Thoughts on national budgets


The budget is not just a collection of numbers, but an expression of our values and aspirations.
—Jacob Lew
Our economy is based on spending billions to persuade people that happiness is buying things, and then insisting that the only way to have a viable economy is to make things for people to buy so they’ll have jobs and get enough money to buy things.
—Philip Slater
The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, the public debt should be reduced and the arrogance of public officials should be controlled.
—Ross Perot
An economy funded by subsidy is no economy in an ideal sense.
—Tony Osborg

It’s a recession when your neighbour loses his job it’s depression when you lose your own.
—Harry Truman

Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build bridges, even where there are no rivers.
—Nikita KhrushCevGreat nations are built by great people, not just successful people.
—Fela Durotoye
We have become a society of indulgent consumers resulting in rapidly increasing debt, both personally and as a nation.
—LG Durand
Just as we should never balance the budget on the backs of the poor, so it is an economic delusion to think you can balance it only on the wallets of the rich.
—George Osborne
Normally, when politicians talk about ‘cutting the budget’, they really mean reducing the amount of increase. Actual spending goes up while the politicians claim to have ‘cut the budget’.
—Mark McKinnon
We didn’t actually overspend our budget. The allocation simply fell short of our expenditure.
—Keith Davis
Reviewing a government budget is much like going through the attic in an old home.
—Rick Scott
Image: Scott: Carlo Allegri / Reuters Lew: Rafael Marchante / Reuters Truman, Khrushchev: Bettmann / Getty Images Mckinnon: David Mcnew / Reuters Perot: Win Mcnamee / Reuters Osborne: Richard Pohle / Pool / Reuters
First Published: Jan 28, 2017, 07:19
Subscribe Now