--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But obviously, we can't afford to make…" description: "\"But obviously, we can't afford to make some bad long-term decisions with regard to basic commitments our country has - trade those away for some short-..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/fred-thompson-8900_assistance_but-obviously-we-can-t-afford-to-make-so_2832060.jpg" --- # But obviously, we can't afford to make some bad long-term… ![“But obviously, we can't afford to make some bad long-term decisions with regard to basic commitments our country has - trade those away for some short-term assistance that may or may not be there a month from now.” quote by Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/fred-thompson-8900_assistance_but-obviously-we-can-t-afford-to-make-so_2832060.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/fred-thompson-8900_assistance_but-obviously-we-can-t-afford-to-make-so_2832060.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/fred-thompson-8900_assistance_but-obviously-we-can-t-afford-to-make-so_2832060.jpg) > “But obviously, we can't afford to make some bad long-term decisions with regard to basic commitments our country has - trade those away for some short-term assistance that may or may not be there a month from now.” [Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He warns against short‑term fixes that sacrifice long‑term commitments, especially in trade policy. **In simple terms:** Don’t trade long‑term stability for short‑term aid. Key Takeaway Prioritize lasting commitments. Themes politics economics policy Mood cautious strategic Type political analytical When to use this quote - budget negotiations - policy debates - economic forecasting Key Concepts trade budgeting strategic planning Questions to Reflect On - What long‑term goals are at risk? - How can short‑term aid be balanced? A Different Perspective May ignore immediate needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assistance/) [Assistance Month](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assistance-month-3664697/) [Basic Commitments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/basic-commitments-3664698/) [Commitment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commitment/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-term/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/months/) [Obviously Afford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obviously-afford-3664699/) [Regard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard/) [Short term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-term/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade/) ## Related quotes > [And I believe in the 13 years Judge Roberts was there, he never turned down a request to give some assistance on a pro-bono…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/and-i-believe-in-the-13-years-judge-roberts-was-there-he-never-turned/) [Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/) > [“Short term gain will result in long term pain”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/short-term-gain-will-result-in-long-term-pain/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I buy, I buy players for the long term, not the short term because I do respect the club a lot and also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-van-gaal/when-i-buy-i-buy-players-for-the-long-term-not-the-short-term-because/) [Louis van Gaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-van-gaal/) > [Make sure the short-term goals connect to the long-term goals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-jay-taylor/make-sure-the-short-term-goals-connect-to-the-long-term-goals/) [T Jay Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-jay-taylor/) > [You cannot ignore or completely escape the deeply ingrained short-term reward system within you. 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Long term, I'm optimistic because there's a lotta bipartisan agreement outside of Washington…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/i-am-long-term-optimistic-and-short-term-pessimistic-on-immigration/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [Unless you invest in people, you are not going to see growth in the long term, the medium term, and maybe even the short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-yong-kim/unless-you-invest-in-people-you-are-not-going-to-see-growth-in-the/) [Jim Yong Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-yong-kim/) > [If we human beings learn to see the intricacies that bind one part of a natural system to another and then to us, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaylord-nelson/if-we-human-beings-learn-to-see-the-intricacies-that-bind-one-part-of/) [Gaylord Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaylord-nelson/) > [A job is a short term solution to a long term problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/a-job-is-a-short-term-solution-to-a-long-term-problem/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Nature will eventually do what nature has always done. It will respond in a self-stabilizing manner over the long term with moderate variability over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-h-sununu/nature-will-eventually-do-what-nature-has-always-done-it-will-respond/) [John H. Sununu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-h-sununu/) ## More by Fred Thompson > [We are always just one successful terrorist attack away from a nuclear disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/we-are-always-just-one-successful-terrorist-attack-away-from-a/) [Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/) > [You can't buy peace by just wishing it and avoiding the challenges that other nations present to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/you-can-t-buy-peace-by-just-wishing-it-and-avoiding-the-challenges/) [Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/) > [The University of North Carolina-Greensboro has ordered a Christian club to allow non-Christians as leaders. While we're at it, let's put high school dropouts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/the-university-of-north-carolina-greensboro-has-ordered-a-christian/) [Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/) > [You can't substitute promise after promise with known violators of prior promises at the expense of protecting ourselves or setting an example.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/you-can-t-substitute-promise-after-promise-with-known-violators-of/) [Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/) > [A new report shows that medicare and Medicaid made more than $50 Billion in bad payments during fiscal year 2011. 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It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/this-business-will-get-out-of-control-it-will-get-out-of-control-and/) [Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/) > [But if the Chinese mainland, the PRC, attacked Taiwan, we'd be obligated to come to their aid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/but-if-the-chinese-mainland-the-prc-attacked-taiwan-we-d-be-obligated/) [Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/) > [A new report shows that, in Virginia, gun violence has fallen as the sale of firearms has soared to a new record. 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Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [The Republicans have chosen to neglect young Americans who need assistance with the costs of higher education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-conyers/the-republicans-have-chosen-to-neglect-young-americans-who-need/) [John Conyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-conyers/) > [In terms of the unemployed, of which we have over a million-and-a-half, don't feel particularly bad for many of these people. They don't feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harper/in-terms-of-the-unemployed-of-which-we-have-over-a-million-and-a-half/) [Stephen Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harper/) > [Nearly all the Gauls are of a lofty stature, white, and of ruddy complexion; terrible from the sternness of their eyes, very quarrelsome, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammianus-marcellinus/nearly-all-the-gauls-are-of-a-lofty-stature-white-and-of-ruddy/) [Ammianus Marcellinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammianus-marcellinus/) > [The longer people receive economic assistance, the worse their social condition and behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/the-longer-people-receive-economic-assistance-the-worse-their-social/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [We hope that more assistance will be available to the nations of the region, to include Egypt, on the three pillars that I discussed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/we-hope-that-more-assistance-will-be-available-to-the-nations-of-the/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [... happily the Government of the United States... gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/happily-the-government-of-the-united-states-gives-to-bigotry-no/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Now one of the most essential branches of English liberty, is the freedom of one's house. 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Their cries for assistance confront America with a test of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elijah-cummings/many-of-these-americans-who-are-struggling-to-survive-are-americans/) [Elijah Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elijah-cummings/) [Browse all 522 Assistance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assistance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But obviously, we can't afford to make some bad long-term decisions with regard to basic commitments our country has - trade those away for some short-term assistance that may or may not be there a month from now.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fred Thompson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/but-obviously-we-can-t-afford-to-make-some-bad-long-term-decisions/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assistance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/but-obviously-we-can-t-afford-to-make-some-bad-long-term-decisions/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/fred-thompson-8900_assistance_but-obviously-we-can-t-afford-to-make-so_2832060.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/fred-thompson-8900_assistance_but-obviously-we-can-t-afford-to-make-so_2832060.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/fred-thompson-8900_assistance_but-obviously-we-can-t-afford-to-make-so_2832060.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But obviously, we can't afford to make some bad long-term decisions with regard to basic commitments our…” — Fred Thompson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Fred Thompson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But obviously, we can't afford to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/but-obviously-we-can-t-afford-to-make-some-bad-long-term-decisions/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/but-obviously-we-can-t-afford-to-make-some-bad-long-term-decisions/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```