Home / Library / Quotes / The Extravagance of Government Notable Quote "Great nations are never impoverished by private, though they sometimes are by public prodigality and misconduct." — Smith, Adam event 1776 content_copy check From An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations Context: On how government waste and mismanagement, not private spending, impoverish nations Topics gavel Government Intervention analytics Economics psychology_alt Critical Thinking