Acres Quote by Alan Bock
“The median family of four ... paid $4,722 in federal taxes last year. That's enough to pay for a new curtain for the secretary of commerce's office, to bribe a farmer not to plant 38 acres with corn ... seven weeks of salary for a Customs man assigned to save us from the terror of high-quality, low priced foreign TV sets, or the subsidy on 6,000 bushels of wheat to prop up the Soviet regime. Surely civilization would collapse without such essential services.”
About This Quote
Source Article: The New York Times, “The Cost of Government”, 1992
Government subsidies and salaries are portrayed as essential, yet they often serve special interests and could be reduced without societal collapse.
In simple terms: Taxes fund many services, but some are wasteful.
Key Takeaway
Question spending and prioritize essential services.
Themes
taxation
government spending
public policy
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
policy
economics
When to use this quote
- budget planning
- policy reform
- taxpayer education
- public debate
Key Concepts
economics
public choice theory
Questions to Reflect On
- Which subsidies truly benefit the public?
- How can citizens demand more efficient spending?
A Different Perspective
Political rhetoric may exaggerate necessity of wasteful programs.
![“[Footnote:] Pliny the Elder described a Whale called "Balaena or Whirlpool, which is so long and broad as to take up more in length and breadth than two acres of ground." This brings up again the old question: Are the classics doomed? Our ancestors believed that four years of this sort of…” quote by Will Cuppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/1c1/will-cuppy-7569_acres_footnote-pliny-the-elder-described-a-wha_84284.jpg)
