“Money is the barometer of a society’s virtue.

When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion
– when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing
– when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you
– when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice
you may know that your society is doomed.

Money is so noble a medium that it does not compete with guns and it does not make terms with brutality. It will not permit your country to survive as half-property, half-loot.”
- Ayn Rand,  “Atlas Shrugged“ (speech by character Francisco d’Anconia)

“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy…”
― attributed to Lord Woodhouselee, Alexander Fraser Tytler (1714-1778)

“How Many Americans Get Government Assistance? All of Us”
“It is, in fact, hard to imagine an American who does not get government assistance in some form.”
- Howard Gleckman, June 4, 2015

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