George Ayittey Quotes

We're going to have to control the spending of government.

It is the duty of those serving the people in public place to closely limit public expenditures to the actual needs of the Government economically administered.

Washington knows how to spend money.

Nigeria, with the oil sector, had the reputation of being corrupt and not managing its own public finances well. So what did we try to do? We introduced a fiscal rule that de-linked our budget from the oil price.

Near-term deficits are temporary and manageable if - and only if - we keep spending in check, the tax burden low and the economy growing.

Of course we have to address the deficit if we win.

Memo to Congress: America's problem is not that government is too small. It's the spending, stupid!

The country is facing a fiscal crisis, and the United States Senate is at the center of the debate about how to bring federal spending under control.

Will I obliterate national debt? Sure, why not?

In order to spur economic growth we need to put the brakes on out of control spending, lower Ohioans tax burden and create a most efficient and effective government.

First of all, I don't like to speak about austerity. I'd prefer to speak of fiscal discipline. Fiscal discipline, in the end, amounts to austerity if it is not accompanied by other policies.

As families and small businesses alike are tightening their belts to account for the worsening economy, they have every right to ask: 'Why isn't my government doing the same?'

As long as we're focused on spending, there are only two ways to do that: One is spend less, and Democrats have no solutions for that. Or we have pro-growth policies that make the economy grow so the dead-weight cost of government becomes a smaller percentage of the economy and therefore less expensive.

There is a difficult leap between talking about balancing the budget and actually doing it.

The pork part of the budget is reaching new highs.

The same prudence which in private life would forbid our paying our own money for unexplained projects, forbids it in the dispensation of public moneys.

The deficit had become a symbol of our inability to control and manage the cost of government.

Back home in Maine people tend to think that there should be a balance between money coming in and money going out in their own lives, in their businesses and the Federal government.

It is dangerous to play politics with the Budget.

Politicians have a natural inclination to spend in general, even as they disagree fiercely about what, specifically, to spend on.

Washington has to stop spending money we don’t have for projects we don’t want.

Government does not have basic business sense.

Actively search for spending bills that I can veto as a sign of … financial stewardship.

Idleness and pride tax with a heavier hand than kings and parliaments. If we can get rid of the former, we may easily bear the latter.

Washington, D.C., could learn a few budget lessons from Florida. The contrast between our state and the nation's capital is remarkable.