Preston

“As I have often said, governments don’t produce economic growth, people do. What government can do is encourage Americans to tap their well of ingenuity and unleash their entrepreneurial spirit, then get out of the way.”
― Ronald Reagan, An American Life: An Enhanced eBook with CBS Video: The Autobiography

“It reminded me of something that James Madison said in 1788: “Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”
― Ronald Reagan, An American Life: An Enhanced eBook with CBS Video: The Autobiography

“Deficits, as I’ve often said, aren’t caused by too little taxing, they are caused by too much spending. Presidents don’t create deficits, Congress does. Presidents can’t appropriate a dollar of taxpayers’ money; only congressmen can—and Congress is susceptible to all sorts of influences that have nothing to do with good government.”
― Ronald Reagan, An American Life: The Autobiography

“Thomas Paine, who had a shrewd eye for military matters, was closer to the mark in a public letter to Admiral Howe published in early 1777. “In all the wars which you have formerly been concerned in, you had only armies to contend with,” Paine observed. “In this case, you have both an army and a country to combat.”
― Rick Atkinson, The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777