It remains to be seen which program will cause greater societal damage: China's one-child policy or America's one-parent policy.
P. J. O'RourkeThe preamble to the Constitution states: "We, the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare..." It doesn't say "guarantee the general welfare." And it certainly doesn't say "give welfare benefits to all the people in the country who aren't doing so well even if the reason they aren't doing so well is because they're sitting on their butts in front of the TV".
P. J. O'RourkeIt is a popular delusion that the government wastes vast amounts of money through inefficiency and sloth. Enormous effort and elaborate planning are required to waste this much money.
P. J. O'RourkeThose who do not know history are probably also not doing well in English or math. P.J. O'Rourke
P. J. O'RourkeGovernment does not cause affluence. Citizens of totalitarian countries have plenty of government and nothing of anything else.
P. J. O'RourkeWhen government does, occasionally, work, it works in an elitist fashion. That is, government is most easily manipulated by people who have money and power already. This is why government benefits usually go to people who don't need benefits from government. Government may make some environmental improvements, but these will be improvements for rich bird-watchers. And no one in government will remember that when poor people go bird-watching they do it at Kentucky Fried Chicken.
P. J. O'Rourke