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Comment by iamtheworstdev | Hacker News Reader

holy shit what a misquote. For anyone that wants the whole quote:

> Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."

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Even that expanded quote doesn't entirely make it clear he was criticizing the government

Here's the entire thing

https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/remarks-state-...

It's Ronald Reagan though. Should be clear to most with a very elementary understanding of US politics what he's saying.

Most people wouldn’t really have that understanding.

Who else other than government has the power to tax, regulate, and subsidize tho? I don't think it's much of a leap that it's a negative criticism on government bureaucracy.

Since Reagan was head of the government it would be easy to draw the conclusion he was saying "this is what we do" (we the government with him as the head). That would not be a criticism. IMO, to know it was a criticism requires more context.

Yeah it's completely obvious what the context is.

The government taxed and regulated this and other industries to the point where industry moved overseas. Only now they're seeing the peril of that overreach, and are trying to subsidize it to bring it back. Only, they're so inept that they're forcing the use of their cronies (the unions, etc) to get the work done, and, in comparison to Japan, it's a disaster.

The quote is on target.

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