I have opinions of my own - strong opinions - but I don't always agree with them.
George H. W. BushRead
The defense budget is more than a piggy bank for people who want to get busy beating swords into pork barrels.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques the misuse of defense funding for non-military purposes.
George H. W. Bush's quote highlights the concern that the defense budget, intended for national security, is being diverted by certain individuals for personal gain or frivolous projects. By using the metaphor of turning 'swords into pork barrels,' he emphasizes the transformation of critical resources away from their original purpose of defense to satisfy political interests or wasteful spending.
Themes
Defense BudgetPolitical CritiqueResource AllocationMilitary SpendingGovernment Accountability
In practice
Example use cases
During a congressional hearing, a senator cited this quote to emphasize the need for transparency in defense spending.
More from George H. W. Bush
All quotes βOne of the good things about the way the Gulf War ended in 1991 is, you'd see the Vietnam veterans marching with the Gulf War veterans.
George H. W. BushRead
Communism didn't fall. It was pushed.
George H. W. BushRead
The anchor in our world today is freedom, holding us steady in times of change, a symbol of hope to all the world.
George H. W. BushRead
It's too much show business and too much prompting, too much artificiality, and not really debates. They're rehearsed appearances.
George H. W. BushRead
Appeasement does not work. As was the case in the 1930s, we see in Saddam Hussein an aggressive dictator threatening his neighbors.
George H. W. BushRead
Similar quotes
Let us wage a moral and political war against war itself, so that we can cut military spending and use that money for human needs.
Bernie SandersRead
Remember, Republican economic policies quadrupled the debt before I took office and doubled it after I left. We simply can't afford to double-down on trickle-down.
William J. ClintonRead
The inability or unwillingness of citizens to differentiate between fake and authentic news is undermining a fundamental assumption of democracy: the informed voter.
Richard EdelmanRead
Political institutions, no matter how well or badly designed, depend for continued existence upon acting men; their conservation is achieved by the same means that brought them into being. Independent existence marks the work of art as a product of making; utter dependence upon further acts to keep it in existence marks the state as a product of action.
Hannah ArendtRead
When Paris sneezes, Europe catches a cold.
Klemens Von MetternichRead
The foulest damage to our political life comes not from the 'secrets' which they hide from us, but from the little bits of half-truth and disinformation which they do tell us. These are already pre-digested, and then are sicked up as little gobbits of authorised spew. The columns of defense correspondents in the establishment sheets serve as the spittoons.
E. P. ThompsonRead