Milton Friedman Quotes

My father was a civil servant, fairly sort of middle ranking, low to middle ranking. He worked almost entirely in what was then called Administrative Labour, dealing with employment and unemployment issues.

The British civil service ... is a beautifully designed and effective braking mechanism.

My dad was a civil servant, and my mum was a secretary.

Right now, if you're a talented developer or designer, government is what you go into if you can't get a better job.

It's hard to get fired from the government. You have to, like, kill people.

The nearest approach to immortality on earth is a government bureau.

When I first became a civil servant, I had to fill out a form. The form did not ask whether or not I was a citizen of America but I had to certify that I was a Democrat.

I do detest all offices - all, at least, that are held on a political tenure.

You know, I definitely have an inclination to work in the public sector.

Some government workers are dedicated and work hard, but most of them are just waiting to retire.

I had temping jobs also. I liked the flexibility. There was no asking for time off; you just didn't work.

The public sector certainly includes the Department of Labor. Those are jobs that are available. They are open and they are good paying jobs. The government as a whole has been actually retrenching under President Clinton's leadership.

The idea of being in the State Department was exciting. On the other hand, I always had in the back of my mind going into politics. If I stayed in Washington, I might end up a government hack.

There can be no complete and permanent reform of the civil service until public opinion emancipates congressmen from all control and influence over government patronage ... No proper legislation is to be expected as long as members of Congress are engaged in procuring offices for their constituents

A bureaucrat is a Democrat who has a job some Republican wants.

I am an old public functionary.

Already I realize the tremendous effort it requires not to be taken over by the Civil Service. My Minister’s room is like a padded cell, and in certain ways I am like a person who is suddenly certified a lunatic and put safely into this great vast room, cut off from real life ... Of course, they don’t behave quite like nurses because the Civil Service is profoundly deferential – “Yes, Minister! No, Minister! If you wish it, Minister! Yes minister.”

The Civil Service rewards those who do no more than sit at their desks and say no.

Appointments to office were not to be made nor expected merely as rewards for partisan services, nor merely on the nomination of members of Congress, as being entitled in any respect to the control of such appointments.

Presidents may go to the seashore or to the mountains. Cabinet officers may go about the country explaining how fortunate the country is in having such an administration, but the machinery at Washington continues to operate under the army of faithful non-commissioned officers, and the great mass of governmental business is uninterrupted.

The State is a collection of officials, different for difference purposes, drawing comfortable incomes so long as the status quo is preserved. The only alteration they are likely to desire in the status quo is an increase of bureaucracy and the power of bureaucrats.

For most career bureaucrats, the most important reference points are other career officials; they are bureaucratic loyalists rather than Presidential loyalists.

I'm still working for the government.

When my elder sister decided to pursue sports, she faced a lot of music at home. We didn't have a TV in our village, so no one understood the value of sports. But my sister convinced my parents that participating in sports would mean a secure job in the government.

Civil servants and government functionaries do not write memoirs because they hope to get more government jobs or assignments.