Bonus Quotation of the Day…

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… is from pages 207-208 of the late E.G. West’s 1976 book, Adam Smith: The Man and His Works:

Smith’s views on the national debt and unbalanced budgets in particular revealed the full vigor of his opposition to mercantilists like [Sir James] Steuart. In issuing debt, governments deprived industry and commerce of capital and thereby caused an increase in current consumption. This was to the detriment of accumulation and growth. Unbalanced budgets were a menace to liberty. Once the sovereign developed a taste for borrowing he would realize an increase in his political power since he would no longer be so dependent on tax exactions.