---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The government has become a mechanism for…"
description: "\"The government has become a mechanism for distributing largess, and your census form is your ticket.\" — Tom G. Palmer"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/936/tom-g-palmer-24998_census_the-government-has-become-a-mechanism-fo_2805729.png"
---

#  The government has become a mechanism for distributing…

![“The government has become a mechanism for distributing largess, and your census form is your ticket.” quote by Tom G. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/936/tom-g-palmer-24998_census_the-government-has-become-a-mechanism-fo_2805729.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/936/tom-g-palmer-24998_census_the-government-has-become-a-mechanism-fo_2805729.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/936/tom-g-palmer-24998_census_the-government-has-become-a-mechanism-fo_2805729.png)

> “The government has become a mechanism for distributing largess, and your census form is your ticket.”

[Tom G. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-g-palmer/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Government distributes resources, and census data determines individual benefit.

**In simple terms:** Census decides your share of aid.

Key Takeaway

Participate in census for fair distribution.

Themes

government resource allocation census

Mood

informative cautious

Type

analytical political

When to use this quote

- voting
- social services
- taxation

Key Concepts

public policy demographic data

Questions to Reflect On

- How does census data affect your community?
- What are the risks of inaccurate data?

A Different Perspective

May overstate government generosity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Census](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/census/) [Census Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/census-form-3483400/) [Distributing Largess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distributing-largess-3483402/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government Mechanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-mechanism-3483401/) [Largess Census](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/largess-census-3483399/) [Mechanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mechanism/) [Palms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/palms/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Tickets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tickets/)

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> [Money nowadays is money; money brings office; money gains friends; everywhere the poor man is down. \[Lat., In pretio pretium nunc est; dat census…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/money-nowadays-is-money-money-brings-office-money-gains-friends/)

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> [People resist a census, but give them a profile page and they'll spend all day telling you who they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/people-resist-a-census-but-give-them-a-profile-page-and-they-ll-spend/)

[Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/)

> [The Census Bureau is thinking of creating a new category because so many kids don't know how to describe themselves using the existing categories.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/the-census-bureau-is-thinking-of-creating-a-new-category-because-so/)

[Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/)

> [“According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a family is defined as two or more people living together who are related by birth, marriage or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/according-to-the-u-s-census-bureau-a-family-is-defined-as-two-or-more/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [I don't think the government is out to get me or help someone else get me but it wouldn't surprise me if they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/i-don-t-think-the-government-is-out-to-get-me-or-help-someone-else/)

[Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/)

> [As we search for change and seek for our voices to be heard, completing the census will help get us the resources we need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mccourty/as-we-search-for-change-and-seek-for-our-voices-to-be-heard/)

[Jason McCourty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mccourty/)

> [If Congress sees fit to impose a capitation, or other direct tax, it must be laid in proportion to the census; if Congress determines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salmon-p-chase/if-congress-sees-fit-to-impose-a-capitation-or-other-direct-tax-it/)

[Salmon P. Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salmon-p-chase/)

> [One thing that's really interesting is not only the magnitude of the recent immigration into this country, but also its distribution and its investment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-prewitt/one-thing-that-s-really-interesting-is-not-only-the-magnitude-of-the/)

[Kenneth Prewitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-prewitt/)

> [There are two economic realities in America in 2016. There's been a record six straight years of job growth, and new census numbers show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-holt/there-are-two-economic-realities-in-america-in-2016-there-s-been-a/)

[Lester Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-holt/)

> [...the number of saintly men has not yet risen to the level where the census makes them a separate statistical category.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stigler/the-number-of-saintly-men-has-not-yet-risen-to-the-level-where-the/)

[George Stigler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stigler/)

## More by Tom G. Palmer

> [To repeat, communitarians maintain that we are constituted as persons by our particular obligations, and therefore those obligations cannot be a matter of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-g-palmer/to-repeat-communitarians-maintain-that-we-are-constituted-as-persons/)

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[Explore all 23 Tom G. Palmer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-g-palmer/)

## More Census quotes

> [...the number of saintly men has not yet risen to the level where the census makes them a separate statistical category.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stigler/the-number-of-saintly-men-has-not-yet-risen-to-the-level-where-the/)

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> [People resist a census, but give them a profile page and they'll spend all day telling you who they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/people-resist-a-census-but-give-them-a-profile-page-and-they-ll-spend/)

[Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/)

> [Money nowadays is money; money brings office; money gains friends; everywhere the poor man is down. \[Lat., In pretio pretium nunc est; dat census…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/money-nowadays-is-money-money-brings-office-money-gains-friends/)

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[Gary Kleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kleck/)

> [“Are you going to count me on the census form?” “Sure. Ghost squatter, quantity of one. Sex male, race Caucasian, age dead. That’ll really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chessela-helm/are-you-going-to-count-me-on-the-census-form-sure-ghost-squatter/)

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> [There are some who complain that there is not enough food grain. But I put the argument that at the moment we use 2000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-v-thomas/there-are-some-who-complain-that-there-is-not-enough-food-grain-but-i/)

[K. V. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-v-thomas/)

> [Conservatives need to know how important it is to fill out the census. It is one of the only things our Constitution specifically asks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-mchenry/conservatives-need-to-know-how-important-it-is-to-fill-out-the-census/)

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