--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Government is saying to the average…" description: "\"Government is saying to the average citizen every January 1: 'For the next five months you'll be working for us, for goals we shall determine. Is that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/dick-armey-16265_ambition_government-is-saying-to-the-average-citi_2504281.jpg" --- # Government is saying to the average citizen every January… ![“Government is saying to the average citizen every January 1: 'For the next five months you'll be working for us, for goals we shall determine. Is that clear? After May 5 you may look after your own needs and ambitions, but report back to us next January. Now move along.' ... If nearly half of what…” quote by Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/dick-armey-16265_ambition_government-is-saying-to-the-average-citi_2504281.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/dick-armey-16265_ambition_government-is-saying-to-the-average-citi_2504281.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/dick-armey-16265_ambition_government-is-saying-to-the-average-citi_2504281.jpg) > “Government is saying to the average citizen every January 1: 'For the next five months you'll be working for us, for goals we shall determine. Is that clear? After May 5 you may look after your own needs and ambitions, but report back to us next January. Now move along.' ... If nearly half of what you make is spent by someone else, that means that half your work time is spent working for someone else. Call me a radical, but I think that comes dangerously close to being a form of indentured servitude.” [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote likens annual work cycles to a form of modern indentured servitude, highlighting limited personal autonomy under systemic labor expectations. **In simple terms:** Year‑long work feels like servitude. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge restrictive labor structures. Themes labor rights economic freedom political critique Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - employment contracts - policy reform - union organizing Key Concepts political economy social contract Questions to Reflect On - What would a truly free labor system look like? - How can workers gain more agency within existing structures? A Different Perspective Economic systems also provide benefits and protections that complicate the analogy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Average](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/average/) [Call me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/call-me/) [Citizens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizens/) [Clear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clear/) [Determine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determine/) [Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government Saying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-saying-1091695/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Indentured Servitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indentured-servitude-1091692/) [January](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/january/) [January 1](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/january-1/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/months/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Radical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radical/) [Reports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reports/) [Servitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servitude/) [Spent Working](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spent-working-1091696/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Working Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-goals-1091693/) [Working Radical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-radical-1091694/) ## Related quotes > [Working on your goals allows you to control the direction of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack/working-on-your-goals-allows-you-to-control-the-direction-of-your-life/) [Jack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack/) > [“Being an employee was considered a form of bondage, only a step above indentured servitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-curl/being-an-employee-was-considered-a-form-of-bondage-only-a-step-above/) [John Curl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-curl/) > [Unrequited love is the only possible way to give yourself to another without being held in indentured servitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/unrequited-love-is-the-only-possible-way-to-give-yourself-to-another/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In American History they’ve been studying how the United States was founded on indentured servitude. The teacher, Mr. Reed, said that in the seventeenth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-baker-kline/in-american-history-they-ve-been-studying-how-the-united-states-was/) [Christina Baker Kline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-baker-kline/) > [If you aren't working on your goals, you aren't working. You're just wasting time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-pavlina/if-you-aren-t-working-on-your-goals-you-aren-t-working-you-re-just/) [Steve Pavlina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-pavlina/) > [Commitment is when you still continue working on your goals even if you're not so much in the mood to do so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/commitment-is-when-you-still-continue-working-on-your-goals-even-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The tightly intertwined stories of the white working class and black Americans go back to the prehistory of the United States—and the use of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-tightly-intertwined-stories-of-the-white-working-class-and-black/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [Taking out student loans for college is like indentured servitude. I'll be paying my way to freedom for the rest of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/taking-out-student-loans-for-college-is-like-indentured-servitude-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Get out of your own way. Often, we're our own worst enemy when working towards our goals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/get-out-of-your-own-way-often-we-re-our-own-worst-enemy-when-working/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [“If you aren’t busy working on your own goals, you’ll be working for somebody else’s goals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-reardon/if-you-aren-t-busy-working-on-your-own-goals-you-ll-be-working-for/) [Hank Reardon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-reardon/) > [It's very hard to stand up to the government which is saying that publication will threaten national security. People don't seem to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bradlee/it-s-very-hard-to-stand-up-to-the-government-which-is-saying-that/) [Ben Bradlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bradlee/) > [What I have said is, when the American people elect divided government, what are they saying? I think they're saying we know you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-mcconnell/what-i-have-said-is-when-the-american-people-elect-divided-government/) [Mitch McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-mcconnell/) > [After the war people said, 'If you can plan for war, why can't you plan for peace?' When I was 17, I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/after-the-war-people-said-if-you-can-plan-for-war-why-can-t-you-plan/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [“General assumptions often lead to erroneous conclusions, but one cannot go far wrong in always assuming that whatever one's government is saying is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/general-assumptions-often-lead-to-erroneous-conclusions-but-one/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“The country isn’t half worked out because they that governs it won’t let you touch it. They spend all their blessed time in governing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/the-country-isn-t-half-worked-out-because-they-that-governs-it-won-t/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) ## More by Dick Armey > [ \[T\]he tax code has been piling up, year after year, a symbol of everything gone wrong in America, of arrogant rulers and lost freedom,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/t-he-tax-code-has-been-piling-up-year-after-year-a-symbol-of/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [I don't believe America will justifiably make an unprovoked attack on another nation. It would not be consistent with what we have been as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/i-don-t-believe-america-will-justifiably-make-an-unprovoked-attack-on/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [America's Christian conservative movement is confronted with this divide: small-government advocates who want to practice their faith independent of heavy-handed government versus big-government sympathizers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/america-s-christian-conservative-movement-is-confronted-with-this/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [In my view, immigrants today aren't any different from immigrants who have come to America throughout our nation's history. They bring new ideas, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/in-my-view-immigrants-today-aren-t-any-different-from-immigrants-who/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [Because the American people champion liberty, more people in the world live free today than at any time in history. Yet, there is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/because-the-american-people-champion-liberty-more-people-in-the-world/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [My own view would be to let Saddam bluster, let him rant and rave all he wants. As long as he behaves himself within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/my-own-view-would-be-to-let-saddam-bluster-let-him-rant-and-rave-all/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [Virtually all bad ideas come from universities, bad ideas that only survive when insulated from reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/virtually-all-bad-ideas-come-from-universities-bad-ideas-that-only/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [I would be looking up from a pool of blood and hearing my wife ask 'How do I reload this thing'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/i-would-be-looking-up-from-a-pool-of-blood-and-hearing-my-wife-ask/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [Politics will sooner or later make fools of everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/politics-will-sooner-or-later-make-fools-of-everybody/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [We're going to have a tax cut. Today's American family is overtaxed at all levels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/we-re-going-to-have-a-tax-cut-today-s-american-family-is-overtaxed-at/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [Programs that pay farmers not to farm often devastate rural areas. The reductions hurt everyone from fertilizer companies to tractor salesmen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/programs-that-pay-farmers-not-to-farm-often-devastate-rural-areas-the/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [The average family pays more in taxes than it spends on food, clothing, and shelter combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/the-average-family-pays-more-in-taxes-than-it-spends-on-food-clothing/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [The arrangement was simply FreedomWorks paid Glenn Beck money and Glenn Beck said nice things about FreedomWorks on the air. I saw that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/the-arrangement-was-simply-freedomworks-paid-glenn-beck-money-and/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [The reason families need two incomes today is not to support themselves but to support the government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/the-reason-families-need-two-incomes-today-is-not-to-support/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [You can't get ahead while getting even.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/you-can-t-get-ahead-while-getting-even/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) [Explore all 40 Dick Armey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Government is saying to the average citizen every January 1: 'For the next five months you'll be working for us, for goals we shall determine. Is that clear? After May 5 you may look after your own needs and ambitions, but report back to us next January. Now move along.' ... If nearly half of what you make is spent by someone else, that means that half your work time is spent working for someone else. 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