I think that a great deal of what made America special is lost beyond recall, and I don't have any good policy ideas that I am at all confident will go very far in bringing that back. Charles Murray More Quotes by Charles Murray More Quotes From Charles Murray Hardly anybody realizes that the first couple of chapters of 'Coming Apart' were basically a recapitulation of the argument in 'The Bell Curve.' That's how little people focused on 'The Bell Curve's' real message. Charles Murray focused argument real people I want to give people a basic income, so that if you're working hard, doing the best you can, that you can not just survive, but you can have a decent life. Charles Murray best you life people You know, there is an image of me out there for which advocacy of a universal basic income is inconsistent. It doesn't fit the narrative because this is supposed to be the hardhearted, racist, sexist, homophobe, Charles Murray. And he wants to increase spending on the poor? That doesn't fit. Charles Murray know me you poor IQ is a very important predictor, not just of academic success, but of economic success. Charles Murray just economic important success The people who run the country have enormous influence over the culture, politics, and the economics of the country. And increasingly, they haven't a clue about how most of America lives. They have never experienced it. Charles Murray economics politics culture people It's strange because we think of the upper middle class, for example, as being secular, that they've fallen away from religion. Well, it turns out that the upper middle class goes to church more often and feels a much stronger affiliation with their religion than the white working class. Charles Murray think church white religion I want the new upper class to start preaching what it practices. They are getting married and staying married in large numbers. They work like crazy, long hours. They even do better going to church than lots of the rest of America. Why not just say, these are not just choices we have made for ourselves. These are rich, rewarding ways of living. Charles Murray rest crazy work long There's a big difference between being good and being nice. Being good involves tough choices - tough love. Charles Murray good tough nice love Ecumenical niceness is just pabulum. Charles Murray just Whatever the Victorians did right in England, we need to resuscitate over here. In the late 19th century, the entire English population were propagandised into buying into a certain code of morals. I would be happy if we could emulate that in some way in America. Charles Murray be-happy late happy way I love Europe, but I don't want America to become like Europe. Charles Murray like want love america The '60s were a disaster in terms of social policy. The elites put in place a whole set of reforms which I think fundamentally changed the signals and the incentives facing low-income people and encouraged a variety of trends that soon became self-reinforcing. Charles Murray place think disaster people I did not want my children to grow up only knowing other upper-middle-class kids like themselves. Charles Murray grow like want children I am no longer a complete pariah in some academic quarters. Charles Murray complete i-am some academic I still want to find a way that leaves people free to live their lives without telling them what to do. Charles Murray live free people way A guaranteed basic income has the potential for making civic organizations, families and neighborhoods much more vital, helpful and responsive than they have been in decades. Charles Murray potential than more been America's always been very good at providing help to people in need. It hasn't been perfect, but they've been very good at it. Charles Murray good perfect america people I want to keep the government out of the business of giving incentives to have or not have kids, or incentives to marry or not marry. Charles Murray government business want giving When America installs a minimum income, it's going to be doing it in a very different historical context than Switzerland or Sweden or Germany, or any other country might do it. And we're doing it in a context where it has the potential, I think, for much better consequences than in those other countries. Charles Murray doing better think country If we want to jack up the tax rates on the really rich, the amounts of money that would bring in are trivial compared to jacking up rates on the middle class. Charles Murray rich money want class
