--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Qualities not regulated run into their…" description: "\"Qualities not regulated run into their opposites. Economy before competence is meanness after it. Therefore economy is for the poor; the rich may dispe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_competence_qualities-not-regulated-run-into-their-o_455492.jpg" --- # Qualities not regulated run into their opposites. Economy… ![“Qualities not regulated run into their opposites. Economy before competence is meanness after it. Therefore economy is for the poor; the rich may dispense with it.” quote by Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_competence_qualities-not-regulated-run-into-their-o_455492.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_competence_qualities-not-regulated-run-into-their-o_455492.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_competence_qualities-not-regulated-run-into-their-o_455492.jpg) > “Qualities not regulated run into their opposites. Economy before competence is meanness after it. Therefore economy is for the poor; the rich may dispense with it.” [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prioritizing cost over skill leads to moral decline; the poor need thrift, the rich can afford quality. **In simple terms:** Choosing cheap over capable harms society. Key Takeaway Value competence over mere economy. Themes ethics economics class morality priorities Mood reflective critical Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - budget planning - business hiring - public policy - personal finance Key Concepts cost‑benefit analysis social stratification resource allocation Questions to Reflect On - How does focusing on economy affect long‑term outcomes? - When is frugality justified? A Different Perspective Cheap solutions can sacrifice quality and fairness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy/) [Meanness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meanness/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) ## Related quotes > [Economy is for the poor; the rich may dispense with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/economy-is-for-the-poor-the-rich-may-dispense-with-it/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Economy, the poor man's mint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-farquhar-tupper/economy-the-poor-man-s-mint/) [Martin Farquhar Tupper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-farquhar-tupper/) > [I used to think, if I were the Lord, I would not suffer people to be tried as they are. But I have changed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor/i-used-to-think-if-i-were-the-lord-i-would-not-suffer-people-to-be/) [John Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor/) > [“Meanness on request isn't meanness at all, but kindness carried too far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/meanness-on-request-isn-t-meanness-at-all-but-kindness-carried-too-far/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [We're only passers-by, and all you can do is love what you have in your life. A person has to fight the meanness that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hamilton/we-re-only-passers-by-and-all-you-can-do-is-love-what-you-have-in/) [Jane Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hamilton/) > [If we weren't born with anti-social passions - narcissism, envy, lust, meanness, greed, hunger for power, just to name the more obvious - why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/if-we-weren-t-born-with-anti-social-passions-narcissism-envy-lust/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [Meanness is more in half-doing than in omitting acts of generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/meanness-is-more-in-half-doing-than-in-omitting-acts-of-generosity/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [“Boyishness—by which I mean animal life in its fullest measure, good nature and honest impulses, hatred of injustice and meanness, and thoughtlessness enough to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hughes/boyishness-by-which-i-mean-animal-life-in-its-fullest-measure-good/) [Thomas Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hughes/) > [There is no act of treachery or meanness of which a political party is not capable; for in politics there is no honour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/there-is-no-act-of-treachery-or-meanness-of-which-a-political-party/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Being popular is the most important thing in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/being-popular-is-the-most-important-thing-in-the-world/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Oh, you mysterious girls, when you are fifty-two we shall find you out; you must come into the open then. If the mouth has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/oh-you-mysterious-girls-when-you-are-fifty-two-we-shall-find-you-out/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Love can excuse anything except meanness; but meanness kills love, cripples even natural affection; without esteem true love cannot exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/love-can-excuse-anything-except-meanness-but-meanness-kills-love/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [I read the rumors, and I know there is a cottage industry of meanness out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-lauer/i-read-the-rumors-and-i-know-there-is-a-cottage-industry-of-meanness/) [Matt Lauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-lauer/) > [Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office-seeking. Men of good character and impulses are betrayed by it into all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nothing-brings-out-the-lower-traits-of-human-nature-like-office/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) ## More by Christian Nestell Bovee > [What is taken from the fortune, also, may haply be so much lifted from the soul. The greatness of a loss, as the proverb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/what-is-taken-from-the-fortune-also-may-haply-be-so-much-lifted-from/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [The next best thing to being witty one's self, is to be able to be able to quote another's wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/the-next-best-thing-to-being-witty-one-s-self-is-to-be-able-to-be/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [There are ceremonious bows that repel one like a cudgel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/there-are-ceremonious-bows-that-repel-one-like-a-cudgel/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [There are some weaknesses that are peculiar and distinctive to generous characters, as freckles are to a fair skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/there-are-some-weaknesses-that-are-peculiar-and-distinctive-to/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [A genuine passion is like a mountain stream; it admits of no impediment; it cannot go backward; it must go forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/a-genuine-passion-is-like-a-mountain-stream-it-admits-of-no/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Our courage is greater to dare a visible than an imagined danger. A visible danger rouses our energies to meet or avert it; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/our-courage-is-greater-to-dare-a-visible-than-an-imagined-danger-a/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [A good thought is indeed a great boon, for which God is to be first thanked; next he who is the first to utter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/a-good-thought-is-indeed-a-great-boon-for-which-god-is-to-be-first/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [We should not so much esteem our poverty as a misfortune, were it not that the world treats it so much as a crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/we-should-not-so-much-esteem-our-poverty-as-a-misfortune-were-it-not/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [He has but one great fear that fears to do wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/he-has-but-one-great-fear-that-fears-to-do-wrong/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Six traits of effective leaders: 1. Make others feel important 2. Promote a vision 3. Follow the golden rule 4. Admit mistakes 5. Criticize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/six-traits-of-effective-leaders-1-make-others-feel-important-2/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [In a contest with a weaker party it is more honorable to yield than to force concession. Magnanimity becomes the strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/in-a-contest-with-a-weaker-party-it-is-more-honorable-to-yield-than/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Wit is better as a seasoning than as a whole dish by itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/wit-is-better-as-a-seasoning-than-as-a-whole-dish-by-itself/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [To cultivate a garden is. . . to go hand in hand with Nature in some of her most beautiful processes, to learn something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/to-cultivate-a-garden-is-to-go-hand-in-hand-with-nature-in-some-of/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [It is with a company as it is with a punch, everything depends upon the ingredients of which it in composed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/it-is-with-a-company-as-it-is-with-a-punch-everything-depends-upon/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [It is not the number of facts he knows, but how much of a fact he is himself, that proves the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/it-is-not-the-number-of-facts-he-knows-but-how-much-of-a-fact-he-is/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) [Explore all 310 Christian Nestell Bovee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) ## More Competence quotes > [A bad artist almost always tries to conceal his incompetence by whooping up a new formula.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-bad-artist-almost-always-tries-to-conceal-his-incompetence-by/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“You understand how much you know about a subject the moment you give explanations to someone who doesn't know anything about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigina-sgarro/you-understand-how-much-you-know-about-a-subject-the-moment-you-give/) [Luigina Sgarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigina-sgarro/) > [Bruce Katz is a spectacular talent! He's a brilliant composer and arranger who uses uncommon and unique musical intelligence to redefine jazz and blues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-coryell/bruce-katz-is-a-spectacular-talent-he-s-a-brilliant-composer-and/) [Larry Coryell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-coryell/) > [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [“it is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didnt”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-van-buren/it-is-easier-to-do-a-job-right-than-to-explain-why-you-didnt/) [Martin Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-van-buren/) > [Can you understand why the Congress, most states and most cities refuse to pass legislation requiring the registration and licensing of any and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/can-you-understand-why-the-congress-most-states-and-most-cities/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [You can't fake competence, creativity, or sexual arousal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/you-can-t-fake-competence-creativity-or-sexual-arousal/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Everybody's got a different circle of competence. The important thing is not how big the circle is. The important thing is staying inside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/everybody-s-got-a-different-circle-of-competence-the-important-thing/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Friendships are nice. So is competence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/friendships-are-nice-so-is-competence/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [Having spent years ruining the housing markets with their interference, leading to a housing meltdown that has taken the whole economy down with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/having-spent-years-ruining-the-housing-markets-with-their/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [ A nominee \[to Supreme Court\] must possess the competence, character and temperament to serve on the bench. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kohl/a-nominee-to-supreme-court-must-possess-the-competence-character-and/) [Herb Kohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kohl/) > [Over the first two weeks of the Donald Trump administration, Steve Bannon has emerged as one of the most powerful figures in the White…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-goodman/over-the-first-two-weeks-of-the-donald-trump-administration-steve/) [Amy Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-goodman/) > [The individual attributes of warmth and competence are often perceived to be negatively correlated. That doesn't mean they actually are, but that's how people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/the-individual-attributes-of-warmth-and-competence-are-often/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively; unless you can choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/do-not-stop-thinking-of-life-as-an-adventure-you-have-no-security/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [Great writers zealously learn the craft of their profession so they can release the power and the depth of their imagination and experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-bishop/great-writers-zealously-learn-the-craft-of-their-profession-so-they/) [Leonard Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-bishop/) Browse all 452 Competence quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Qualities not regulated run into their opposites. Economy before competence is meanness after it. 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