Matthew Lesko Quotes

Governments take too long to get things done and there are far too many varied interests at stake. If you were starting a business today and needed a partner, you would never choose a large bureaucratic institution like the government.

So if there is a government grant offered for anything, like starting a business or going to school, they cannot discriminate because of your age.

Why should a city be mandated to do something by the federal government or state government without the money to do it?

We simply can't keep providing money from the federal government in the form of subsidized or actual loans and Pell Grants when we don't have the money.

Everybody who goes into government gets somewhat chewed up in the process. Being a senior appointee is like being at a startup, only more so: You run into opposition from the entrenched oligopoly of contractors whose business model is to extract as much money from government as possible for doing as little as possible.

Unlike private enterprise which quickly modifies its actions to meet emergencies — … the law-made instrumentality lumbers on under all varieties of circumstances at its habitual rate. By its very nature it is fitted only for average requirements, and inevitably fails under unusual requirements.

We borrowed money, it helped us with bonds and what not, and the Federal Government backed it, but it was a guarantee, it was not a grant. And we not only paid it off, but we paid it off ahead of time.

The government has become a mechanism for distributing largess, and your census form is your ticket.

And if we make the process political, if we start to make it personal, we're actually going to frustrate good public policy, in terms of managing this money.

In philanthropy, many of us give a little bit and each year we give more and more to see what actually works and not just throw money out there and see if it's going to work. If the government did the same thing, fabulous.

Nothing is worse, or more of a breach of the social contract between citizen and state, than for government officials, bureaucrats and agencies to waste the money entrusted to them by the people they serve.

It is because of me that today the union government has sanctioned special funds for the development of Bihar.

Well, no American wants to in any way hurt our capabilities to national defense, but that doesn't mean an unlimited amount of money, and a blank check for anything they want at any time, for any purpose. Not at all.

Bureaucracies tend to grow and to brag about their growth based on how many individuals they have and how much money they spend.

I learned in business that you had to be very careful when you told somebody that's working for you to do something, because the chances were very high he'd do it. In government, you don't have to worry about that.

Government is inherently incompetent, and no matter what task it is assigned, it will do it in the most expensive and inefficient way possible.

So it's a mistake for someone to think that they bailed New York out. They did assist us, for which we are grateful, but it's a mistake to say we bailed New York out by giving them a grant of money to help those poor people who throw it away on welfare.

Individuals can spend their money more wisely, efficiently and more humanely than can government.

What you see is when the government gets involved, you run out of money and health care gets rationed.

Every government program needs to be more efficient. Instead of pointing out how other programs can tighten their belts, every program administrator must look inward to save money.

I have long believed taxpayers make better use of their money than the government ever could.

I understand how bureaucracies work. And that's important because our government has become a vast, huge, bloated, corrupt bureaucracy.

If the administration asks for $5 and Congress appropriates $4, that's what they get. If the government creates a subterfuge by going outside the government to raise money through a private entity, that's a violation of the law.

The private sector is motivated by profit and efficiency and the US government often is not.

Whether you're managing the finances for a household of one, a business of a thousand, or a government of several hundred million, there's no more important statement of fiscal intent you can make than putting together a responsible budget - one that acknowledges its available means, and makes a reasonable attempt to live within them.