Before my tenure, people didn't seem to think that citizens had a right to limit the size of their government.
William Weld

Do we believe that there is equal economic opportunity out there in the real world, right now, for each and every one of these groups? If we believed in the tooth fairy, if we believed in the Easter Bunny, we might well believe that.
William Weld

Government can contribute to a shared sense of purpose on the part of the citizenry; that's its highest and best application.
William Weld

Government has a role as well in what is referred to as redistributive justice.
William Weld

Government is never so noble as when it is addressing wrongs.
William Weld

I dare say that a majority of the American people think that having a fair hearing on an issue of importance in our relations with Mexico is extremely important to our national interest, as well as theirs.
William Weld

I don't understand the Democrats' approach to Social Security in this country, and I'm not alone.
William Weld

I extend that to the abortion issue, I extend that to the so-called gay rights issue, I think this is a freedom principle and consistent with the analysis in the economic area as well.
William Weld

I have come to realize that Jesse Helms stands for everything in politics that is anathema to me.
William Weld

I suggest to you that increasing the size of America's economic pie - which can be achieved only if everybody has a seat at the table - is the most important challenge facing our country today.
William Weld

I think coercive taxation is theft, and government has a moral duty to keep it to a minimum.
William Weld

I think government has a major role to play in helping us with the pursuit of happiness.
William Weld

I think transportation and corrections are not the first two areas that I would go looking for massive change.
William Weld

If we have major geographic areas within our continent that have a tremendous lack of economic opportunity, we found that that is going to produce instability _ economic, political and social.
William Weld

In the nineteenth century, slavery was the greatest wrong, and government never stood so tall as when it was redressing that wrong.
William Weld

It's healthy for government to be a kind of moral catalyst, using the bully pulpit of high office.
William Weld

It's not good for government to tell people that the world owes them a living and that things are free.
William Weld

Liberals often don't see the problems, and conservatives don't see the promise, of government.
William Weld

Managing people's sex lives is something that I don't think is a good role for government.
William Weld

Micro managing anything is not a great role for government.
William Weld