Government proposes, bureaucracy disposes. And the bureaucracy must dispose of government proposals by dumping them on us.
P. J. O'RourkeRead
The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it.
Interpretation
This quote critiques the contrasting views of government between the two major political parties in the U.S.
P.J. O'Rourke humorously highlights the differing philosophies of the Democratic and Republican parties regarding the role of government in improving citizens' lives. He suggests that Democrats advocate for government as a solution to problems and improvement of individual lives, while Republicans express skepticism towards government effectiveness but still take control and demonstrate its failures.
In practice
In a political debate to illustrate the differences between party platforms.
Government proposes, bureaucracy disposes. And the bureaucracy must dispose of government proposals by dumping them on us.
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I spend my days kneeling in the muck of language, feeling around for gooey verbs, nouns, and modifiers that I can squash together to make a blob of a sentence that bears some likeness to reason and sense.
Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine.
The idea of a news broadcast once was to find someone with information and broadcast it. The idea now is to find someone with ignorance and spread it around.
Socialism in Russia has not brought about an improvement in the conditions of the average man which can be compared with the improvement of conditions, during the same period, in the United States.
The happiness of society is the end of government.
The future of this republic is in the hands of the American voter.
Autocratic power requires the degradation of moral authority - not the capture of moral high ground.
Struggles do not end when countries attempt the transition to democracy.
No measure can be more desirable, whether viewed with an eye to its intrinsic importance, or to the general sentiment and wish of the Nation than to establish a systematic and effectual arrangement for the regular redemption and discharge of the public debt.
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