"It is not the business of government to make men virtuous or religious, or to preserve the fool from the consequences of his own folly. Government should be repressive no further than is necessary to secure liberty by protecting the equal rights of each from aggression on the part of others, and the moment governmental prohibitions extend beyond this line they are in danger of defeating the very ends they are intended to serve."
        —Henry George

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."
        —P.J. O’Rourke

"One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation."
        —Thomas B. Reed, 1886

Our fellow citizens have been led hoodwinked from their principles by a most extraordinary combination of circumstances. But the band is removed, and they now see for themselves."
        — Thomas Jefferson to John Dickinson, 1801

"[T]he government ought to have in the Treasury no more than enough for its legitimate purposes ... The power of collecting and disbursing money at pleasure is the most dangerous power that can be entrusted to man ..."
        — Horatio Bunce to Davey Crockett