 'marriage tax.' ... The United States is the only major industrialized nation in the free world in which the tax cost of the second [married] earner's entry into the work force is higher than that of the first. On one hand, our government's social policy is to help working women earn equal salaries to those of men, but on the other we have a tax structure that penalizes them when they do so.” PeopleMenWorldFirstsTwoStatesHelpingHandsGovernmentForceNationsSocialUnitedPayUnited StatesPolicyCoupleHigherCostTaxesEqualMarriedMajorsPercentStructureIncomeSexismSpouseSalaryEntryIncome TaxFree WorldMarried CouplesWorking WomenSocial Policy Author:Millicent Fenwick
“Most gun dealers follow the law and run honest businesses. But the statistics show that 1 percent of dealers sell more than half of all illegal guns. Why isn't the federal government going after them? Here's one reason: unlike mayors, members of Congress don't get a phone call in the middle of the night when a cop is shot and killed. They don't deliver the eulogies.” ReasonShowsGovernmentRunningLawNightHalfMiddleHonestMembersPercentGunShotsSellsCongressPhonesIllegalStatisticsCopFederal GovernmentMayorsPhone CallsDealerEulogyMiddle Of The NightIllegal Guns Author:Michael Bloomberg