“‘Need’ now means wanting someone else’s money; ‘greed’ means keeping your own”

AMerican journalist and writer Joe Sobran (1946-2010) wrote in The Economics of Liberty (1990);
 
In the current political vocabulary, ‘need’ means wanting to get someone else’s money. ‘Greed,’ which used to mean what “need” now means, has come to mean wanting to keep your own. ‘Compassion’ means the politician’s willingness to arrange the transfer.”
 
This has usually been condensed to:
 
“‘Need’ now means wanting someone else’s money. ‘Greed’ means wanting to keep your own. ‘Compassion’ is when a politician arranges the transfer.”
 
A similar quote is, “I have never understood why it is ‘greed’ to want to keep the money you have earned, but not greed to want to take somebody else’s money.”
 
   
Wikipedia: Joseph Sobran
Michael Joseph Sobran, Jr. (February 23, 1946 – September 30, 2010) was an American journalist and writer, formerly with National Review and a syndicated columnist, known as Joe Sobran. Pundit Pat Buchanan called Sobran “perhaps the finest columnist of our generation”.
 
Mises.org
The Economics of Liberty
Edited By Llewellyn H. Rockwell
Auburn, AL; The Ludwig von Mises Institute
1990
Pg. 159:
Back to First Principles
Joseph Sobran
Pg. 169:
In the current political vocabulary, “need” means wanting to get someone else’s money. “Greed,” which used to mean what “need” now means, has come to mean wanting to keep your own. “Compassion” means the politician’s willingness to arrange the transfer.
   
Foundation for Economic Education (FEE)
Restoring Parental Responsibility for Education
Separation of School and State Would Re-Establish Parents’ Rights and Responsibilities
JULY 01, 1996 by MARSHALL FRITZ
(...)
Let’s recall columnist Joseph Sobran’s insight: “‘Need’ now means wanting someone else’s money. ‘Greed’ means wanting to keep your own. ‘Compassion’ is when a politician arranges the transfer.”
   
Ludwig von Mises Institute
A Screed on Need and Greed
Mises Daily: Thursday, July 22, 2004 by Gary Galles
For two years, we have been innudated with denunciations of “corporate greed” that has supposedly created scandal and led to prosecutions of CEOs. The greed of the fatcats is nicely contrasted with the “need” of the middle class and the poor. And so with these two little words we recreate a Marxian-style drama of class conflict based on human motivation.
 
These two words should be treated with care. Not only do they lack clear meanings, but they have been systematically abused to trigger the use of government power to coerce others. As Joseph Sobran put it, “‘Need’ now means wanting someone else’s money. ‘Greed’ means wanting to keep your own. And ‘Compassion’ is when a politician arranges the transfer.”
 
Econosseur
Need, Greed, and Compassion
By Richard W. Evans on October 29, 2008 2:22 PM
“‘Need’ now means wanting someone else’s money.  ‘Greed’ means wanting to keep your own.  ‘Compassion’ is when a politician arranges the transfer.”
 
(Joseph Sobran, syndicated political columnist and former National Review writer.  Quote is from his chapter in the book The Economics of Liberty (Mises Institute) entitled “Back to First Principles.”)
         
Creators.com
October 25, 2012
Greed
By John Stossel
(...)
As Joseph Sobran put it: “‘Need’ now means wanting someone else’s money. ‘Greed’ means wanting to keep your own. ‘Compassion’ is when a politician arranges the transfer.’”
 
Reformed Libertarian
Joe Sobran Quote from LRC
Posted by: TRL Admin March 28, 2013 in Politics
If you want government to intervene domestically, you’re a liberal.
If you want government to intervene overseas, you’re a conservative.
If you want government to intervene everywhere, you’re a moderate.
If you don’t want government to intervene anywhere, you’re an extremist.
 
“Need” now means wanting someone else’s money.
“Greed” now means wanting to keep your own.
“Compassion” is when a politician arranges the transfer.
—Joe Sobran
 
Twitter
Katie Anne
‏@BunnysDaughter
“‘Need’ now means wanting someone else’s money. ‘Greed’ means wanting to keep your own. ‘Compassion’ is ...” #tcot pic.twitter.com/wSQcNXHI3a
9:44 PM - 5 Aug 2014