They criticize me for harping on the obvious; if all the folks in the United States would do the few simple things they know they ought to do, most of our big problems would take care of themselves.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
Nothing is easier than spending public money. It does not appear to belong to anybody. The temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Spending public money can seem easy and tempting because it doesn't feel personally owned. This can lead to reckless financial decisions.
Calvin Coolidge highlights the inherent danger in the ease of spending public funds. Since public money is viewed as collective and not belonging to any individual, decision-makers may feel less accountable for its use, leading to excessive spending and the potential for misallocation. The quote serves as a cautionary reminder of the responsibility that comes with managing public resources and the importance of prudent financial governance.
Themes
Public MoneySpendingAccountabilityFinanceGovernment
In practice
Example use cases
During a public meeting on budget allocations, leaders could remind attendees of Coolidge's insight to emphasize the importance of fiscal responsibility.
More from Calvin Coolidge
All quotes βIt is difficult for men in high office to avoid the malady of self-delusion. They are always surrounded by worshipers. They are constantly, and for the most part sincerely, assured of their greatness.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
America's present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not the dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but equipoise; not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
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.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
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.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
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.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
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