“ The power over the purse is the power over liberty. ”
Calvin Coolidge, State of the Union Address (8 December 1925). copy citation
| Author | Calvin Coolidge |
|---|---|
| Source | State of the Union Address |
| Topic | liberty power |
| Date | 8 December 1925 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5036/5036-h/5036-h.htm |
Context
“It is always necessary to keep these principles in mind in the laying of taxes and in the making of appropriations. No right exists to levy on a dollar, or to order the expenditure of a dollar, of the money of the people, except for a necessary public purpose duly authorized by the Constitution. The power over the purse is the power over liberty.
That is the legal limitation within which the Congress can act, How it will, proceed within this limitation is always a question of policy. When the country is prosperous and free from debt, when the rate of taxation is low, opportunity exists for assuming new burdens and undertaking new enterprises.”
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