Stopping illegal immigration would mean that wages would have to rise to a level where Americans would want the jobs currently taken by illegal aliens.
Thomas SowellRead
The assumption that spending more of the taxpayer's money will make things better has survived all kinds of evidence that it has made things worse. The black family- which survived slavery, discrimination, poverty, wars and depressions- began to come apart as the federal government moved in with its well-financed programs to “help.”
Interpretation
What this quote means
Government interventions often lead to unintended negative consequences, especially in the context of family stability.
This quote by Thomas Sowell critiques the reliance on government funding and programs as a means to improve societal conditions, particularly within the Black family structure. It points out that despite the good intentions behind these interventions, they have historically resulted in more harm than help, undermining the resilience that families developed while facing historical adversities. The essence of the quote suggests a cautionary approach to policy-making, urging a reevaluation of the effectiveness of financial assistance from the government.
Themes
GovernmentInterventionFamilyTaxpayerPovertyHelp
In practice
Example use cases
In a public debate about welfare reforms, this quote can highlight the potential pitfalls of government assistance.
More from Thomas Sowell
All quotes →Blacks were not enslaved because they were black but because they were available. Slavery has existed in the world for thousands of years. Whites enslaved other whites in Europe for centuries before the first black was brought to the Western hemisphere. Asians enslaved Europeans. Asians enslaved other Asians. Africans enslaved other Africans, and indeed even today in North Africa, blacks continue to enslave blacks.
Thomas SowellRead
One of the reasons for conspiracy theories is an assumption that people in high places always know what they are doing. When they do something that makes no sense, devious reasons are imagined by conspiracy theorists, when in fact it may be due to plain old ignorance and incompetence.
Thomas SowellRead
You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing.
Thomas SowellRead
The real problem, both in discussions of mass shootings and in discussions of gun control, is that too many people are too committed to a vision to allow mere facts to interfere with their beliefs, and the sense of superiority that those beliefs give them.
Thomas SowellRead
Why is history important? Without history, many people have no idea how many of today's half-baked ideas have been tried, again and again - and have repeatedly led to disaster. Most of these ideas are not new. They are just being recycled with re-treaded rhetoric.
Thomas SowellRead
Similar quotes
The price of freedom is still, and always will be, eternal vigilance.
Margaret ThatcherRead
If Ireland is to become a new Ireland she must first become European.
James JoyceRead
A system of limitless individual choices, with respect to communications, is not necessarily in the interest of citizenship and self-government.
Cass SunsteinRead
Excuse me, are you the imprint of a departed soul?
J. K. RowlingRead
Men may change their climate, but they cannot change their nature. A man that goes out a fool cannot ride or sail himself into common sense.
Joseph AddisonRead
Helping, fixing, and serving represent three different ways of seeing life. When you help, you see life as weak. when you fix, you see life as broken. When you serve, you see life as whole. Fixing and helping may be the work of the ego, and service the work of the soul.
Rachel Naomi RemenRead