“People hired by government know who is their benefactor. People who lose their jobs or fail to get them because of the government program do not know that that is the source of their problem. The good effects are visible. The bad effects are invisible. The good effects generate votes. The bad effects generate discontent, which is as likely to be directed at private business as at the government.” PeopleKnowsProblemGovernmentJobsLosesFailingEffectsSourceProgramVoteInvisibleVisibleDiscontentGovernment ProgramsBenefactors Author:Milton Friedman
“In the US, voters cast ballots for individual candidates who are not bound to any party program except rhetorically, and not always then. Some Republicans are more liberal than some Democrats, some libertarians are more radical than some socialists, and many local candidates run without any party identification. No American citizen can vote intelligently without knowledge of the ideas, political background, and commitments of each individual candidate.” IdeasRunningPoliticalIndividualPartyCitizensRepublicanCommitmentProgramVoteDemocratBoundsCastsLibertarianBackgroundsLocalsRadicalCandidatesVotersBallotsIdentificationAmerican Citizens Author:Ben Bagdikian
“When you have the Chief of Staff of the Republican National Committee and the political director of the Romney campaign, and their two companies get $150 million at the end of the campaign for the 'fantastic' get-out-the-vote program... some of this borders on RICO violations.” TwoEndsPoliticalCompanyMillionsRepublicanDirectorsProgramVoteCampaignsChiefsFantasticBordersStaffCommitteesRomneyViolationRicoChief Of Staff Author:Patrick Caddell
“Political systems must love poverty-they produce so much of it. Poor people make easier targets for a demagogue. No Mao or even Jiang Zemin is likely to arise on the New York Stock Exchange floor. And politicians in democracies benefit from destitution, too. The US has had a broad range of poverty programs for 30 years. Those programs have failed. Millions of people are still poor. And those people vote for politicians who favor keeping the poverty programs in place. There's a conspiracy theory in there somewhere.” PeopleYearsStillsPoliticalPoorPovertyMillionsDemocracyNew YorkProduceTheoryPoliticianEasierBenefitsProgramVoteFavorsAriseRangeTargetBroadsConspiracyPoor PeoplePolitical SystemsConspiracy TheoryMaoStock ExchangeNew York StockNew York Stock Exchange Book:Eat the Rich: A Treatise on Economics Source: Eat the Rich: A Treatise on Economics
“From the starch-heavy 'food pyramid' to ethanol fuel, the government adopts programs not because they are right but because they gains votes, money or political power or solve problems that politics has already created, such as silos full of subsidized wheat or a shortage of gasoline due to the maze of controls on refining.” ProblemGovernmentPoliticalGainsProgramVoteHeavySolveDuesFuelPyramidsWheatShortagePolitical PowerMazesGasolineRefiningEthanol Author:Robert Prechter
“If you want to reinstate the 14.4 billion dollars that Bush cut out of the veterans program then vote democrat.” IfsWantDemocracyCuttingProgramVoteDollarsDemocratBillionsVeteran Author:David Cross
“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 in the rich countries who have done very well, who are at the top of the income pyramid, try to steamroll over the opposition of the middle without changing anything in social programs, or any redistribution. And they take their votes for a given. They have rich people that bankroll them. And the globalization would continue, but it would continue with permanent dissatisfaction among large segments of the people.” PeopleTryingCountryDoneRichProgramVoteGlobalizationRich PeopleDissatisfaction Author:Branko Milanovic
“The debt-ceiling vote isn't about what will be done in the future; it is about the integrity of America's commitment to support the bonds we issue. Elected officials have an obligation to maintain that integrity, regardless of whether they voted for the programs that required the borrowing in the first place.” FirstsDoneAmericaSupportIssuesIntegrityCommitmentProgramVoteDebtObligationOfficialsCeilingsBorrowingElected OfficialsDebt Ceiling Author:John Sununu
“Voters who live off taxpayers are the Democrats' ace in the hole. The Democrats created big programs and never let the recipients forget it. This gives them an initial advantage of tens of millions of votes in any presidential election.” GivingBigsForgetLibertyMillionsAdvantageProgramEconomicsVoteElectionDemocratLibertarianHolesPresidentialVotersLibertarianismInitialsForget ItTaxpayersPresidential ElectionAces Author:Joseph Sobran