Alexander Hamilton Quotes
As on the one hand, the necessity for borrowing in particular emergencies cannot be doubted, so on the other, it is equally evident that to be able to borrow upon good terms, it is essential that the credit of a nation should be well established.
Hamilton, Alexander. "Report Relative to a Provision for the Support of Public Credit, 9 January 1790." The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 6, edited by Harold C. Syrett, Columbia University Press, 1962, p. 67.
A minority group of very conservative members of the House of Representatives had decided to hold America’s full faith and credit and the economy hostage to implementing their minority proposal to reduce government spending more than the majority wanted shortly after the 2012 election where the voters had rejected the conservative position. None the less, they were threatening to force the government to default and not pay for the items that the Congress had previously already approved by not approving a debt ceiling increase. The President was determined not to negotiate with “hostage takers” and making sure that America paid its bills for the money spent as authorized by Congress.
Alexander Hamilton was an American statesman, politician, legal scholar, military commander, lawyer, banker, and economist. He was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was an influential interpreter and promoter of the U.S. Constitution, as well as the founder of the nation's financial system, the Federalist Party, the United States Coast Guard, and the New York Post newspaper. As the first secretary of the treasury, Hamilton was the main author of the economic policies of George Washington's administration. He took the lead in the federal government's funding of the states' debts, as well as establishing the nation's first two de facto central banks, the Bank of North America and the First Bank of the United States, a system of tariffs, and friendly trade relations with Britain. His vision included a strong central government led by a vigorous executive branch, a strong commercial economy, government-controlled banks, support for manufacturing, and a strong military.
