Ronald Reagan Quotes

The role of government is to encourage—not discourage.

Government has a legitimate sphere of operation. The problem arises when that sphere continually expands, encompassing areas where government lacks legitimacy.

Politicians are good at saying how Government must do more, but we must also think carefully about where Government should do less.

It is perfectly true that that government is best which governs least. It is equally true that that government is best which provides most.

What we have to do is strike a balance between the idea that government shall do everything and the idea that government shall do nothing.

I'm a Democrat, and there are an important group of things only the government can do. But let us be clear that for most of the world, what they most need is less government.

The sole function of Government is to bring about a condition of affairs favorable to the beneficial development of private enterprise.

You need a government that believes in government. It also believes in markets and wants to give markets the best, the greatest opportunity, but is trying to govern well.

We should distinguish carefully skepticism about Big Government from contempt for all government.

Conservatives want smaller government. They want to focus on market-based solutions wherever one can. They want to have as little regulation as possible. But in general, they recognize that government must play an important role for a society to operate.

Government can encourage innovation, but mainly by doing less, not doing more.

Mr. Obama is proud of his belief that government knows best. When he told the world that individuals were not totally responsible for their personal success, that government has a major role in it, many Americans were taken aback. But Barack Obama sincerely believes that.

It's easier to sell cotton candy than it is to sell broccoli to somebody, but the broccoli is better for you, and the same thing with a limited government.

I believe that smaller government is better government. But I also believe that in the areas where government does play a legitimate role, we should demand that it is done better.

The government doesn't have to solve everyone's problem here.

We need a Federal government that does what the government needs to do and stops doing what the government ought not to be doing.

While many of Mr. Obama's ideas warrant skepticism, conservative opposition to any expanded role for government is a mistake.

The conservative idea is not that government has no role. You might have argued that in the thirties when conservatives opposed the New Deal.

Now, let me be clear. The path I lay out is not one paved with ever increasing government checks and cradle to grave assurance that government will always be the solution. If this election is a bidding war for who can promise the most goodies and the most benefits, I'm not your president. You have that president today.

All's the government should do is keep the taxes and regulations at a manageable rate, keep a decent standing army and get out of the way.

At home, we must reject the mistaken notion - a notion that has dominated too much of the public dialogue for too long - that ever bigger Government is the answer to every problem.

I think governments can't do much.

The Federal Government should be the last resort, not the first. Ask if a potential program is truly a federal responsibility or whether it can better be handled privately, by voluntary organizations, or by local or state governments.

If we can but prevent the government from wasting the labours of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy.

To me, that's the role of government: not to give people a hand out, but a hand up... giving people the tools to pave their own way to success.