Jean-Jacques Rousseau Quotes
We can never put ourselves in the shoes of children; we cannot fathom their thoughts, we lend them ours; and always following ourown reasoning, we stuff their heads with extravagance and error.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Emile. Translated by Barbara Foxley, J.M. Dent & Sons, 1911.
In 2001, the nation had a huge budget surplus from the Clinton administration and there was much political debate over economic policy. President Bush wanted to have a very large tax cut. Greenspan had testified that given the very large surplus, the nation could afford a tax cut and not resume a deficit. However, the tax cut did not have the stimulus effect that the President had hoped, and the surplus was used up and exceeded. To make matters worse, September 11 began the War on Terror which required extensive additional government spending. The nation went from the largest surplus in American history to the largest deficit in American History in the next 4 years. Greenspan did something that is very rare in Washington. He publicly admitted error.
He was the leader of the team that followed to invading troops into Iraq to find the nuclear and other WMDs that the CIA had said were deployed and ready to be used. They found none. Worse for the CIA, there were not even any development programs ongoing. The CIA Director was furious with Kay for admitting the CIA gross error. Kay was given minor assignments thereafter even though he was the best WMD analyst we had.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic and educational thought.
