• The government pretends to be endowed with the mystical power to accord favors out of an inexhaustible horn of plenty. It is both omniscient and omnipotent. It can by a magic wand create happiness and abundance. The truth is the government cannot give if it does not take from somebody.

    Ludwig von Mises: The government pretends to be endowed with the mystical power to accord favors out of an inexhaustible horn of plenty.  It is both omniscient and omnipotent.  It can by a magic wand create happiness and abundance.  The truth is the government cannot give if it does not take from somebody.
    Ludwig von Mises (2016). “Bureaucracy: The Economist”, p.78, VM eBooks