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Dependency is the highest political good - at least for politicians. Since the 1930s, politicians have striven to leave no vote unbought.

James Bovard

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James Bovard
Age: 68
Born: 1956
Born: July 22
Author
Journalist
Writer
Ames
Iowa
Leave
Least
Unbought
Striven
Since
Dependency
Political
Politicians
Good
Politician
Vote
Highest

More quotes by 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.
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Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
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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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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.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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Politicians nowadays treat Americans like medical orderlies treat Alzheimer's patients, telling them anything that will keep them subdued. It doesn't matter what untruths the people are fed because they will not long remember. But in politics, forgotten falsehoods almost guarantee new treachery.
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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Once freedom is equated with a certain material standard of living, confiscation becomes the path to liberation.
James Bovard
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There is no virtue in denying the law of gravity, and there should be no virtue in denying the limitations of government. ... The more we glorify government, the more liberties we will lose.
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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Well, one of the first things is to restore the rule of law, to place the government back under the cage of law. Another thing is to stop falling for the myth of democracy.
James Bovard
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How many McDonald's gift certificates would it take to sway a lot of Americans to pledge to never publicly criticize the U.S, President?
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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Foreign aid breeds kleptocracies, or governments of thieves.
James Bovard
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As soon as people drop the reins on government, government will leash the people.
James Bovard