J. Peter Grace Quotes

Whenever you borrow money, the people you borrow it from have leverage over you.

Borrowed money, even when owing to a nation by another nation, should be repaid. They hired the money, didn't they? Let them pay it.

In this business, if you don't pay your debts you're finished.

A creditor is worse than a slave-owner; for the master owns only your person, but a creditor owns your dignity, and can command it.

Debt, n. An ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slavedriver.

Debt is one person's liability, but another person's asset.

Those have a short Lent who owe money to be paid at Easter.

Someone has to pick up the tab when people get out of repaying their own debts.

When you owe money to people, you're always going to owe money to people, so you should take care of it as soon as possible. It doesn't go away just because you ignore it.

A public debt is a public curse and in a representative government greater than any other.

There was a time (not so long ago historically) when people were put in jail for owing money. Now we not only don’t punish them, but we make it easier and easier for them to slide out of their old debts, and start getting into new ones.

The farmer's way of saving money: to be owed by someone he trusted.

The Federal Government is achieving its stated goal of helping more minorities go from being renters to being owners.

Well, the problem of the federal government is that they print money and go in debt. That's their national policy, Democrats and Republicans it doesn't matter. And this is where I differ.

Having bands in the NFL would take up seats. If you take up seats in the NFL, you're losing money.

... maybe we can all agree on one lesson from the Greek crisis, namely that, to maintain a friendship, you should lend only as much money as you are ready to give away anyway.

Mr. Chairman, we have in this Country one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever known. I refer to the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Banks… The Fed has cheated the Government of these United States and the people of the United States out of enough money to pay the Nation's debt. The depredations and iniquities of the Fed has cost enough money to pay the National debt several times over. This evil institution has impoverished and ruined the people of these United States, has bankrupted itself, and has practically bankrupted our Government.

No nation can miss interest or principle payments without some negative impact on its credit standing.

The best way for the Government to maintain its credit is to pay as it goes—not by resorting to loans, but by keeping out of debt.

Where is the money?

I wish it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our constitution ... an additional article, taking from the federal government the power of borrowing.

There are no uncontrollable outlays except for debt interest. Outlays are what they are due to legislation.

When everybody is supposed to pay, nobody seems to get the bill.

International debts are like bills submitted to pay for the damage done on a wild party by one's grandfather. The payment seems to the debtor like pure loss, and when it is paid by one nation to another it seems the tribute by the conquered to the conqueror.

We have trouble, my friends, in the country, because we have too much money owing, the greatest indebtedness that has every been given to civilization … Two hundred and seventy-two thousand millions of dollars of debts are owed by the various people of this country today. Why, my friends, that cannot be paid. It is not possible for that kind of debt to be paid.