The use of quantity of money as a target has not been a success. I'm not sure that I would as of today push it as hard as I once did.

A society that puts equality before freedom will get neither. A society that puts freedom before equality will get a high degree of both.

If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand.

Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself.

You cannot be sure that you are right unless you understand the arguments against your views better than your opponents do.

The essential notion of a capitalist society ... is voluntary cooperation, voluntary exchange. The essential notion of a socialist society is force.

I am favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for any excuse, for any reason, whenever it's possible.

The great advances of civilization, whether in architecture or painting, in science or literature, in industry or agriculture, have never come from centralized government.

Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.

You cannot simultaneously have free immigration and a welfare state.

The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem.

Life' wrote a friend of mine, 'is a public performance on the violin, in which you must learn the instrument as you go along.

But writing poems and letters doesn't seem to do much good.

A great sense of commitment builds a hardworking spirit.

It's my firm conviction that when Uncle Sam calls, by God we go, and we do the best that we can.

In poetry you can express almost inexpressible feelings. You can express the pain of loss, you can express love. People always turn to poetry when someone they love dies, when they fall in love.

I respect a system that says we're going to put every bit of pressure on anybody we have to put it on to get to the drug dealer who is bringing his poison into the country.

our lives change in two ways :through the people we meet and the books we read

Often a healing takes place in ourselves as we pray for the healing of others.

Where does it all lead? What will become of us? These were our young questions, and young answers were revealed. It leads to each other. We become ourselves.

I don't understand people getting depressed about getting older. There is nothing you can do about it, so you might as well embrace it.