--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some champions of ever-greater…" description: "\"Some champions of ever-greater governmental power and spending invent the theory that the taxpayers, left to themselves, spend the money they have earn..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/henry-hazlitt-2839_bureaucrats_some-champions-of-ever-greater-governmen_2764394.jpg" --- # Some champions of ever-greater governmental power and… ![“Some champions of ever-greater governmental power and spending invent the theory that the taxpayers, left to themselves, spend the money they have earned very foolishly, on all sorts of trivialities and rubbish, and that only the bureaucrats, by first seizing it from them, will know how to spend…” quote by Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/henry-hazlitt-2839_bureaucrats_some-champions-of-ever-greater-governmen_2764394.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/henry-hazlitt-2839_bureaucrats_some-champions-of-ever-greater-governmen_2764394.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/henry-hazlitt-2839_bureaucrats_some-champions-of-ever-greater-governmen_2764394.jpg) > “Some champions of ever-greater governmental power and spending invent the theory that the taxpayers, left to themselves, spend the money they have earned very foolishly, on all sorts of trivialities and rubbish, and that only the bureaucrats, by first seizing it from them, will know how to spend it wisely.” [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He critiques the belief that governments should control spending, arguing that taxpayers can spend wisely and bureaucrats may not be better stewards. **In simple terms:** Taxpayers can spend wisely; government may mismanage. Key Takeaway Question government spending control. Themes economics government taxation Mood critical analytical Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - budget planning - civic education - financial literacy Key Concepts public policy political economy Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards ensure responsible spending? - How to balance individual and collective needs? A Different Perspective It may ignore market failures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bureaucrats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucrats/) [Bureaucrats Seizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucrats-seizing-3194010/) [Champion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/champion/) [Earned Foolishly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earned-foolishly-3194009/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Greater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Know how](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-how/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Mental power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-power/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Rubbish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rubbish/) [Rubbish Bureaucrats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rubbish-bureaucrats-3194007/) [Seizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seizing/) [Spending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spending/) [Spending Invent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spending-invent-3194008/) [Taxpayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxpayers/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) [Theory Taxpayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory-taxpayers-3194006/) [Triviality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triviality/) ## Related quotes > [A social group can, indeed must, already exercise 'leadership' before winning governmental power (this is indeed one of the principal conditions for the winning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/a-social-group-can-indeed-must-already-exercise-leadership-before/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [“Vulnerability is the least celebrated emotion in our society”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohadesa-najumi/vulnerability-is-the-least-celebrated-emotion-in-our-society/) [Mohadesa Najumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohadesa-najumi/) > [By relieving the brain of all unnecessary work, a good notation sets it free to concentrate on more advanced problems, and in effect increases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/by-relieving-the-brain-of-all-unnecessary-work-a-good-notation-sets/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The people are the source of governmental power. Along with many religious people, Latter-day Saints affirm that God gave the power to the people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/the-people-are-the-source-of-governmental-power-along-with-many/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) > [Earnestness is the best gift of mental power, and deficiency of heart is the cause of many men never becoming great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/earnestness-is-the-best-gift-of-mental-power-and-deficiency-of-heart/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [“Your mind is a wealth-carrier – a chest filled with hidden treasures.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/your-mind-is-a-wealth-carrier-a-chest-filled-with-hidden-treasures/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [There is an inherent tendency in all governmental power to recognize no restraints on its operation and to extend the sphere of its dominion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/there-is-an-inherent-tendency-in-all-governmental-power-to-recognize/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [It is certain that there may be extraordinary mental activity with an extremely small absolute mass of nervous matter: thus the wonderfully diversified instincts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-is-certain-that-there-may-be-extraordinary-mental-activity-with-an/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [The yogin becomes aware in part of the action of the supramental power organizing the lower vehicle (ādhāra). A part of it remains behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/the-yogin-becomes-aware-in-part-of-the-action-of-the-supramental/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [The chief distinction in the intellectual powers of the two sexes is shown by mans attaining to a higher eminence, in whatever he takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-chief-distinction-in-the-intellectual-powers-of-the-two-sexes-is/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Memory is the primary and fundamental power, without which there could be no other intellectual operation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/memory-is-the-primary-and-fundamental-power-without-which-there-could/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [We believe that the people are the source of all governmental power; that the authority of the people is to be extended, not restricted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/we-believe-that-the-people-are-the-source-of-all-governmental-power/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [“Knowledge cannot be passed, like some material substance, from one person to another. Thoughts are not things which may be held and handled. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-m-gregory/knowledge-cannot-be-passed-like-some-material-substance-from-one/) [John M Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-m-gregory/) > [Nothing was ever in any man that is not in you; no man ever had more spiritual or mental power than you can attain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/nothing-was-ever-in-any-man-that-is-not-in-you-no-man-ever-had-more/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [Any one who studies the state of things which preceded the French Revolution will see that that tremendous catastrophe came about from so excessive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/any-one-who-studies-the-state-of-things-which-preceded-the-french/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) ## More by Henry Hazlitt > [It is often sadly remarked that the bad economists present their errors to the public better than the good economists present their truths. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/it-is-often-sadly-remarked-that-the-bad-economists-present-their/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [“This is perhaps as good a place as any to point out that what distinguishes many reformers from those who cannot accept their proposals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/this-is-perhaps-as-good-a-place-as-any-to-point-out-that-what/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [Government can't give us anything without depriving us of something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/government-can-t-give-us-anything-without-depriving-us-of-something/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [When the government makes loans or subsidies to business, what it does is to tax successful private business in order to support unsuccessful private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/when-the-government-makes-loans-or-subsidies-to-business-what-it-does/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [“The analysis of our illustrations has taught us another incidental lesson. This is that, when we study the effects of various proposals, not merely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-analysis-of-our-illustrations-has-taught-us-another-incidental/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [There is a profound contrast between the effects of foreign aid and of voluntary private investment: foreign aid goes from government to government. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/there-is-a-profound-contrast-between-the-effects-of-foreign-aid-and/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [The mounting burden of taxation not only undermines individual incentives to increased work and earnings, but in a score of ways discourages capital accumulation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-mounting-burden-of-taxation-not-only-undermines-individual/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [Multiculturalism means your kid has to learn some wretched tribal dirge for the school holiday concert instead of getting to sing 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/multiculturalism-means-your-kid-has-to-learn-some-wretched-tribal/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [It is possible to increase paper-money income to any amount by debasing the currency. But real income can only be increased by working harder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/it-is-possible-to-increase-paper-money-income-to-any-amount-by/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [Inflation makes the extension of socialism possible by providing the financial chaos in which it flourishes. The fact is that socialism and inflation are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/inflation-makes-the-extension-of-socialism-possible-by-providing-the/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [“the desperate need to get back to normal housing and other living conditions stimulated increased efforts. But this does not mean that property destruction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-desperate-need-to-get-back-to-normal-housing-and-other-living/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [Yet it ought to be clear that a minimum wage law is, at best, a limited weapon for combatting the evil of low wages,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/yet-it-ought-to-be-clear-that-a-minimum-wage-law-is-at-best-a-limited/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [“It is a misconception to think of the function or result of machines as primarily one of creating jobs . The real result of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/it-is-a-misconception-to-think-of-the-function-or-result-of-machines/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [A certain amount of taxes is of course indispensable to carry on essential government functions. Reasonable taxes for this purpose need not hurt production…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/a-certain-amount-of-taxes-is-of-course-indispensable-to-carry-on/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [A vital function of the free market is to penalize inefficiency and misjudgment and to reward efficiency and good judgment. By distorting economic calculations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/a-vital-function-of-the-free-market-is-to-penalize-inefficiency-and/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) [Explore all 148 Henry Hazlitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) ## More Bureaucrats quotes > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Advocacy groups, politicians, and bureaucrats use the government to advance their private good instead of the common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-miller/advocacy-groups-politicians-and-bureaucrats-use-the-government-to/) [Joel Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-miller/) > [People are tired of wasteful government programs and welfare chiselers, and they are angry about the constant spiral of taxes and government regulations, arrogant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/people-are-tired-of-wasteful-government-programs-and-welfare/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“Plato argued that good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will always find a way around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/plato-argued-that-good-people-do-not-need-laws-to-tell-them-to-act/) [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) > [Politicians and bureaucrats are substituting their uninformed, largely political decisions for those of the marketplace. Their past miscalculations demonstrate that they do not and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-levin/politicians-and-bureaucrats-are-substituting-their-uninformed-largely/) [Mark Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-levin/) > [Government ... can't be trusted to control its own bureaucrats or collect taxes equitably or fill a pothole, much less decide which of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-prejean/government-can-t-be-trusted-to-control-its-own-bureaucrats-or-collect/) [Helen Prejean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-prejean/) > [I am interested in power, too, but power for you, the people, not power for bureaucrats and politicians and officeholders and all the like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-am-interested-in-power-too-but-power-for-you-the-people-not-power/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Politicians and bureaucrats are no different from the rest of us. They will maximize their incentives just like everybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-buchanan/politicians-and-bureaucrats-are-no-different-from-the-rest-of-us-they/) [James M. Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-buchanan/) > [The nearest thing to immortality in this world is a government bureau.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-s-johnson/the-nearest-thing-to-immortality-in-this-world-is-a-government-bureau/) [Hugh S. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-s-johnson/) > [The people want government that works for them at every level. They want good government that begins at their doorstep in the barangay, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-macapagal-arroyo/the-people-want-government-that-works-for-them-at-every-level-they/) [Gloria Macapagal Arroyo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-macapagal-arroyo/) > [One of the enduring truths of the nation's capital is that bureaucrats survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-r-ford/one-of-the-enduring-truths-of-the-nation-s-capital-is-that/) [Gerald R. Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-r-ford/) > [The real trouble with the doctor image in America is that it has been grayed by the image of the doctor-as-businessman, the doctor-as-bureaucrat, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shana-alexander/the-real-trouble-with-the-doctor-image-in-america-is-that-it-has-been/) [Shana Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shana-alexander/) > [“In our time... a man whose enemies are faceless bureaucrats almost never wins. It is our equivalent to the anger of the gods in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/in-our-time-a-man-whose-enemies-are-faceless-bureaucrats-almost-never/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [Mystical references to society and its programs to help may warm the hearts of the gullible but what it really means is putting more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/mystical-references-to-society-and-its-programs-to-help-may-warm-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [India needs honest bureaucrats; most officers in the system are corrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jagapathi-babu/india-needs-honest-bureaucrats-most-officers-in-the-system-are-corrupt/) [Jagapathi Babu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jagapathi-babu/) [Browse all 273 Bureaucrats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucrats/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Some champions of ever-greater governmental power and spending invent the theory that the taxpayers, left to themselves, spend the money they have earned very foolishly, on all sorts of trivialities and rubbish, and that only the bureaucrats, by first seizing it from them, will know how to spend it wisely.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry Hazlitt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/some-champions-of-ever-greater-governmental-power-and-spending-invent/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bureaucrats" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/some-champions-of-ever-greater-governmental-power-and-spending-invent/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/henry-hazlitt-2839_bureaucrats_some-champions-of-ever-greater-governmen_2764394.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/henry-hazlitt-2839_bureaucrats_some-champions-of-ever-greater-governmen_2764394.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/henry-hazlitt-2839_bureaucrats_some-champions-of-ever-greater-governmen_2764394.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Some champions of ever-greater governmental power and spending invent the theory that the taxpayers, left to…” — Henry Hazlitt", "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": "Henry Hazlitt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Some champions of ever-greater governmental power...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/some-champions-of-ever-greater-governmental-power-and-spending-invent/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/some-champions-of-ever-greater-governmental-power-and-spending-invent/#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 } } ] } ```