made by some early 20th century pundit called Rev Boetker, and sometimes falsely attributed to Lincoln.
http://www.snopes.com/quotes/lincoln/prosperity.aspAs regards the statements:
1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.
Paying a bit more in taxes will not make the wealthy poor! You *can* legislate the poor into having a basic safety net; and you can legislate practices that will prevent them from becoming poor in the first place.
2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
Nothing like as simple as that. But insofar as it happens, it's generally the already-rich who receive without working (or at least without productive work) and the poor who work without receiving.
3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
No. The government takes from all, and gives (what it does give) to all. If you pay taxes, then the government gives you public roads; rapid assistance in emergencies; police protection; the opportunity for public education; a pension when you are too old to work; etc. Most of these things are used *by all*; it is not a question of taking from one individual to give to another individual.
4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!
You cannot make any adequate USE of wealth WITHOUT dividing it. Even within a family, it is not feasible for one person to get and use ALL the resources.
5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.
In which nation did this ever happen? Not even in Communist countries! And what those (in the UK too) who are obsessed with 'the workshy' are ignoring: there are not enough jobs! Many people who want to work are being laid off, not through their own choice. In a full-employment state, one might worry about people who wish to sponge off those who work; right at the moment, the main worry is those who wish to work but can't.
Can you think of a reason for not sharing this?
Well, possibly that it's a load of old rubbish!
"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress & the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution."
Abe Lincoln
Presumably Lincoln was referring to those who 'perverted the Constitution' by secession, and with whom he was at war. It has nothing to do with current right-wing ideas.
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill
Well, Churchill *was* a Tory, and though an outstanding war leader who saved us from the Nazis, was actually a mediocre peacetime Prime Minister. I entirely disagree with him on this issue. It should, however, be pointed out, that he was at least talking about *real* socialism, not using the term for any modification of unbridled capitalism. For example, he never accused FDR (who was significantly to the left of Obama) of being a 'Socialist'.