James Madison Quotes
A public debt is a public curse and in a representative government greater than any other.
James Madison, 1751-1836, 4th President of the United States (Democratic Republican, VA), Letter to Lee, April 30, 1790
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
See {604501} for another of his statements. It was Alexander Hamilton who called the national debt a national blessing. See {207891}. Jackson was convinced that a moneyed class who held the national debt could dictate to any administration by threatening to not renew their bonds. The same concern was expressed at the beginning of the 21st century regarding the Chinese and the Middle Eastern countries which held do many of our bonds.
By the time the debt ceiling needs a Congressional vote, the money has already been obligated and spent. That is when Congress can control spending. The debt ceiling is ALWAYS increased by Congress when asked otherwise the U. S. would not be able to pay its bills. However, many members of Congress like the fact that every year or so the administration needs their votes so they can extract benefits for their constituents more easily with that leverage.
The Dutch King’s brother, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte Bonaparte, insisted on Dutch contributions to his war effort in the way of Dutch troops, ships and provisions. Yet there was not enough possible revenue to pay for such a war effort. Gogel was able to introduce efficiencies in many areas but still more taxes were needed. War expenditures took all the resources of the state and progress stopped and the kingdom was almost destroyed by the economic crisis.
At the time, the George W. Bush Administration policy was to have the United States running a very large trade and budget deficit—the largest in the history of the world. In order to finance the deficit, the U. S. Government had to borrow money and it did so by selling bonds and other financial instruments. Many of these were purchased by Asians, but Paul’s point was that they were “propping up” American spending habits and might not continue to do so.
James Madison Jr. was an American statesman, diplomat, expansionist, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. He is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the United States Bill of Rights. He co-wrote The Federalist Papers, co-founded the Democratic-Republican Party, and served as the fifth United States Secretary of State from 1801 to 1809.
