Thomas Jefferson Quotes
It is a duty certainly to give our sparings to those who want; but to see also that they are faithfully distributed and duly apportioned to the respective wants of those receivers.
Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826, 3rd President of the United States (Democratic Republican, VA), Letter to Michael Megear, 1823
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
This statement was the first declaration of a "war on poverty". He never did eliminate poverty, but he did significantly improve conditions in Russia. Wikipedia: "During the first years of his reign, he was both popular and prosperous, and ruled well. He recognized the need for Russia to catch up with the intellectual progress of the West and did his best to bring about educational and social reforms. He was the first tsar to import foreign teachers on a large scale, the first to send young Russians abroad to be educated, and the first to allow Lutheran churches to be built in Russia."
Normally, this would not be a particularly noteworthy quotation. However, at the time the Republican Party had shifted far to the right–more so than at any other time since its inception. The primary election he was in brought out the most right wing members of the party, which was for gutting the social safety net, did not see health care as a right, and even wanted to terminate Obamacare and Social Security as it existed. Yet when asked in a nationwide TV interview, what the government should do for the poor and destitute who could not afford health care or other necessities. His courageous answer and position doomed his bid for the presidential nomination.
This was quite unusual at the time when Kings were more interested in buying the loyalty and support of the rich and powerful nobles.
This was a swipe at the Conservatives at the time who were opposed to a Federal Government that would actively provide assistance directly to individuals. There was a belief amongst some politicians that by assisting people in need, their character would be weakened and the people and the society would be hurt in the long run.
This quotation is one of the earliest social safety nets. It is also one of the strictures of Jesus, to which most Christian communities have not strongly adhered. It is the religious foundation for welfare.
This kind of ethical and moral commitment to others who are need distinguished Kasich from most Republicans of his time.
Thomas Jefferson was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He had previously served as the second vice president of the United States under John Adams between 1797 and 1801. The principal author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was a proponent of democracy, republicanism, and individual rights, motivating American colonists to break from the Kingdom of Great Britain and form a new nation; he produced formative documents and decisions at both the state and national levels.
