--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The assumption that spending more of the…" description: "\"The assumption that spending more of the taxpayer's money will make things better has survived all kinds of evidence that it has made things worse. The..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81b/thomas-sowell-247_federal-government_the-assumption-that-spending-more-of-the_1633892.jpg" --- # The assumption that spending more of the taxpayer's money… ![“The assumption that spending more of the taxpayer's money will make things better has survived all kinds of evidence that it has made things worse. The black family- which survived slavery, discrimination, poverty, wars and depressions- began to come apart as the federal government moved in with…” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81b/thomas-sowell-247_federal-government_the-assumption-that-spending-more-of-the_1633892.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81b/thomas-sowell-247_federal-government_the-assumption-that-spending-more-of-the_1633892.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81b/thomas-sowell-247_federal-government_the-assumption-that-spending-more-of-the_1633892.jpg) > “The assumption that spending more of the taxpayer's money will make things better has survived all kinds of evidence that it has made things worse. The black family- which survived slavery, discrimination, poverty, wars and depressions- began to come apart as the federal government moved in with its well-financed programs to “help.”” [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Increasing government spending often worsens problems despite intentions to help. **In simple terms:** More money doesn’t always fix issues. Key Takeaway Scrutinize policy costs. Themes public policy government spending inefficiency social welfare Mood critical analytical Type explanatory political When to use this quote - budget planning - social program design - community aid - taxation debates Key Concepts fiscal conservatism policy evaluation Questions to Reflect On - When is targeted spending justified? - How can outcomes be measured effectively? A Different Perspective Complex issues may need nuanced solutions beyond spending cuts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-family/) [Federal government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/federal-government/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Welfare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/welfare/) ## Related quotes > [Whether we want to own up to it or not, the welfare state has done what Jim Crow, gross discrimination and poverty could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/whether-we-want-to-own-up-to-it-or-not-the-welfare-state-has-done/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [“Jimmy said, "We survived slavery. Think about that. Not because we were strong. The American Indians were strong, and they were on their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/jimmy-said-we-survived-slavery-think-about-that-not-because-we-were/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You can't take our people from Africa and put us in a diaspora and spread us all over the world. And we survived slavery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-d-thomas/you-can-t-take-our-people-from-africa-and-put-us-in-a-diaspora-and/) [Eric D. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-d-thomas/) > [The camera could be a very powerful instrument against discrimination, against poverty, against racism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/the-camera-could-be-a-very-powerful-instrument-against-discrimination/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The black family survived centuries of slavery and generations of Jim Crow, but it has disintegrated in the wake of the liberals' expansion of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-black-family-survived-centuries-of-slavery-and-generations-of-jim/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [If taxpayer money were limitless, we wouldn't need a budget at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-devos/if-taxpayer-money-were-limitless-we-wouldn-t-need-a-budget-at-all/) [Betsy DeVos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-devos/) > [I came to Congress on the promise of cutting wasteful government spending. There are plenty of examples of the government playing loose with taxpayer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-yoho/i-came-to-congress-on-the-promise-of-cutting-wasteful-government/) [Ted Yoho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-yoho/) > [We should all be on the side of good governance and protection of taxpayer money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-steel/we-should-all-be-on-the-side-of-good-governance-and-protection-of/) [Michelle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-steel/) > [It's wrong that members of Congress can purchase luxury airfare with taxpayer money when many families in my district and across the county are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-ruiz/it-s-wrong-that-members-of-congress-can-purchase-luxury-airfare-with/) [Raul Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-ruiz/) > [I never once considered that it was appropriate to put taxpayer money on the line in resolving Lehman Brothers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/i-never-once-considered-that-it-was-appropriate-to-put-taxpayer-money/) [Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/) > [People'd be like, "Oh, spending taxpayer money." It's like, "No, no, I actually I'm paying for all of this. The only thing I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/people-d-be-like-oh-spending-taxpayer-money-it-s-like-no-no-i/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [It's all about the fungibility and money. If Planned Parenthood accesses hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money and they use that for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-cantor/it-s-all-about-the-fungibility-and-money-if-planned-parenthood/) [Eric Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-cantor/) > [I am going to be a voice for restoring fiscal sanity in our country by spending hard-earned taxpayer money responsibly and responsively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-britt/i-am-going-to-be-a-voice-for-restoring-fiscal-sanity-in-our-country/) [Katie Britt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-britt/) > [When we're talking about a trillion dollars of taxpayer money, "trust me" just isn't good enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/when-we-re-talking-about-a-trillion-dollars-of-taxpayer-money-trust/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) ## More by Thomas Sowell > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [There is no bigger waste of time than doing 90% of what is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-is-no-bigger-waste-of-time-than-doing-90-of-what-is-necessary/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-you-have-always-believed-that-everyone-should-play-by-the-same/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“In 1962, Democratic President John F. Kennedy, like both Democratic and Republican Presidents and Secretaries of the Treasury in earlier years, pointed out that “it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/in-1962-democratic-president-john-f-kennedy-like-both-democratic-and/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ideological-bigotry-has-become-the-norm-on-even-our-most-prestigious/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Bailing out people who made ill-advised mortgages makes no more sense that bailing out people who lost their life savings in Las Vegas casinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/bailing-out-people-who-made-ill-advised-mortgages-makes-no-more-sense/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“One third of all Scots in the mid-nineteenth century moved from one county to another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/one-third-of-all-scots-in-the-mid-nineteenth-century-moved-from-one/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-difference-is-that-we-have-the-hardest-and-most-painful-evidence/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Just as price fluctuations allocate scarce resources which have alternative uses, price controls which limit those fluctuations reduce the incentives for individuals to limit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/just-as-price-fluctuations-allocate-scarce-resources-which-have/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [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/) > [Do all children have some inherent right to live in America if they have done nothing wrong? If not, then why should the children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/do-all-children-have-some-inherent-right-to-live-in-america-if-they/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [What 'eminent domain' laws mean in practice is that politicians have a right to seize your property and turn it over to someone else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/what-eminent-domain-laws-mean-in-practice-is-that-politicians-have-a/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“those parts of the British Isles without the advantage of coal deposits or ports, industrialization was as handicapped as in other countries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/those-parts-of-the-british-isles-without-the-advantage-of-coal/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The whole idea of equal justice under law is completely incompatible with the idea of judges deciding cases according to "empathy".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-whole-idea-of-equal-justice-under-law-is-completely-incompatible/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) [Explore all 823 Thomas Sowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## More Black family quotes > [Even in 'Hollyoaks,' we were known as 'the black family' as opposed to just 'the new family.' But that's where we are in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-whittle/even-in-hollyoaks-we-were-known-as-the-black-family-as-opposed-to/) [Ricky Whittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-whittle/) > [I was the only mixed-race girl in my school, but for me, that was a positive thing; it made me unique. If it wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alesha-dixon/i-was-the-only-mixed-race-girl-in-my-school-but-for-me-that-was-a/) [Alesha Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alesha-dixon/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The welfare state has done to Black Americans what slavery (and Jim Crow and racism) could not have done. . .break up the black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stossel/the-welfare-state-has-done-to-black-americans-what-slavery-and-jim/) [John Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stossel/) > [My life was very compartmentalized. I went to a school that was all white, and then I went home and to my black family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chirlane-mccray/my-life-was-very-compartmentalized-i-went-to-a-school-that-was-all/) [Chirlane McCray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chirlane-mccray/) > [People come up and say, 'Thank you' for showing a black family loving their masculine-presenting child and for undoing the myth of black people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yance-ford/people-come-up-and-say-thank-you-for-showing-a-black-family-loving/) [Yance Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yance-ford/) > [“Black folk etymological theory posits that motherfucker was a term developed by the children of enslaved Africans in the United States. According to this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-sammy-alim-and-geneva-smitherman/black-folk-etymological-theory-posits-that-motherfucker-was-a-term/) H. Sammy Alim and Geneva Smitherman > [Theoretically, you can make, obviously, a powerful argument that centuries of slavery, Jim Crow, discrimination are the primary cause for all those gaps. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/theoretically-you-can-make-obviously-a-powerful-argument-that/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The black family survived centuries of slavery and generations of Jim Crow, but it has disintegrated in the wake of the liberals' expansion of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-black-family-survived-centuries-of-slavery-and-generations-of-jim/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Trump says he wants to run for president. Why not? It wouldn't be the first time he pushed a black family out of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/trump-says-he-wants-to-run-for-president-why-not-it-wouldn-t-be-the/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [I've gotten a firsthand view at the destruction that black men and black women not being able to stay and build healthy relationships has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hill-harper/i-ve-gotten-a-firsthand-view-at-the-destruction-that-black-men-and/) [Hill Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hill-harper/) > [“LAZY AND IRRESPONSIBLE This isn't a politically correct position to have, but I'm convinced that the lack of moral character in many black men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rev-jesse-lee-peterson/lazy-and-irresponsible-this-isn-t-a-politically-correct-position-to/) [Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rev-jesse-lee-peterson/) > [“In high school, I developed a new love: acting. I went to a predominantly black and Latino school in Compton and, outside of television,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issa-rae/in-high-school-i-developed-a-new-love-acting-i-went-to-a/) [Issa Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issa-rae/) > [I can't negate the theory that the Huxtables on 'The Cosby Show' may have helped pave the way for the Obama family. 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