Disarmed citizens encourage crime and violence. Armed citizens encourage criminals to find a safer line of work.

Harry Browne

Categorized in : Violence Citizens Criminals

The best thing we can do for family values is to repeal the income tax. Then families will have the resources they need to implement their own values - and not those of the politicians. With the income tax gone, families will no longer be forced to have two breadwinners by necessity. Children will be raised better, family values will predominate, and crime will diminish. If your local school indoctrinates your child with values that are alien to you, you'll have the money to buy a private education.

two children school

From the cranberry cancer scare of the 1950s to the Alar-in-apples hysteria of the 1980s, from the "new ice age" of the 1960s to the "global warming" of the 1990s, environmental alarms almost always turn out to be false. Few non-political scientists fear ozone loss, global warming, or acid rain. These are just issues that some people hope to use to reorder the lives of the rest of us.

cancer rain loss

Politicians are notoriously economically illiterate. And even when they know what would be the right thing, we don't really expect them to do it.

politician political would-be

Insurance is meant for extraordinary circumstances. You don't use car insurance to pay for oil changes or gasoline; you have it as protection in case you have a terrible accident or your car is stolen. You don't use homeowners' insurance to pay your electricity and water bills; you have it as protection in case a fire or other catastrophic event produces a large expense. Obviously, any insurance policy that promises to cover every small, ordinary expense is going to be much more expensive than one that covers only extraordinary expenses.

[Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964], many governments in southern states forced people to segregate by race. Civil rights advocates fought to repeal these state laws, but failed. So they appealed to the federal government, which responded with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But this federal law didn't simply repeal state laws compelling segregation. It also prohibited voluntary segregation. What had been mandatory became forbidden. Neither before nor after the Civil Rights Act were people free to make their own decisions about who they associated with.

race rights law

Libertarians understand a very simple fact of life: Government doesn't work. It can't deliver the mail on time, it doesn't keep our cities safe, it doesn't educate our children properly.

government simple children

Contrary to all the blather we here about the unique goodness of the American people or our religious heritage or anything else, the one thing that set this country apart from all others was the Bill of Rights.

unique religious country

A fair trial is one in which the rules of evidence are honored, the accused has competent counsel, and the judge enforces the proper courtroom procedures - a trial in which every assumption can be challenged.

assumption judging trials

What we really need is compassion of the mind - compassion for others that is directed intelligently and produces truly compassionate results.

compassion mind needs

The press is hostile to the idea of liberty. Most people in the press are for big government. Most people think that the solution to anything, whether it's health care problems, education, whatever it is - it's got to be more government.

government ideas thinking

A Libertarian society of unfettered individualism spreads its benefits to virtually everyone - not just those who have the resources to seize political power.

libertarian benefits political

Security ... it's simply the recognition that changes will take place and the knowledge that you're willing to deal with whatever happens.

recognition deals knowledge

Government doesn't work. That's the first lesson we must learn i... by Harry Browne

Government doesn't work. That's the first lesson we must learn if we want to improve society.

lessons government want

But, actually, it is only Americans who say that our freedoms and prosperity are the reason foreigners hate us. If you ask the foreigners, they make it clear that it's America's bullying foreign policy they detest.

bullying hate america

The important thing is to concentrate upon what you can do - by y... by Harry Browne

The important thing is to concentrate upon what you can do - by yourself, upon your own initiative.

initiative important can-do

A welfare state is frightened of every poor person who tries to get in and every rich person who tries to get out.

liberty government trying

You don't have to buy from anyone. You don't have to work at any particular job. You don't have to participate in any given relationship. You can choose.

choices decision jobs

It's wrong for someone to confiscate your money, give it to someone else, and call that "compassion."

liberty compassion giving

I am running for President because it is obvious that no Democrat or Republican is ever going to stop the relentless growth of the federal government. Only a Libertarian will free you from the income tax.

growth government running

You don't need an explanation for everything, Recognize that there are such things as miracles - events for which there are no ready explanations. Later knowledge may explain those events quite easily.

miracle inspirational life