The Gipper

"Calvin Coolidge, one of our most underrated Presidents, put it well: 'Our country,' he said, 'was conceived in the theory of local self-government. It has been dedicated by long practice to that wise and beneficient policy. It is the foundation principle of our system of liberty.' When Cal Coolidge was President, taxes -- Federal, State, and local -- were taking a dime out of every dollar earned, and two-thirds of that dime went to State and local government. By 1980 taxes were up to 35 cents of every dollar, and three-fifths of that came to Washington. ... First, we must continue working to return power to levels of government closer to the people. We believe that when it comes to running county government, county officials will always do better from the county seat than bureaucrats could ever do from Washington."

-- Ronald Reagan