Government Honesty Quotes

If governments did not mislead their citizens so often, there would be less need for secrecy, and if leaders knew they could not rely on keeping the public in the dark about what they are doing, they would have a powerful incentive to behave better.

Joe and I are still very aware of the fact that we live in a country where he criticised the government and lived another day. That trumps all. To paraphrase Churchill, democracy is the worst form of government apart from all the other forms of government. You constantly have to fight for it; you have to keep your government honest.

I think we can get respect for Parliament back providing governments and oppositions are frank.

if you think any American official is going to tell you the truth, then you’re stupid. Did you hear that? Stupid!

It is like we are obliged to assume that the government is only doing what it says it is doing.

The government of the German Democratic Republic rejects secret policies. It works for the people, and only the people, so it does not need to keep secrets like the warmongers.

I don't think that the administration is being particularly honest with the American people about what this is going to cost in life and in dollars, what the dangers are, retaliatory strikes, once it happens. This is not a war that needs to happen immediately, if ever.

You can't believe the government - on anything. And you especially can't believe them when they're talking about important stuff.

Government that is open and honest will always be able to withstand the light of day.

People are entitled to believe the government is constantly lying to them, but it isn't.

Rebuilding New Orleans is going to challenge the New Orleans and Louisiana state government, neither or which has been known for its efficiency or its honesty.

This is bad for policy-making - if you cover up the problems, how can you solve them? It also corrodes public trust. Government must be much more honest about the challenges facing the country, if we are to begin to tackle them. Short-term spin must give way to proper long-term strategic thinking.

Misrepresentation of public Measures is easily overthrown, by representing public Measures truly; when they are honest, they ought to be publicly known, that they may be publicly commended, but if they are knavish or pernicious, they ought to be publicly exposed, in order to be publicly detested.

Why is there so much resistance among people who work in the Government to the seemingly obvious fact that, in our democracy, if the Government lies, it will eventually get caught

We Americans are the ultimate innocents. We are forever desperate to believe that this time the government is telling us the truth.

A rigid economy of the public contributions and absolute interdiction of all useless expenses will go far towards keeping the government honest and unoppressive.

I think the American people deserve somebody telling them what is really happening in Washington.

The Government needs to be honest and straight with people.

You have a choice of trusting the natural stability of gold, or the honesty and intelligence of members of government.

I choose to make it my job to not automatically believe what the U.S. government says.

The national parks belong to everyone. To the people. To all of us. The government keeps saying so and maybe, in this one case at least, the government is telling the truth. Hard to believe, but possible.

Morality in government begins with officials using words as honestly as possible to describe the truth.

I was reluctant to be critical of the United States because I thought the United States could do no wrong; that the government could not lie to its people.

National leaders who find themselves wilting under the withering criticisms by members of the media, would do well not to take such criticism personally but to regard the media as their allies in keeping the government clean and honest, its services.

We've always tried to run a transparent and honest government.