The extravagant expenditure of public money is an evil not to be measured by the value of that money to the people who are taxed for it.
Interpretation
Wasting public funds harms society beyond just financial loss.
This quote highlights the detrimental impact of excessive governmental spending on public resources. It emphasizes that the negative effects of such expenditures cannot be quantified merely by the monetary amount wasted; instead, they reflect a deeper harm to the society and citizens who bear the tax burden. This suggests a need for greater accountability and responsibility in the management of public funds.
In practice
In a discussion about responsible budgeting at a town hall meeting.
The Bush administration continues to coddle China, despite its continuing crackdown on democratic reform, its brutal subjugation of Tibet, its irresponsible export of nuclear and missile technology... Such forbearance on our part might have made sense during the Cold War when China was the counterweight to Soviet power. It makes no sense to play the China card now when our opponents have thrown in their hand.
Social democracy does not represent an ideal future; it does not even represent the ideal past.
The accords were fig leaves of democratic procedure to hide the nakedness of Stalinist dictatorship.
When you vote, vote for those who are not warmongers, and vote for those who respect human rights. When you see a president who doesn't respect human rights, don't vote for that person.
With the people, for the people, by the people. I crack up when I hear it; I say, with the handful, for the handful, by the handful, cause that's what really happens.
Our politics are our deepest form of expression: they mirror our past experiences and reflect our dreams and aspirations for the future.
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