The quote is basically BS on the unfunded liability part of it. When you and I were born we had on average an unfunded liability of millions of dollars. Our mothers and fathers knew not where every dollar might come from for the following 20 years of our upbringing, and when we moved out on our own for college, work, and career we did not know the end from the beginning. Have some faith folks have some faith. Our biggest failure is loss of optimism, our inability to remember how great we have been in the past and how we have always solved our problems. Jesus said it best, of course, when he said, "Consider the flowers and the birds, and how Our Heavenly Father takes care of them". So what are the unfunded liabilties of a bird or a flower, huh?

Publius Jefferson was a man as I am and I hope you are or will become. He was not a god and would be shocked if you think he was. This quote fails for many reasons. First of all where did governments ever become categorized as agricultural. His apparent disdain for city life was well known because of his love for his beautiful Charlottesville. But to imbue a love for the countryside with a total philosophy of government is a bit much don't you think. Publius maybe you think like Sarah and her ilk that the real America is out in the corn and soy bean belt, and New Yorkers, Philadelphians, Angeleons etc are just not well worth the time of day. It is a sad and sorry quote and I would love to discuss with my Beloved Thomas Jefferson, beloved but I consider him a man to be respected but not worshipped as you seem to do.

Carlton if you would care to inform yourself about government and industry and especially in reference to South Korea I suggest you research the following Korean laws and or acts. The "Automobile Industry Promotion Act of 1962" and the "Automobile Industry Protection Act" about the same time. You might like to then visit the "Automobile Indsutry Rationalization Act" of later years. South Korea was mightily helped in their endeavours by Ford, GM and Renault. Now Korean car compaigns have returned the favor bestowed upon them by their government and Western car companies by building cars in Alabama and Georgia. Your shallow thinking that all of these things just happen without being aided and abetted by society at large (aka government) or the beneficent help of others is just to well shallow.

Carlton in the early 1800's people like you argued in Congress against building a road from Charleston, W. Va. to Columbus, Ohio. You would have been against government giving rail right of ways to the railroads, Interstate Highways, going to the moon etc, You would have been against the government of Spain sending Columbus to find China. You are a short sighted fellow indeed who understands nothing about the history of the human race.

The secret is to be tough on yourself and gentle with others. Most people get it the other way around castigating people who have not made it or are struggling. Be strong, be brave but don't look down your nose at others.

and it is happening right now in the Middle East. Those flames burned bright in the last Presidential Election in which a person assumed by most to be a nobody could capture the attention, hearts and minds, of a vast majority, of his fellow citizens, and the world. The world has learned what Democracy can do through the election of Obama and is now reaching out for its own right of self expression that only Democracy provides.

A great quote from a lousy President who put us on to our present destructive financial path. We will recover however we will recover.

Pol Pot would love this one. Jefferson must have had one to many glasses of his wine when an if he wrote this.

Barf! I believe that South Korea, like Japan are highly intergrated, government involved, societies. His suggestion that their success is due to some kind of total individual type of freedom is I believe wrong. Now we have a rising success story in China, would he claim that their success is due to a lack of goverment. Barf, and double barf to this BS.

In this quote Adams states that he is against "people doing what is right in their own eyes" and most of you guys defend this him on this! I don't get it. Isn't that what we long for and fight for that kind of freedom as long as it does not interfere with others. Now on occasion these free doing people will make constraints that they feel are necessary for the common good, like the direction streets may be laid etcetera Adams here is in effect defending the Aristocarcy, the moneyed class, the establishment etc. Not his finest hour.

We are the heaviest armed people on earth and we ship the deadly stuff to the Mexican cartels who use them against our protective forces. So I really don't see what is this guys complaint. And all of these guns we now have are not lowering our taxes are they? If we have a lot of guns and also a lot of taxes as all of the above say we, then it stands to reason that guns do not lower taxes or protect us from the government, which is ourselves anyway. These are all arguments and talking points for fools and idiots. Lets get real with our talking points and arguments.

Yep! We must stop the legal pollution of our rivers, denuding of our forests, and climate change by legal carbonizing of our air. The immorality of corporate America must be stopped and the only one to do it is US and that means you and me in our capacity of Uncle Sam.

The man ought to get a grip and talk to some insurance people, they can answer his questions. Insurance gives all security and a happy life. I just wish governmnet could get as rich doing it as has Prudential, MetLife etcetera.

Never heard the word till I came on this site. Is statism anything like governmentism? Are counties and places like Idaho quilty of it? Are "state" police guilty of it? To get agitated or angry at a nebulous fragile, indistict concept is either foolish or crazy or I guess both.

Orange County 'nuff said. If "fair and balanced" it could have said that it would pay for the life insurance annuity for our fallen soldiers etcetera. When you got your head up somewhere it does not belong you always have a lousy outlook I life. It is called omtirectimities.

Economists say that the happiest times in America were the fifties and sixties. This was a time of highly graduated tax rates and a booming middle class. Taxes did effect the wealthier citizens. Out in the Hamptons for instance they could no longer afford as many domestic servants and had to cut household staffs dramatically. But the graduated tax system leveled the economic playing field so that people in the middle felt prosperous and secure. Not like today! So the tax system can and does have a benefit to the nation as a whole. Thus the quote gets a thumbs down. I only wish I could give in multiple thumbs down.

I don't know about the Constitution or that the founers were all knowing about the world that was to come. In a shrinkng globe with mass communication, travel, internet etcetera it stands to reason that people would become closer, more interconnected. That folk share ideas about energy and education across city, county, state, and national lines is well just a fact of life. Since this sharing results in a free people forming county, state, national, and international forums, organizations etecetera about these issues is also natural. That governments city, state, national, and international are aware of this tendency is also natural that they will have and ear and a say in these affairs. For after all is not government simply the controlling of the streets, towns, villages, cities, counties, states, and nation in a manner consistent with some degree of freedom for the individual as well as for the citizens (at large eg, community) of the street, town etcetera. If we are going to do things together like educate then will not government (which after all is nothing more than togetherness) going to have a say?

Mike what a great sales gimmick for religion. Can you suggest one that helps people fare well or must they pick and choose based on the locale they find themselves in, like Saudi Arabia, Tibet etc.

Thanks Bill, what a great compliment. Now can you get these other guys to thnk for themselves. I have no idea of what direction they are walking but they are in lock step and that scares the hell out of me. Do any of them have a shred of an idea of what government is or should be other than simply EXTINCT?

As we know wolves protect and maintain the environment. And the Fed should be like wolves in doing the same thing.

I always liked his leather fringed jacket. You would think a man of such style imagery would be a little bit more subltle and thoughful in his anaylysis. His analogy about wolves is extremly unfortunate and untimely. Is it not the Feds who are protecting the wolves and reintroduced them into our northern plains. The sheeple (or should I say sheep herders and cowboys) want to destroy the wolf. The American People have stood by like timed sheep to see cowboys, and land and swamp fillers, and monutain top miners, etcetera and all other types of gluttoness, mindless destroyers of all that is good get away with it. That God the Feds are protecting the wolves.

The Cato Institute should be dismantled. If Pilon was such a thinker from a think tank he should know that the Feds started welfare at least as early as when they put Native Americans on Reservations gave them blankets and whiskey, if they would just stay out of white mans way. I am sure their are earlier instances of welfare and will report it when I find it. But helping people to fare well is or should be the primary function or purpose of government, don't you think?

Editor where do you find the clowns that you tab as famous quotes. People were joking about government back in Washington's time. This crap ain't new in the last 30 years. We have less debt today than we had in 1948, we have lower income taxes etcetera. Washinton almost could not fight the war due to the stingeness of Congress. At one point he virtually offered to finance it himself. Where are our patriots like that today.

PS: The irresponsible politicians Reagan and Bushes just sell bonds and keep on spending us into debt.

and of course the opposite is also true; "if you want resposible politicians to spend more you must give them more to spend". This is know as the Truman axiom. When the roads in Independence, Missouri were muddy, ruted and impassable and the ruling Republicans were just ringing there hads and saying "what are we to do" Truman got elected, raised taxes, fixed the roads and brought prosperity and happiness to Independence.