Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989.
NUMBER:
812
AUTHOR:
Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–59)
QUOTATION:
Countries, therefore, when lawmaking falls exclusively to the lot of the poor cannot hope for much economy in public expenditure; expenses will always be considerable, either because taxes cannot touch those who vote for them or because they are assessed in a way to prevent that.
ATTRIBUTION:
ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE, Democracy in America, ed. J. P. Mayer, trans. George Lawrence, vol. 1, part 2, chapter 5, p. 210 (1969). Originally published in 1835–1840.
