If the Tenth Amendment were still taken seriously, most of the federal government's present activities would not exist. That's why no one in Washington ever mentions it.
Thomas WoodsRead
Government has a habit of blaming the private sector for its own failings while taking credit for advances we in fact owe to the private sector.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Government often shifts responsibility for its shortcomings to the private sector while claiming credit for its accomplishments.
In this quote, Thomas Woods critiques the tendency of government entities to deflect blame onto businesses and private organizations when things go wrong, yet they readily take credit for positive developments that are primarily driven by the innovation and efficiency found in the private sector. This reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the roles and interactions between public and private institutions in a functioning economy.
Themes
GovernmentPrivate SectorBlameCreditEconomy
In practice
Example use cases
In a political debate, I might reference this quote to illustrate how government policies impact economic growth.
More from Thomas Woods
All quotes →One of the market's virtues, and the reason it enables so much peaceful interaction and cooperation among such a great variety of peoples, is that it demands of its participants only that they observe a relatively few basic principles, among them honesty, the sanctity of contracts, and respect for private property.
Thomas WoodsRead
Similar quotes
The Kennedy Administration's public pronouncements on the matter suggested that the presence of Soviet nuclear missiles in Castro's Cuba would represent an unacceptable strategic threat to the United States. . . . This urgent transformation of Cuba into an important strategic base - by the presence of these large, long-range, and clearly offensive weapons of sudden mass-destruction - constitutes an explicit threat to the peace and security of all the Americas. . . .
John F. KennedyRead
But the simple truth is that we've lost control of our own borders, and no nation can do that and survive.
Ronald ReaganRead
It’s not about the budget; it’s about the power...So will the attack on unions succeed? I don’t know. But anyone who cares about retaining government of the people by the people should hope that it doesn’t.
Paul KrugmanRead
Arresting opposition leaders and restricting civil society will not stop people from protesting, but it can create leaderless movements that leave no one with whom the government can mediate a peaceful way forward.
Tom MalinowskiRead
Theodore Roosevelt's policy to build a two-ocean navy confirmed that the old-style isolationism of the founders had not survived the modern, increasingly globalized world.
Margaret MacmillanRead
People who have no respect for human life or for freedom or justice have taken over this beautiful country of ours. It will be up to the American people to take it back.
Howard ZinnRead