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It is one of the great tragedies of the US, that most learn most of what they know about the government from the government.

James Bovard

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James Bovard
Age: 68
Born: 1956
Born: July 22
Author
Journalist
Writer
Ames
Iowa
Tragedies
Tragedy
Learn
Government
Great

More quotes by James Bovard

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Some of the folks on both sides might be sincere, but it does seem as if it is only the opposition that cares about the Bill of Rights most of the time.
James Bovard
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We are asking the wrong question. The issue is not who should be trusted with all the power of the Presidency. Instead, we must ask how much power any candidate can be trusted with.
James Bovard
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Today's citizen is obliged to find his freedom only in the narrow ruts pre-approved by his bureaucratic overlords. Risk-free liberty is the ideal of the Welfare State: citizens are permitted only liberties which have been declawed, defanged, neutered, certified and wrapped in benevolent restrictions.
James Bovard
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The only things government can do are regulate and redistribute, prohibit and penalize, confiscate and command. Are these the things that liberty is made of? Somebody else's money and an endless list of Thou Shalt Nots?
James Bovard
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If an election is simply a one-day snapshot of transient mass delusions, then this is not a very noble form of government.
James Bovard
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Once freedom is equated with a certain material standard of living, confiscation becomes the path to liberation.
James Bovard
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Government aid programs have been endlessly expanded, and the government has sought to maximize the number of people willing to accept handouts..... Roughly half of all Americans are dependent on the government, either for handouts, pensions, or paychecks.
James Bovard
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The Federal Government is exploiting public fear to redefine the relationship between the rulers and the American people.
James Bovard
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Throughout history, politicians have used other people's property to buy themselves power. That is the primary achievement of the welfare state.
James Bovard
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Governments and citizens blend together only in the imaginations of political theorists. Government is, and always will be, an alien power over private citizens. There is no magic in a ballot box that makes government any less coercive.
James Bovard
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Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
James Bovard
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It is amazing to think after all that has happened in this country in the last few years, the last few decades, that so many people have this blind faith that government is our friend and therefore, we don’t need protections against it.
James Bovard
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It is important to recognize and politics positive thinking is often the slaves' virtue - something that people do to con themselves about the burden and change being placed upon them.
James Bovard
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The key question for many voters is: How much is the candidate offering for my vote?
James Bovard
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Not only has the number of government employees multiplied in recent decades, but the rise of government unions further stacks the political odds against private citizens.
James Bovard
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The first step in saving our liberty is to realize how much we have already lost, how we lost it, and how we will continue to lose it unless fundamental political changes occur.
James Bovard
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As soon as people drop the reins on government, government will leash the people.
James Bovard
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There has been so much power concentrated. There is no leash on that power anymore and Americans face the situation that this power is getting momentum with each passing year with each presidency.
James Bovard
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American democracy is capsizing as a result of the vast increase in the number of government dependents and government employees.
James Bovard
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The more people expect from government, the more biased they become against limiting government power.
James Bovard