Ronald Reagan Quote

"Are you willing to spend time studying the issues, making yourself aware, and then conveying that information to family and friends? Will you resist the temptation to get a government handout for your community?"

by:	Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) 40th US President
Source:	from the speech "A Time For Choosing"
Rating:
Categories:	Free Thought, Government, Learning, Reason, Responsibility, Self-Determination, Welfare
	Tweet

This is the duty of a citizen. Waiting for a government handout is what is expected of a subject.  -- Ken, Allyn, WA
Lets abolish government handouts, and work for real freedom.  -- UnConservative, Nowhere, TX      1
-- GR, CHICAGO
I am afraid our nation's government is only interested in voting for money -- money they don't have and can never pay back. It is a sad state of affairs when the do-gooders harp every day and night for more money from the government, even though the government is totally bankrupt and borrows every cent -- of course, those borrowed funds do end up in someone's pocket -- usually billions in the coffers of defense contractors and other good ol' boys. Forget about justice, law, and liberty -- it's about only one thing now -- MONEY. Few can resist the promise of a free ride (even though it is a lie).  -- E Archer, NYC      1
Yep  -- warren, olathe
Studying issues, becoming aware and sharing this information with family and friends are fine and dandy; I agree 100%. But the question, "Will you resist the temptation to get a government handout for your community?" is pure ideological BUNK. Ronald Reagan was FILTHY RICH, but he received MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TAX WRITE-OFFS on "losses" for his HUGE "cattle ranch" in Santa Barbara, CA--EVEN WHILE THE VALUE OF THIS PROPERTY INCREASED BY MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. Reagan didn't want the "COMMUNITY" to benefit because he didn't need the "community;" he had enough money from TAX LOOPHOLES to buy ANYTHING he wanted, so let the "community" be damned. Furthermore, THE PEOPLE ARE (supposed to be) THE GOVERNMENT. The government is SUPPOSED to serve THE PEOPLE. Since when is it that government serving THE PEOPLE'S NEEDS is a handout? That's the ONLY reason for government to exist--TO SERVE THE PEOPLE. But instead of serving the COMMON PEOPLE, the Republican leadership only wants to serve the powerful: the rich and the business corporations--AND THAT'S WHY I (and a lot of my fed-up Republican friends) AM SUPPORTING BARACK OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.  -- Chitty, Long Beach      1
Chitty, saving on taxes is not getting something from government. It's just not giving them something they have no rights to.  -- Pit      1
Earth to Chitty ,come in. Obama is an extreme leftist who will raise taxes and steal your "change". Did you hear the sound bites of an "off the cuff" speech he was making in Virginia a day or so ago? Without a written speech or tele prompter he makes George Bush sound like Winston Churchill. If ever a person was supremely unqualified to be president, it's Obama. Well, maybe president of the local Lions club, maybe not. Here's a news flash for you, the govenment only gets the money to "serve the people" by first stealing the money from the people through taxation. "Tax loopholes" are only ways to avoid taxes because of laws your Congress puts in the tax code. As to Reagan being "filthy rich", I suggest that you check Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxers bank accounts as well as most democrats and republicans. I guarantee you that Barb and Nancy are using "every loophole they can find", and they are both "filthy rich".  -- jim k, austin      1
Right on Chitty. Sure it would be better to not pay taxes but they could be put to better use, such as keeping interrstate road and highways in good condition, keeping bridges repaired and safe, etc. Taxes are supposed to go back to the people, the states, but more is spent for defense than any other area, something that the people do not approve. Lies to enter war and bankrupt a nation and cause our soldiers to die, or be physically and psychologically crippled is inexcuseable and not pardonable. Taxes are hand outs to corrupt leaders who do not do the will of the people.THEY always turn it around and put us on the defense. Reagan was another puppet.  -- Judith, Corrales
So wonderful to have Chitty and Judith on board. Taxes are terrible just ask Robin Hood and King John but that is the manner world wide in which governments earn their keep. There is nothing immoral or mean about taxing the rich. It is just because that is where the money is. Republicans subsidise the rich with tax cuts so that they will put money into their campagin confers. The economy we need now is higher taxes on the rich who are not spending it anyway since they have locked it up into Governiment Bonds and are collecting a nice interest subsidiy from the government war bonds while are youth are dying in war. So tax them and most of them really don't mind (ask Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, they don't mind) and cut the taxes on the middle class who will spend the money and this economy will boom. The proof of this is of course he bipartisan stipend we have just been given. Can you image the top 2% spending their $600 dollar checks. If you want to learn about where the money is in this country check out the SOI Statistics on Income published annually by the IRS and google Responsiblewealth.com to learn what the super rich think about the 10 trillion dollar republican debt. Conservatives by ass!  -- Waffler, Smith, Arkansas      1
This Queer lover from HELLywood who planted the Sodomites in the Whitehouse finished what the ONLY president that was NEVER elected started now our jobs are gone! if he was a TRUE "christian" and a "american" I'm the pope!!!!!!!!!  -- Ray, Graysville, Ohio
Yes, yes and yes to all three... When the government sends me any kind of a check I use it to pay taxes. It seems to keep the clowns busy and the circus running right along.  -- J Carlton, Calgary      1
Waffler, Chitty and Judith forgot to study the issues, and can only further the rhetoric of tv awareness. Larceny committed on rich or poor is still an immoral crime, no matter the attempted justification. For the non-studied, ask yourselves, 'how did the US become the most powerful, prosperous, philanthropic, charitable, giving, technologically advanced, greatest food producing, most productive, highest living standard, etc. nation on earth without the mindset of governmentally compelled compliance, including income tax? and; now that Russia has abandon the second plank of the communist manifesto their economy is flourishing, while the US's is in decline. To save America, vote only Libertarian or like minded.  -- Mike, Norwalk      1
Reagan was a liberal Democrat ...until he became rich. He was a good acting president. Too bad the Academy couldn't give him an Oscar for acting like a real one.  -- Jack, Green, OH
The government was NEVER intended (per the founding fathers) to "serve" the people's needs; IT WAS ESTABLISHED TO PROTECT THEIR RIGHTS BY IMPLEMENTING JUSTICE, ACCORDING TO NATURAL LAW, IN THE INFRINGEMENT OF INALIENABLE (GOD GIVEN) RIGHTS FROM ONE SOVEREIGN UPON ANOTHER!! Look up your facts, get your history straight, get an education and THEN comment! ..sheesh.. I'm no big fan of Reagan, but my hell, make an intelligent response. Give me ONE time that the founding fathers stated that the government was to take care of the needs of the people's existence (outside the protection of their rights)!!  -- Logan, Memphis, TN      2
This is in reply to Mike, in Norwalk (CA?) and Logan, in Memphis--- Mike begins his diatribe in typical Repugnantcan fashion, by attacking those he disagrees with as ones who "...forgot to study the issues..." and who use "...the rhetoric of tv awareness." He calls ideological opponents "...the non-studied..." WELL, Mike, you certainly shut us down, didn't you?--- Mike then asks: "'how did the US become the most powerful, prosperous, philanthropic, charitable, giving, technologically advanced, greatest food producing, most productive, highest living standard, etc. nation on earth without the mindset of governmentally compelled compliance, including income tax?"I WILL BE BRIEF; we did it with hard work, dedication, foresight, perseverance---AND BY TAKING LAND FROM THE INDIANS AND KILLIING AND SUBJUGATING THEM. WE DID IT BY ENSLAVING MILLIONS OF AFRICANS, WHO WORKED FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS WITH ONLY DEATH AND DEGRADATION, DISENFRANCHISEMENT, JIM CROW, DISCRIMINATION, SEGREGATION, RACISM AND THE DENIAL OF HUMAN RIGHTS AS THEIR ONLY COMPENSATION. WE DID IT BY EXPLOITING CHINESE LABOR, BY EXPLOITING MEXICO AND STEALING HER LAND, by exploiting the peoples of the earth "From the halls of Moctezuma to the shores of Tripoli" and beyond. We did it by propping up dictators around the world, from Arabia to Zimbabwe as we raped their countries of resources (and often, their women, too). We did it by force and threat and violence and at the point of a gun. THAT'S WHY THE WHOLE WORLD HATES US--even those who depend on us for their protection--and that's why we have to change. It's not too late yet, but after we have lost our last vestiges of power, THEN, it WILL be too late to change and to secure a good future for ourselves and for our posterity. And we are NOT the most "...philanthropic, charitable, giving..." country in the world, nor do we give to the most needy. We give more to Israel in one year than we give to the entire Continent of Africa in 10 years. And even when we call it a "loan," that "loan" is quietly "forgiven" after a couple of years, while we extract interest from far poorer African nations that can't even feed themselves (Look up "US TREATIES OF FRIENDSHIP AND COOPERATION WITH AFRICA). One could go on for weeks and not exhaust the pitiful history of our exploitation of the weak and poor.----As to your contentions about Russia, they are, I admit, PARTLY true; people everywhere want to be able to work for themselves and to share the wealth of their nation--but the most important asset in the revitalization of Russia is its OIL.---- As to Logan, in Memphis, who argues that: "The government was NEVER intended (per the founding fathers) to "serve" the people's needs," ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS THAT THEN THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE WRITTEN EITHER THE PREAMBLE TO IT, NOR THE CONSTITUTION, ITSELF: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL..." (I PRESUME THAT MEANS THAT ALL SHOULD BE treated equally, as well). "We the people of the US, in order to form a more perfect union...and PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE, do ordain and establish the US of A". It all began "WE THE PEOPLE." and continued, "...that this GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE..." who in hell knows what natural law is? Is it the survival of the fittest, i.e., strongest? Because, if it is, then maybe all the thugs and hoodlums and hooligans should take over. AS TO YOUR STATEMENT: "Give me ONE time that the founding fathers stated that the government was to take care of the needs of the people's existence (outside the protection of their rights)!! TO THAT, I SAY THAT THE THE GOVERNMENT HAS NEVER PROTECTED THE RIGHTS OF ALL OF ITS CITIZENS--AND IF IT HAD PROTECTED EVERYONE'S RIGHTS, PEOPLE WOULDN'T BE IN THE SHAPE THEY'RE IN TODAY. WHEN EVERYONE'S RIGHTS ARE PROTECTED(whatever that means), be sure to come back and THEN you may ask me the question again.  -- Chitty, Long Beach, CA
Well said, Chitty... Ignorant, but well said. I agree that the US's history is stained with mistakes, but it appears that implementing freedom is a lot more difficult than speaking about it. It is difficult to be right when the government is wrong, especially when it is YOUR rights that are being violated by the very government that is specifically supposed to guard these rights. Since you brought it up, let me ask you: what is the "general welfare"? Do you know where the General Welfare clause came from? Are you educated? Why don't you read some Hobbes and Rousseau first and then get back to me. The general welfare clause had nothing to do with the government "taking care" of the people; but you wouldn't know that unless you knew that words and definitions actually change over time. Do you know the difference of the use of "welfare" then and now? Obviously you don’t know what natural law is, but you might if you actually studied history, philosophy, and societal evolution to see when, how, and why the US was founded upon such a basis of laws (and why we've diverged from them). Your red herring fallacy that natural law has to do with the survival of the fittest is comical, but off base. Why don't you read some Locke, Blackstone, and Hume and then get back to me on natural law. As per the founding fathers, they wrote pertaining to the "laws of nature and of nature's God" -- something that obviously they're not teaching over there in Long Beach, CA. The phrase, "of the people, by the people and for the people" is from the Gettysburg Address, not a follow up to the Constitution's "We The People"; and the phrase, "we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal" is from the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution as well (you did, however, get the preamble correct). Quite frankly, I didn't expect any response better than what you've given from someone who comes from a state (California) that rules that children in Public Schools are no longer stewards under their parents (once they cross the threshold of the public school doors) but entities of the state; government schools over there must be giving you tons interesting things to think about. But with my non sequitor, I'll end.  -- Logan, Memphis, TN      1
Chitty, thanks for proving my point concerning tv awareness. Your off topic misdirection demonstrates a lack of issue study. The US became the most powerful, prosperous, philanthropic, charitable, giving, technologically advanced, greatest food producing, most productive, highest living standard, etc. nation on earth by discovering natural laws and living individual lives within those laws. My point was, the mind set of governmentally compelled compliance, including income tax? and your liberal venting "BY TAKING LAND FROM THE INDIANS AND KILLIING AND SUBJUGATING THEM. WE DID IT BY ENSLAVING MILLIONS OF AFRICANS, WHO WORKED FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS WITH ONLY DEATH AND DEGRADATION, DISENFRANCHISEMENT, JIM CROW, DISCRIMINATION, SEGREGATION, RACISM AND THE DENIAL OF HUMAN RIGHTS AS THEIR ONLY COMPENSATION. WE DID IT BY EXPLOITING CHINESE LABOR, BY EXPLOITING MEXICO AND STEALING HER LAND, by exploiting the peoples of the earth "From the halls of Moctezuma to the shores of Tripoli" and beyond. We did it by propping up dictators around the world, from Arabia to Zimbabwe as we raped their countries of resources (and often, their women, too). We did it by force and threat and violence and at the point of a gun" is of a similar mind set to the individual that is tempted to get a government handout for your community, all is wrong and diametrically opposed to what I said. Chitty's complete diatribe, along with the quotes focus describes that which is contrary to natural law and that which has taken freedom and liberty from this nation hearts and minds. By the way, those who study the issues and history know what in the hell natural law is.  -- Mike, Norwalk      1
Yes, thanks, Chitty and Judith -- Waffler has been getting lonely. Mike & Logan make valid points. A government of the People, by the People, and for the People is still a grand experiment. The Declaration of Independence and our state and federal Constitutions are still the foundations of a free nation even though the promise of equal rights for all have yet to be realized. The primary intent of our system of government is to serve as a check against arbitrary power and to protect and defend the RIGHTS of the individual people in America -- whether citizens or otherwise (indeed, we recognize the inalienable rights of all people everywhere in the world). Yes, throughout our history, the federal government (with much of the People's support) has made 'War' its primary business. (We had good teachers -- the British, the French, the Spanish, the Germans, etc..) We killed off millions of native populations in North America and around the world. And now we wage war upon each other by laying claim to other's property as a 'right.' We war upon our neighbors by forcing their tribute to the state, the church, or their 'king.' The free man is hard to find -- the game is fixed now to make us all equal in our slavery -- and we have the Wafflers and Chitty's of this world making sure that we each get our fair share of misery. Passion alone is their creed, reason and the laws of nature must now answer to their good intentions. Yes, now we must come up with plans for killing off billions and taking control of the weather (BTW if mankind f%cked up the climate, why will we put the same people in charge of 'fixing' it?!). Has anyone even considered that each human being produces several tons of CO2 every year? Categorizing CO2 as pollution has got to be the dumbest idea ever. The British government is now trying to figure out how to get cows and pigs to fart less in order to reduce CO2 emissions -- just make a law, I guess. Get a grip! It won't be long that we will be required permits to breathe -- hey, that will solve global warming, immigration, and population problems all in one fell swoop! Wake up, people, you are being conditioned to beg for fascism.  -- E Archer, NYC      1
Reagan didn't support welfare but he did support the military. All and I'll say it again ALL Government programs are supported by our tax dollars. When the wealthy don't pay their fair share, then the rest of us lose out. We need to reinvest out tax money in programs that help everyone because we all have a right to the basic necessities of life. And what we have now is Welfare for the Rich and Subsidies for Corporations making profits hand over fist while they have been given tax loop-holes by a Republican administration and a complicit Republican Congress. Certain things are considered acceptable to Republicans as far as how OUR tax dollars our spent and all of them have to do with the supporting the MIC and all it's subsidiaries, tax breaks for the wealthy and subsidizing Corporations who do not need it, while those same Corporations cut health care, benefits, hours and even jobs of honest hardworking Americans who don't know where their tax dollars are really going. Reagan was nothing but a puppet, whose strings were pulled by the wealthy and their businesses. He was not great man, he hurt this country and we are suffering from his complicity in the smack down of the ordinary man AND programs that would help him get back on his feet. Reagan was great? Reagan did not end the Cold War, he just shouted in the face of a wall that he knew was already crumbling. And his actions were the beginning of a Republican era that is causing America to crumble as well. In a global economy, Americans do not need to work to make the rich man richer.....he has an endless supply of slaves to build what he needs and he can walk away just as Ford did recently....as they are all doing in bigger and bigger ways....closing American plants and opening new ones in countries where employees will work for pennies, increasing their profits exponentially. It is time for change and it is time to stop treating Corporations like they are citizens (very privileged citizens). It's time to end the Reagan era with an era that promotes the general welfare of ALL American citizens. As a tax-payer I'm tired of my money going to subsidize business that are abandoning us and watching the country fall apart from the inside out. We would all have to pay fewer taxes if the "big boys" just paid their fair share!  -- Simcha, Papillion, NE      1
Archer, Who has been running the country for the last 12 years or more....Republicans. They bankrupted the country by refusing to tax the wealthy and big corporations...passing laws instead to suit the lobbyists for them. Then they went on a spending spree. I don't know if you understand economics, but when your income is cut off and you spend money like it's water, well, you end up in debt! But they weren't satified with using up all our tax dollars on an unjust and illegal war....they made the laws to favor big business and so now millions of American are not only out of work but bankrupt as well. Stop pouring money into Iraq, stop building a MIC that only has a goal of getting us into more wars and spending MORE of our tax dollars so they and their subsidiaries get richer and take the tax windfall that will come for fair and just taxation of the slackers at the top and use it to improve health, education and the general welfare of those whose taxes have literally done them no good when Republicans run the show! Now there's change I can believe in!  -- Simcah, Papillion, NE
And as for "Handouts", consider this.....stop Income Tax now. Even those at the bottom, most of whom are working poor, would do better if they weren't paying Income tax. It seems the only Welfare the Government is concerned about is the welfare of the Rich. Income tax is illegal and was never designed to be tax on wages but on the earned income made by investors. Funny how things get turned around. The government allows business to destroy their employees but those same employees pay the taxes that subsidize the businesses who don't really need a "handout". Handout....Reagan's characterization of the "Welfare Queen" was designed to keep people believing their taxes were being misspent on the poor, when in reality our tax dollars have been truly misspent to support wealthy recipients who are the Kings and Queens of the land, independently wealthy but still demanding their pound of flesh.  -- Simcha, Papillion, NE
The government never gave any one, any thing, it didn't STEAL from some one else.  -- J Carlton, Calgary      1
When are you liberal morons going to understand that corporations Do Not pay corporate taxes. Corporations are businesses and taxes are part of business costs and have to be added to the cost that we pay for the products, not that a liberal democrat would understand anything about business. The consumer is paying the corporate tax in the form of the higher price of the goods and services. When democrats bray about taxing the rich, it's just a way of deviding the country by getting the haves and the have nots fighting. The folk with money are people who start businesses , hire people and make the country work. They already pay about 90% of all income taxes. Tax increases always hurt the economy . When taxes are lowered it always stimulates the economy and more money flows to the treasury. Will liberals ever wake up?  -- jim k, austin      2
"Archer, Who has been running the country for the last 12 years or more...." I'll tell you, Simcha -- the FED. And they have been running the country a lot longer than the last 12 years. Taxes barely pay the annual interest the federal government owes to the Fed. Republicans and Democrats alike are only concerned about keeping that unlimited credit line going and lining their pockets. Yes, stop income tax now -- the ONLY purpose of income tax is to keep the middle and lower classes down -- the last thing the ruling class wants is for the little guys to catch up. When businesses are taxed, they pass those costs to the consumers. The study of how currency is issued and how the government is funded reveals the true holders of power -- a private organization that controls all industry and commerce -- the Federal Reserve/IMF/World Bank. Unless we return to an honest money system as is required by law in our free Constitutional republic, we will see but more of the same. As long as the populace believes it can get something for nothing, we are only too eager to keep the lie going for what we believe to be our own personal gain, when in fact we are enslaving posterity. What a bunch of ignoramuses we have become.  -- E Archer, NYC      1
obama is a socialist  -- Anonymous
Republicans = The worst America has to offer.  -- B-man, SR, CA
-- hk, hingham
-- jim k, Austin

Tweet  Rate this quote! How many stars? 0 1 2 3 4 5	What do YOU think?
Your name:	Your town:     CLICK JUST ONCE!

Get a Quote-A-Day! Free!
Liberty Quotes sent to your mail box.
Email: