The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups.

The tendency of welfare spending in the United States has been to increase at an exponential rate.

The more things a government undertakes to do, the fewer things it can do completely. When the government tries to do everything it must do everything badly.

When each of us is free to work out his own economic destiny, within the framework of the market economy, the institution of private property, and the general rule of law, we will all improve our economic condition much faster than when we are ordered around by bureaucrats.

The only way we could remember would be by constant re-reading, for knowledge unused tends to drop out of mind. Knowledge used does not need to be remembered; practice forms habits and habits make memory unnecessary. The rule is nothing; the application is everything.

Bureaucrats denounce private enterprise for the consequences of their own reckless policies and demand still more governmental controls.

What is put into the hands of B cannot be put into the hands of A.