Mark Esper Quotes

It is not an arrogant government that chooses priorities, it's an irresponsible government that fails to choose.

Government does not have a revenue problem; government has a spending problem. Government does not have a revenue problem; government has a priority problem. It is time that we begin to fine tune our focus and decide what the priority of government ought to be.

We do not have a revenue problem in D.C. or this county. We have a prioritization problem. When you create the priorities you fund the priorities of the country and you stop spending money when you get to zero.

If you don’t have the budget, you can’t get anything done. That’s why bureaucrats are always fighting about budgets.

Economy consists in a due and proper application of the means afforded according to the ability of the employer and the situation chosen; care being taken that the expenditure is prudently conducted.

We have been spending beyond our means, we are going to focus on the projects that we committed to in the election but importantly if there is additional projects or new things that come up they have to have a business case, they have to work and they can't impose financial stress on families and private individuals and businesses.

Heavy lifting doesn't need to be heavy spending if we do the job right.

The Pentagon budget, like all government spending, is an expression of priorities.

My goal was to do the best job I could in governing the state of Wisconsin, in some cases making very tough decisions to have to bring our spending in line with the resources we had at the state level.

I was able to promote a strong defense budget when it could have been cut a lot more severely.

You never have to change a book for budget.

There are certainly delays in this year's agreed program, and we must quickly catch up. Let's not kid ourselves, there is still big waste in the public sector, and it must stop.

If we can't find cuts in the defense budget, we're not looking carefully enough.

In the charitable world as in the business world, opportunities should drive budgets, not the other way around.

Economy is the method by which we prepare today to afford the improvements of tomorrow.

What I'm not saying is that all government spending is bad. It's not - far, far from it, but there is no free lunch, as a former colleague of mine used to say. There is no public tooth fairy. Father Christmas does not work on the Treasury staff this year. You can never bail someone out of trouble without putting someone else into trouble.

I know each fund has its supporters, and that some will not want to see the surplus go to schools. But, in tough times, you have to set priorities. And our priority is education.

[The] up-and-down pattern of [defense] spending over the last 18 years averages out to below zero percent real growth. In other words, if defense spending had followed a path of zero percent real growth, the U.S. probably could have obtained more defense for its dollar.

Government ... simply has no bottom line.

While we have appropriated money year after year to expand the agencies the agencies, departments, and the White House staff, we have neglected to staff ourselves adequately to meet our oversight responsibilities.

Every dime spent is a political decision made.

We are putting so much money into retirement benefits that there is little money left for other state services

Budgets reflect our priorities, who we are as a nation, what we're going to put first, and emphasize and invest.

We ought to prioritize national disasters... in a fiscally responsible way.

I feel that your ambitions should always exceed the budget.