The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups.Henry Hazlitt
Government cannot make man richer, but it can make him poorer.Henry Hazlitt
And these two concerns, or kinds of it, are, moreover, in conflict with each other. The more we concentrate on the second problem, the more we neglect the first, and the more likely we are to see the first problem as the cause of the second.Henry Hazlitt
Everything we get, outside of the free gifts of nature, must in some way be paid for. The world is full of so-called economists who in turn are full of schemes for getting something for nothing. They tell us that the government can spend and spend without taxing at all; that it can continue to pile up debt without ever paying it off, because 'we owe it to ourselves.'Henry Hazlitt
A certain amount of public spending is necessary to perform essential government functions. A certain amount of public works - of streets and roads and bridges and tunnels, of armories and navy yards, of buildings to house legislatures, police and fire departments - is necessary to supply essential public services.Henry Hazlitt
When Alexander the Great visited the philosopher Diogenes and asked whether he could do anything for him, Diogenes is said to have replied: 'Yes, stand a little less between me and the sun.' It is what every citizen is entitled to ask of his government.Henry Hazlitt
We have managed to acquire $5,000 worth of goods more than we sent abroad. That balances our 'unfavorable' balance of trade. The less we send abroad the more unfavorable that balance becomes. The more we send abroad the more favorable that balance becomes.Henry Hazlitt
For every dollar that is spent on the consultant's report before one nickel is spent on the bridge, a dollar will be spent after the bridge is built to make corrections and repairs.'Henry Hazlitt
Prices are important not because money is considered paramount but because prices are a fast and effective conveyor of information through a vast society in which fragmented knowledge must be coordinated.Henry Hazlitt
The long-run consequences of some economic policies may become evident in a few months. Others may not become evident for several years. Still others may not become evident for decades. But in every case those long-run consequences are contained in the policy as surely as the hen was in the egg, the flower in the seed.Henry Hazlitt