William E. Simon Quotes
Freedom is strangely ephemeral. It is something like breathing; one only becomes acutely aware of its importance when one is choking
William E. Simon, 1927-2000, Secretary of the Treasury (Republican), A Time for Truth, 1978
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
A few weeks after the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan invaded the Philippines and occupied the country. They thought that because of the original American occupation and some American war crimes in the American Philippines War, the people would welcome Japan, thinking that Japan had freed them from the United States domination. However, by that time, most of the Filipinos had become pro American and despite many posters like this one, the Japanese were hated by almost all of the Filipinos for their atrocities were much worse than the worst of the American army at the turn of the century. The American outrages were committed by a minority of the soldiers and officers while the Japanese atrocities were universal and institutional.
William Edward Simon was an American businessman and philanthropist who served as the 63rd United States Secretary of the Treasury. He became the Secretary of the Treasury on May 9, 1974, during the Nixon administration. After Nixon resigned, Simon was reappointed by President Ford and served until 1977 when President Carter took office. Outside of government, he was a successful businessman and philanthropist. The William E. Simon Foundation carries on this legacy. He styled himself as a strong advocate of laissez-faire capitalism. He wrote, "There is only one social system that reflects the sovereignty of the individual: the free-market, or capitalist, system".
