--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The late political scientist Aaron B…" description: "\"“The late political scientist Aaron B. Wildavsky noted that “the power of the purse is the heart of legislative authority and thus an essential check o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/andrew-mccarthy-4162_despotism_the-late-political-scientist-aaron-b-wil_2833213.jpg" --- # The late political scientist Aaron B. Wildavsky noted that… ![“The late political scientist Aaron B. Wildavsky noted that “the power of the purse is the heart of legislative authority and thus an essential check on the executive branch.” Indeed, he observed, “An executive establishment freed from dependence for funds upon the legislature (and hence the…” quote by Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/andrew-mccarthy-4162_despotism_the-late-political-scientist-aaron-b-wil_2833213.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/andrew-mccarthy-4162_despotism_the-late-political-scientist-aaron-b-wil_2833213.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/andrew-mccarthy-4162_despotism_the-late-political-scientist-aaron-b-wil_2833213.jpg) > ““The late political scientist Aaron B. Wildavsky noted that “the power of the purse is the heart of legislative authority and thus an essential check on the executive branch.” Indeed, he observed, “An executive establishment freed from dependence for funds upon the legislature (and hence the public) would be a law unto itself and ultimately a despotism.”9”” [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Legislative control over funding checks executive power; without it, executives could become tyrannical. **In simple terms:** Budget control limits executive power. Key Takeaway Support legislative oversight. Themes checks and balances budgetary control democracy Mood analytical informative Type political educational When to use this quote - government budgeting - policy debates Key Concepts political theory separation of powers Questions to Reflect On - How effective is budget control? - What safeguards exist? A Different Perspective May oversimplify politics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Despotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despotism/) [Executive branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/executive-branch/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [I do not conceive that power is given to the President and Senate to dismember the empire, or to alienate any great, essential right.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/i-do-not-conceive-that-power-is-given-to-the-president-and-senate-to/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [What Obama did wrong with executive power is he tried to change the law. He tried to ignore the law. And under the Constitution,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/what-obama-did-wrong-with-executive-power-is-he-tried-to-change-the/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [In republican government the legislative authority necessarily predominates. The remedy for this . . . is to divide the legislature into different branches; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/in-republican-government-the-legislative-authority-necessarily/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“In general, the natural dividing line between legislative and nonlegislative power was between rules that bound subjects and those that did not. Legal obligation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hamburger/in-general-the-natural-dividing-line-between-legislative-and/) [Philip Hamburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hamburger/) > [The Constitution is the origin and measure of legislative authority. It says to legislators, thus far ye shall go and no farther. Not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-paterson/the-constitution-is-the-origin-and-measure-of-legislative-authority/) [William Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-paterson/) > [The idea of restraining the legislative authority, in the means of providing for the national defense, is one of those refinements which owe their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-idea-of-restraining-the-legislative-authority-in-the-means-of/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Taking legislative authority away from the federal government doesn't necessarily mean freer individuals. It might just mean granting vastly more authority to the states--which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/taking-legislative-authority-away-from-the-federal-government-doesn-t/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [It is of the nature of war to increase the executive at the expense of the legislative authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-is-of-the-nature-of-war-to-increase-the-executive-at-the-expense/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [“Finally, the Framers stressed that the impeachment remedy was a vital congressional check on the executive branch as a whole, not just on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/finally-the-framers-stressed-that-the-impeachment-remedy-was-a-vital/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) > [“As a federal district court in Texas recently ruled, federal law “mandates the initiation of immigration removal proceedings whenever an immigration officer encounters an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/as-a-federal-district-court-in-texas-recently-ruled-federal-law/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) > [I have a duty to protect the Executive Branch from legislative encroachment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-have-a-duty-to-protect-the-executive-branch-from-legislative/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [“As a dad, you are Vice President. You are part of the Executive Branch of the family, but you are the partner with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/as-a-dad-you-are-vice-president-you-are-part-of-the-executive-branch/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) > [I'm seeing too much power being concentrated in the executive branch, and so our system of government is really in jeopardy, and more importantly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-kasparian/i-m-seeing-too-much-power-being-concentrated-in-the-executive-branch/) [Ana Kasparian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-kasparian/) > [I do think it's true that a huge amount of the oversight that the White House engages in with respect to the Executive Branch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-verrilli-jr/i-do-think-it-s-true-that-a-huge-amount-of-the-oversight-that-the/) [Donald Verrilli Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-verrilli-jr/) > [ I take the Constitution very seriously. The biggest problems that we're facing right now have to do with \[the president\] trying to bring more… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-take-the-constitution-very-seriously-the-biggest-problems-that-we/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More by Andrew McCarthy > [“As was easily foreseeable, the unprovoked military adventure empowered anti-American terrorists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/as-was-easily-foreseeable-the-unprovoked-military-adventure-empowered/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) > [“Republicans, as well as Democrats committed to our constitutional framework, should fearlessly marshal the administration’s frauds, obstructions, and violations of law. They should demand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/republicans-as-well-as-democrats-committed-to-our-constitutional/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) > [“In addition to involving the nation in an unauthorized war in Libya that empowered jihadist enemies of the United States, he and his subordinates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/in-addition-to-involving-the-nation-in-an-unauthorized-war-in-libya/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) > [“The president and his subordinates willfully defrauded the American people, including investors in the public securities exchanges, in connection with Solyndra, a solar energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/the-president-and-his-subordinates-willfully-defrauded-the-american/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) > [“Rouhani triumphantly boasted in a tweet that the United States had “surrendered to Iranian nation’s will,” while the regime’s chief negotiator bragged that Iran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/rouhani-triumphantly-boasted-in-a-tweet-that-the-united-states-had/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) > [“Passing articles of impeachment against President Obama in the House at this premature point would have the same effect. 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If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/congressional-democrats-want-the-current-president-to-use-the/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) > [“With the November election looming and the president’s campaign rhetoric about decimating al-Qaeda becoming laughable, the White House endeavored to defraud the American people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/with-the-november-election-looming-and-the-president-s-campaign/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) > [“He and his subordinates have repeatedly, systematically and willfully withheld from Congress and from the American people information to which they are entitled, despite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/he-and-his-subordinates-have-repeatedly-systematically-and-willfully/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) > [“Despite being briefed about the ongoing terrorist attack at the Benghazi facility very soon after it began, the president took no meaningful action as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/despite-being-briefed-about-the-ongoing-terrorist-attack-at-the/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) > [The idea that we cause harm by doing what we perceive to be the right thing, that's another theme that interests me. Because most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/the-idea-that-we-cause-harm-by-doing-what-we-perceive-to-be-the-right/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) > [It's embarrassing, isn't it? It took me 15 years to make an 18-minute movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/it-s-embarrassing-isn-t-it-it-took-me-15-years-to-make-an-18-minute/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) > [“As a federal district court in Texas recently ruled, federal law “mandates the initiation of immigration removal proceedings whenever an immigration officer encounters an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/as-a-federal-district-court-in-texas-recently-ruled-federal-law/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) [Explore all 115 Andrew McCarthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) ## More Despotism quotes > [Generally, I like all islands. There, it is easier to rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/generally-i-like-all-islands-there-it-is-easier-to-rule/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [At a distance, we cannot conceive of the authority of a despot who knows all his subjects on sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/at-a-distance-we-cannot-conceive-of-the-authority-of-a-despot-who/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [“The central government was a despotism tempered by military rebellion and assassination and replacement of one scurvy lot of ruling dynasts by another. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/the-central-government-was-a-despotism-tempered-by-military-rebellion/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [When the savages of Louisiana wish to have fruit, they cut the tree at the bottom and gather the fruit. That is exactly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/when-the-savages-of-louisiana-wish-to-have-fruit-they-cut-the-tree-at/) [Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/) > [Republican despotism is more fertile in acts of tyranny, because everyone has a hand in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/republican-despotism-is-more-fertile-in-acts-of-tyranny-because/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Neither should men study war with a view to the enslavement of those who do not deserve to be enslaved; but first of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/neither-should-men-study-war-with-a-view-to-the-enslavement-of-those/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [If Despotism failed only for want of a capable benevolent despot, what chance has Democracy, which requires a whole population of capable voters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-despotism-failed-only-for-want-of-a-capable-benevolent-despot-what/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Liberty ... was a two-headed boon. There was first, the liberty of the people as a whole to determine the forms of their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/liberty-was-a-two-headed-boon-there-was-first-the-liberty-of-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“No longer enslaved or made dependent by force of law, the great majority are so by force of poverty; they are still chained to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/no-longer-enslaved-or-made-dependent-by-force-of-law-the-great/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [“All despotism is bad; but the worst is that which works with the machinery of freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junius/all-despotism-is-bad-but-the-worst-is-that-which-works-with-the/) [Junius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junius/) > [But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-when-a-long-train-of-abuses-and-usurpations-pursuing-invariably/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Despotism often presents itself as the repairer of all the ills suffered, the support of just rights, defender of the oppressed, and founder of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/despotism-often-presents-itself-as-the-repairer-of-all-the-ills/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [A court which yields to the popular will thereby licenses itself to practice despotism, for there can be no assurance that it will not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/a-court-which-yields-to-the-popular-will-thereby-licenses-itself-to/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [“Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/despotism-may-govern-without-faith-but-liberty-cannot/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) [Browse all 327 Despotism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despotism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The late political scientist Aaron B. 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