Lamar Alexander on Arresting Wasteful Spenders

Lamar Alexander Money Quotation saying wasteful spending should be a punishable offense in politics during 2000 presidential race. Lamar Alexander said:
 

 

“If Mr. Bush and Mr. Forbes don’t get most of the votes, they should be arrested for wasting money” — Lamar Alexander

In this quote, former Tennessee governor and U.S. senator Lamar Alexander seems to be making a tongue-in-cheek comment about the financial costs associated with running for president. At the time this quote was said in 2000, George W. Bush and Steve Forbes were competing for the Republican nomination.

Alexander implies that if neither candidate receives a majority of votes, they should be “arrested” for effectively wasting donors’ money by continuing their campaigns without a clear path to victory.

His statement humorously conveys the perspective that presidential candidates have an obligation to spend contributions efficiently by dropping out once defeat becomes inevitable, rather than persisting merely to boost their profiles at the expense of further fundraising expenditures.

Overall, Alexander appears to be jokingly suggesting the financial costs of prolonged losing campaigns should carry some legal consequences.

George W. Bush: Lots of Numbers

George W. Bush Money Quotation saying many digits means a really big national budget – hopefully there were no more important decisions made based on “lots of numbers”. George W. Bush said:
 

 

“It’s clearly a budget. It’s got lots of numbers in it” — George W. Bush

This quote seems to suggest that George W. Bush had a rather simplistic view of what a budget entails. A budget is certainly a document that contains financial numbers, but it is much more than that – it involves difficult decisions about priorities, tradeoffs between programs, and how to allocate limited resources.

The quote may indicate that Bush did not fully appreciate the complexity of crafting a responsible national budget. It presents the budget as merely a collection of numbers rather than a policy document requiring knowledge and judgment.

George W. Bush: Tax Time Reform

Funny Money Quotes: Presidential malaprops, hyperbole and misstatements aside – we spend a lot of time writing, reviewing and checking our tax forms. George W. Bush said:
 

 

“Americans spend 6 billion hours a year filling out their tax reforms” — George W. Bush

George W. Bush seems to be highlighting the immense amount of time and effort that Americans collectively dedicate each year toward complying with tax requirements and filing tax forms/paperwork. By quantifying it as 6 billion hours annually, Bush emphasizes how substantial the compliance burden is in terms of real hours of people’s lives spent on tax activities rather than other pursuits.

His point appears to be that the complexity and volume of the tax system necessitates an enormous allocation of resources from citizens simply to fulfill their tax obligations. In this way, Bush may have been implicitly arguing that tax code simplification could save Americans countless productive hours each year.

George W. Bush: Passing Tax Bill

Funny Money Quotes: The ex-president and his wealthy friends hire uniquely talented accountants for reasons that are different from the little people – perhaps Americans should return the favor. George W. Bush said:
 

 

“The rich hire lawyers and accountants for a reason – to pass the tax bill on to you” — George W. Bush

George W. Bush seems to be suggesting that wealthy individuals and corporations employ tax professionals like lawyers and accountants specifically to minimize their own tax burdens through strategic planning and loophole exploitation.

The quote implies these tax experts then help shift relatively more of the overall tax obligation onto lower- and middle-income citizens who cannot afford such sophisticated services.

In essence, Bush appears to be arguing that the rich are effectively passing a disproportionate share of the tax bill to average taxpayers, since they have the means to aggressively avoid taxes through professional guidance in a way everyday people cannot match.