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A government which lays taxes on the people not required by urgent public necessity and sound public policy is not a protector of liberty, but an instrument of tyranny. It condemns the citizen to servitude.
Calvin Coolidge
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Excessive taxation without necessity undermines freedom and promotes oppression.

Calvin Coolidge's quote highlights the dangers of a government that imposes taxes beyond what is necessary for the well-being of the public. He argues that such actions are not in service of liberty but rather contribute to a state of tyranny, where citizens become subservient to the government's demands instead of enjoying the freedoms granted by a fair and just system.

Themes

GovernmentTaxationLibertyTyrannyServitudePublic Policy

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a discussion about government policies and taxation.

More from Calvin Coolidge

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No method of procedure has ever been devised by which liberty could be divorced from local self-government. No plan of centralization has ever been adopted which did not result in bureaucracy, tyranny, inflexibility, reaction, and decline.
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Whether one traces his Americanism back three centuries to the Mayflower, or three years to the steerage, is not half so important as whether his Americanism of today is real and genuine. No matter by what various crafts we came here, we are all now in the same boat.
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The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country.
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