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Ronald Reagan, 1981:
“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”
This is one of Reagan's most famous phrases, and it's been used by many political followers since to justify their policy decisions. The next passage in his legendary inaugural address then said, "From time to time we've been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price."
According to RealClearPolitics, "Ronald Reagan used his first inaugural address to attempt to revive America’s confidence in the Constitution, the Founding Fathers, and the individual; to advocate a revival of self-government by limiting the power of the state."
This photo is a portrait of President Ronald Reagan from May 1981. (Getty)