--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For, when the credit of a country is in…" description: "\"For, when the credit of a country is in any degree questionable, it never fails to give on extravagant premium, in one shape or another, upon all the l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/alexander-hamilton-619_borrowing_for-when-the-credit-of-a-country-is-in-a_3039392.jpg" --- # For, when the credit of a country is in any degree… ![“For, when the credit of a country is in any degree questionable, it never fails to give on extravagant premium, in one shape or another, upon all the loans it has occasion to make. Nor does the evil end here; the same disadvantage must be sustained upon whatever is to be bought on terms of future…” quote by Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/alexander-hamilton-619_borrowing_for-when-the-credit-of-a-country-is-in-a_3039392.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/alexander-hamilton-619_borrowing_for-when-the-credit-of-a-country-is-in-a_3039392.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/alexander-hamilton-619_borrowing_for-when-the-credit-of-a-country-is-in-a_3039392.jpg) > “For, when the credit of a country is in any degree questionable, it never fails to give on extravagant premium, in one shape or another, upon all the loans it has occasion to make. Nor does the evil end here; the same disadvantage must be sustained upon whatever is to be bought on terms of future payment. From this constant necessity of borrowing and buying dear, it is easy to conceive how immensely the expenses of a nation, in a course of time, will be augmented by an unsound state of the public credit.” [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excessive borrowing and costly credit damage a nation's finances over time. **In simple terms:** Borrowing too much harms a country. Key Takeaway Control debt and avoid expensive loans. Themes economics public finance national debt Mood cautious analytical Type political economic When to use this quote - government budgeting - corporate finance - personal loans - investment decisions Key Concepts credit risk inflation fiscal policy Questions to Reflect On - How can a nation balance growth and debt? - What safeguards prevent credit abuse? A Different Perspective Short‑term fixes can worsen long‑term debt. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Borrowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrowing/) [Buying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buying/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Credit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/credit/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Occasions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasions/) [Payment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/payment/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [As on the one hand, the necessity for borrowing in particular emergencies cannot be doubted, so on the other, it is equally evident that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/as-on-the-one-hand-the-necessity-for-borrowing-in-particular/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [If the maintenance of public credit, then, be truly important, the next enquiry which suggests itself is, by what means it is to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/if-the-maintenance-of-public-credit-then-be-truly-important-the-next/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [It is of the greatest consequence that the debt should . . . be remoulded into such a shape as will bring the expenditure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-is-of-the-greatest-consequence-that-the-debt-should-be-remoulded/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [It is of the greatest consequence that the debt should, with the consent of the creditors, be remoulded into such a shape as will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-is-of-the-greatest-consequence-that-the-debt-should-with-the/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [The power of collecting money from the people is not to be rejected because it has sometimes been oppressive. Public credit is as necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-ellsworth/the-power-of-collecting-money-from-the-people-is-not-to-be-rejected/) [Oliver Ellsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-ellsworth/) > [As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/as-a-very-important-source-of-strength-and-security-cherish-public/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Public credit is suspicion asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/public-credit-is-suspicion-asleep/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [By the aristocracy of finance must here be understood not merely the great loan promoters and speculators in public funds, in regard to whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/by-the-aristocracy-of-finance-must-here-be-understood-not-merely-the/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Awesome! I'd just bullied Jesus into doing a shot with me. Nobody would ever believe it, but I didn't care. We ordered the insanely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hearne/awesome-i-d-just-bullied-jesus-into-doing-a-shot-with-me-nobody-would/) [Kevin Hearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hearne/) > [It doesn't make much sense and it's nil premium. They're going to have co-CEOs...which is a very uncomfortable structure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/it-doesn-t-make-much-sense-and-it-s-nil-premium-they-re-going-to-have/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) > [Yahoo! is committed to building the richest set of premium and personalized content experiences for our users.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-levinsohn/yahoo-is-committed-to-building-the-richest-set-of-premium-and/) [Ross Levinsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-levinsohn/) > [We put too much of a premium on presenting and not enough on substance and critical thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/we-put-too-much-of-a-premium-on-presenting-and-not-enough-on/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [We've been paying for 100 percent of preventive care. But if you're not getting annual physicals, then you're not going to gain a financial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-burd/we-ve-been-paying-for-100-percent-of-preventive-care-but-if-you-re/) [Steven Burd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-burd/) > [People have a comic bent or an angularity to their thinking, and those are the people who make jokes. And it's usually people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-reiner/people-have-a-comic-bent-or-an-angularity-to-their-thinking-and-those/) [Carl Reiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-reiner/) > [The people who are working, paying their taxes are put into the system so that affordable housing could be built in neighborhoods that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bolling/the-people-who-are-working-paying-their-taxes-are-put-into-the-system/) [Eric Bolling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bolling/) ## More by Alexander Hamilton > [“I am apprehensive, Sir, that in the warmth of my feelings, I may have uttered expressions, which were too vehement. If such has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/i-am-apprehensive-sir-that-in-the-warmth-of-my-feelings-i-may-have/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [“The truth unquestionably is, that the only path to a subversion of the republican system of the Country is, by flattering the prejudices of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-truth-unquestionably-is-that-the-only-path-to-a-subversion-of-the/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [ \[W\]ar is a question, under our constitution, not of Executive, but of Legislative cognizance. It belongs to Congress to say whether the Nation shall… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/w-ar-is-a-question-under-our-constitution-not-of-executive-but-of/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-will-be-of-little-avail-to-the-people-that-the-laws-are-made-by/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Though a wide ocean separates the United States from Europe, yet there are various considerations that warn us against an excess of confidence or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/though-a-wide-ocean-separates-the-united-states-from-europe-yet-there/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [It is an unquestionable truth, that the body of the people in every country desire sincerely its prosperity. But it is equally unquestionable that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-is-an-unquestionable-truth-that-the-body-of-the-people-in-every/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [There are still to be found visionary or designing men, who stand ready to advocate the paradox of perpetual peace between the states, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/there-are-still-to-be-found-visionary-or-designing-men-who-stand/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [ It is one thing to be subordinate to the laws, and another \[for the Executive\] to be dependent on the legislative body. The first… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-is-one-thing-to-be-subordinate-to-the-laws-and-another-for-the/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Man is very much a creature of habit. A thing that rarely strikes his senses will generally have but little influence upon his mind.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/man-is-very-much-a-creature-of-habit-a-thing-that-rarely-strikes-his/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Money is, with propriety, considered as the vital principle of the body politic; as that which sustains its life and motion, and enables it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/money-is-with-propriety-considered-as-the-vital-principle-of-the-body/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [The nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master and deserves one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-nation-which-can-prefer-disgrace-to-danger-is-prepared-for-a/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [It is a well-known fact that in countries in which the national debt is properly funded, and an object of established confidence, it answers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-is-a-well-known-fact-that-in-countries-in-which-the-national-debt/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [A government, the constitution of which renders it unfit to be trusted with all the powers which a free people ought to delegate to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/a-government-the-constitution-of-which-renders-it-unfit-to-be-trusted/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [The Liberty of the press consists in the right to publish with impunity truth with good motives for justifiable ends, though reflecting on government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-liberty-of-the-press-consists-in-the-right-to-publish-with/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [You should not have taken advantage of my sensibility to steal into my affections without my consent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/you-should-not-have-taken-advantage-of-my-sensibility-to-steal-into/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) [Explore all 443 Alexander Hamilton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) ## More Borrowing quotes > [I would borrow money all day long, if the cost of borrowing is less than the expected return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-schneider/i-would-borrow-money-all-day-long-if-the-cost-of-borrowing-is-less/) [Brad Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-schneider/) > [ When the fountains of government \[borrowing\] abundance began to dry up, when through lack of funds and the impossibility of negotiating fresh loans the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-t-flynn/when-the-fountains-of-government-borrowing-abundance-began-to-dry-up/) [John T. Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-t-flynn/) > [By taking out a loan, I am committing myself to years of interest repayments, and therefore to years of wage slavery. And the UK…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/by-taking-out-a-loan-i-am-committing-myself-to-years-of-interest/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Perhaps art criticism cannot be reformed in a logical sense because it was never well-formed in the first place. Art criticism has long been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elkins/perhaps-art-criticism-cannot-be-reformed-in-a-logical-sense-because/) [James Elkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elkins/) > [It’s always going to be easy to live like others or other’s life, because creating or innovating something of own is always difficult in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj/it-s-always-going-to-be-easy-to-live-like-others-or-other-s-life/) [Anuj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj/) > [A poet ought not to pick nature's pocket. Let him borrow, and so borrow as to repay by the very act of borrowing. Examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/a-poet-ought-not-to-pick-nature-s-pocket-let-him-borrow-and-so-borrow/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Several southern actors are coming to Mumbai. Likewise, many Bollywood actors are appearing down South or borrowing ideas from southern films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-charan/several-southern-actors-are-coming-to-mumbai-likewise-many-bollywood/) [Ram Charan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-charan/) > [As for borrowing Mr. Whistler's ideas about art, the only thoroughly original ideas I have heard him express have had reference to his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/as-for-borrowing-mr-whistler-s-ideas-about-art-the-only-thoroughly/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Saints and ordinary folks are the same from the start. Inquiring about a difference is like asking to borrow string when you've got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hsu-yun/saints-and-ordinary-folks-are-the-same-from-the-start-inquiring-about/) Hsu Yun > [Borrowing money on what's called 'easy terms,' is a one-way ticket to the Poor House. If you think it ain't a Sucker Game, why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/borrowing-money-on-what-s-called-easy-terms-is-a-one-way-ticket-to/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [What I'm concerned about is endless borrowing, which is going to compromise our economy not only today but in the future. Because we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ryan/what-i-m-concerned-about-is-endless-borrowing-which-is-going-to/) [Paul Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ryan/) > [Debt is a bottomless sea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/debt-is-a-bottomless-sea/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is a big problem. The problem is the country borrowed too much. We went on a borrowing binge, there was a housing boom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-osborne/there-is-a-big-problem-the-problem-is-the-country-borrowed-too-much/) [George Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-osborne/) > [Debtor countries may postpone the inevitable by borrowing from the IMF or U.S. Treasury to buy out bondholders. This saves the latter from taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/debtor-countries-may-postpone-the-inevitable-by-borrowing-from-the/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [We do not project power from bankruptcy court. We're borrowing a million dollars a minute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/we-do-not-project-power-from-bankruptcy-court-we-re-borrowing-a/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) [Browse all 303 Borrowing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrowing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For, when the credit of a country is in any degree questionable, it never fails to give on extravagant premium, in one shape or another, upon all the loans it has occasion to make. Nor does the evil end here; the same disadvantage must be sustained upon whatever is to be bought on terms of future payment. 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