"Some people say that Libertarians want anarchy. But anarchy is what we have now. Our cities aren't safe, our schools are centers of violence, the politicians have turned the rule of law into a chaotic web of millions of regulations and mandates. Libertarians want to restore order by removing, wherever possible, the destabilizing influence of government."
Harry Browne

"The problem with politics isn't the money, it's the power. So long as politicians have the power to grant favors, exemptions, and business protection, people will find some way to subvert them -- if not with money now, then with promises to take care of them later. The only way we will clean up campaign financing is by taking power away from the politicians -- reducing the federal government to just the functions specified in the Constitution."
Harry Browne

"In my experience, people who are truly compassionate rarely use the word "compassion." Those who do talk compassion generally intend to be compassionate with your money, not their own. It's wrong for someone to confiscate your money, give it to someone else, and call that "compassion.""
Harry Browne

"They say that politics is the art of compromise. And that's true. The politicians compromise away our money, our civil liberties, and our property."
Harry Browne

"Conservatives say the government can't end poverty by force, but they believe it can use force to make people moral. Liberals say government can't make people be moral, but they believe it can end poverty. Neither group attempts to explain why government is so clumsy and destructive in one area but a paragon of efficiency and benevolence in the other."
Harry Browne

"The Constitution authorizes the federal government to defend us from enemies -- not run around the world creating enemies. The politicians justify U.S. military power by saying, "It's still a dangerous world out there." But if it is dangerous to us, it's because our government has repeatedly stuck its nose in matters that are none of our business -- and thereby created enemies all over the world."
Harry Browne

"The government can't keep the peace in Washington, DC, but it sends troops on "peacekeeping missions" to Somalia and Haiti -- to save those countries from being run by the wrong thugs."
Harry Browne

"If we repeal the income tax, you'll be able to afford to put your children in any private or religious school you want -- where they'll be taught the subjects and values you want them to learn, not those imposed by the educational bureaucracy. Every attempt to fix education through national standards, testing, vouchers, charter schools, or some other Band-Aid amounts to just another government program that requires you to continue fighting to make the program work as you want."
Harry Browne

"Most pollution takes place on government property -- on government lands and roads, in government lakes, rivers, and streams. If someone dumped garbage on your property every day, you'd call the police and get them to stop the trespasser from polluting your property. But government allowed companies to dump toxic wastes in its lakes and streams, and to clear-cut or strip-mine its lands. Then, when public outrage became overwhelming, the government responded by passing new laws and setting up new agencies that harass companies and property owners who have always kept far better care of their property than the government has."
Harry Browne

"Is it extreme to want the government to abide by the Constitution? To believe that when federal, state, and local taxes amount to 48% of the national income, government is too big and oppressive? To think that people should be free to invest their retirement money as they see fit? To believe that the Bill of Rights should be honored literally?"
Harry Browne

"If you had a package that absolutely had to be somewhere in the U.S. tomorrow morning, would you send it by the Post Office -- which is a government agency -- or by Federal Express, a private company that can make a profit only if it keeps its promise to you? If your life depended on the accurate testing of a medicine, would you want it done by a government agency or by a company whose success depended on absolute accuracy?"
Harry Browne

"The free market punishes irresponsibility. Government rewards it."
Harry Browne

"Whatever the issue, let freedom offer us a hundred choices, instead of having government force one answer on everyone."
Harry Browne

"I want a government small enough to fit inside the Constitution."
Harry Browne

"Today 51% of all health-care dollars in America are spent by governments -- not insurance companies, employers, or individuals, but by governments. If there is a crisis in health care -- and there certainly is -- the government, not the free market, is responsible for it."
Harry Browne

"Immigrants used to come to America seeking freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom from government. Now they come looking for free health care, free education, and a free lunch."
Harry Browne

"Every time you help pass a law you think is needed, you make it easier for others to pass a law you won't like. Give the government the weapons to fight your enemy and it will use them against you."
Harry Browne

"I don't agree with the idea that a libertarian is someone who is fiscally conservative and socially liberal. It is a mistake to define libertarians in terms of conservatives or liberals. Conservative politicians are as fiscally imprudent as liberals, and liberal politicians are as contemptuous of individual rights as conservatives. Libertarians stand for individual liberty and personal responsibility on all issues at all times. Conservatives and liberals each sometimes take positions similar to libertarians, but -- unlike libertarians -- there is no consistent principle running through all their political positions."
Harry Browne

"If you ask the government to impose morality, then moral questions will be decided by whoever has the most political power."
Harry Browne

"Politicians play cruel jokes on us. They talk of plans to bring peace to the world, when their real interest is in subsidizing military contractors. They speak of "empowering" minorities, when their real interest is in empowering the leaders of special-interest groups. They talk of helping the poor, but eagerly put them out of work with minimum wage laws. Whatever they proclaim publicly, there always seems to be someone in the background with extraordinary political influence who benefits far more than those the politicians claim to help."
Harry Browne

"The great delusion of political activity is the belief that you can have the government do exactly what you want -- that, somehow, you can get it to perform some function for some good purpose, with nothing bad thrown into the bargain -- and that the program you envision will be carried out dutifully by thousands of bureaucrats in just the way you think it should be handled."
Harry Browne

"Whenever the government fails to prevent a plane crash, the event is cited as justification for having the government prevent plane crashes."
Harry Browne

"Republicans campaign like Libertarians and govern like Democrats."
Harry Browne

"Government seems to operate on the principle that if even one individual is incapable of using his freedom competently, no one can be allowed to be free."
Harry Browne

"The most secure safety net in the world is the generosity of family, friends, churches, service clubs, foundations, the United Way, and other charitable agencies. These people are determined to help. Government bureaucrats are determined to enlarge their power by keeping as many people as possible on welfare."
Harry Browne

"If you want to win an argument, appeal to natural rights or economic theory. If you want to win a convert, appeal to self-interest. No one will pay much attention to you until you show how your proposals will change his life for the better."
Harry Browne

"Federal, state, and local taxes take 48% of the national income. That means if you and your spouse both work, one of you is working for the government and the other is working for your family."
Harry Browne

"Robert Bork has said that Libertarians have an unrealistic "sweet view of human nature," and that is why they oppose government attempts to impose morality. He has this matter precisely backward. It is because there are evil, incompetent people in the world that we must never give government the power to enforce morality, economic equality, or any other social goal. The coercive power of government is always a beacon to those who want to dominate others -- summoning the worst dregs of society to Washington to use that power to impose their will upon others."
Harry Browne

"There is no waste in government. Politicians create programs for the specific purpose of helping their friends and political supporters -- to make it easier to re-elect the politicians. The re-election rate of incumbents proves that the programs are very efficient; they do exactly what they're designed to do."
Harry Browne

"Who is helped by being made a ward of the state, forced to live in slums, cornered in a housing development to be preyed upon by criminals and drug dealers, and unable to take a job without losing money on the deal? Only politicians and bureaucrats benefit from welfare -- and that's why every welfare reform leads to bigger budgets and more people on welfare."
Harry Browne

"I'm for a flat tax -- as long as the flat rate is zero. The object is to get rid of big government, not find a new way of financing it."
Harry Browne

BACK TO QUOTES PAGE

BACK TO LP BREVARD HOME