Martin L. Gross

We live in a world in which politics has replaced philosophy.

Government at all levels has emerged as our number one growth industry...for the first time in American history - even in the history of the Western industrialized world - there are more people working for government at all levels (18.7 million) than in manufacturing (18.1 million). Since manufacturing jobs make money while government jobs take money, this has become an equation for economic disaster.

Government loses its claim to legitimacy when it fails to fulfill its obligations.

...the citizens are awakening to the truth...for the first time in American history, government is seen as an enemy rather than a friend.

Nominally, there is one executive for every eight [federal] employees, a ratio that would bankrupt many private industries.

Politicians are masters of the art of deception.

If you're poor, Washington provides food stamps, Aid to Families with Dependent Children payments, and subsidized housing. If you're rich, you can buy tax-free municipal bonds and thumb your nose at the IRS. But if you're a working stiff, you can expect only anxiety and the government's hand deep in your pocket.

The tax laws are written by men with considerable net worth, and with little understanding of what wage-earners must do to make ends meet.

Washington likes to pretend it knows something about business, but whenever it gets involved, it falls on its fiscal face.

Every ten years, [the Census Bureau] force a large number of Americans to complete an expensive "long form," which was never mentioned in the Constitution. Not only do the Census probers ask name and address, but sex, race, income, property, household furnishings, and dozens of other irrelevant and impertinent questions. For those who refuse to answer, the Census people - unlike such pollsters as Roper or Gallup - threaten federal prosecution. Head counting is part of the Constitution, but this invasion of privacy is not.