When will Labour learn that you cannot build Jerusalem in Brussels.
If one generation is expected to carry an excessive burden on behalf of another, it will seek by every means to avoid it. It will either demand that past promises are broken, or it will not work, or it will not pay taxes, or the most talented people will leave. Socialist governments which have tried to tax 'till the pips squeak' have ample experience of that.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Overburdening one generation can lead to resistance and societal issues.
Margaret Thatcher's quote highlights the potential consequences when one generation is expected to bear excessive financial or social burdens for another. She suggests that such pressures can lead to various forms of rebellion or avoidance from the taxed or burdened generation, including demands for broken promises, reduced effort, tax evasion, or even emigration of the most talented individuals. This perspective underscores the importance of fair and responsible governance to maintain social harmony and societal contributions.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a political debate discussing generational wealth and taxation.
More from Margaret Thatcher
All quotes →Never in the history of human credit has so much been owed.
The battle for women's rights has been largely won.
Ought we not to ask the media to agree among themselves a voluntary code of conduct, under which they would not say or show anything which could assist the terrorists' morale or their cause while the hijack lasted.
Israel must never be expected to jeopardize her security: if she was ever foolish enough to do so, and then suffered for it, the backlash against both honest brokers and Palestinians would be immense - 'land for peace' must also bring peace.
If it's me against 48, I feel sorry for the 48.
Similar quotes
In 1988, when democracy was restored, the military establishment was still very powerful. The extremist groups were still there. And when the aid and assistance to Pakistan was cut, we had to adopt harsh economic policies. So in a way, it showed that democracy doesn't pay, and the military was able to reassert itself.
Growing up, politics never trickled down to the areas we come from. But people from Obama's camp, and Obama himself, reached out to me and asked for my help on the campaign. We've sat and had dinner, and we've spoken on the phone. He's a very sharp guy. Very charming. Very cool.
The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.
That I am a national figure because I was the first person in 192 years to be at once a congressman, black, and a woman proves, I would think, that our society is not yet either just or free.
But as the arms-control scholar Thomas Schelling once noted, two things are very expensive in international life: promises when they succeed and threats when they fail.
Government isn't there just to administer life support to failing markets. Without the government, many of those markets would not even exist.