James Tobin

"The money supply is not a lever that directly controls the real economy."

"Recessions are painful but sometimes necessary corrections to unsustainable boom."

"The pursuit of maximum efficiency often creates fragility and vulnerability."

"A healthy economy has room for those who work hard but lack great talent."

"The financial sector should serve the real economy, not dominate it."

"We must ask not just 'Is it profitable?' but 'Is it right?'"

"Economic growth without moral progress is descent masked as advance."

"The distribution of wealth matters as much as its creation."

"Unemployment and inflation represent different faces of economic failure."

"We cannot buy our way out of problems that require us to think differently."

"The economist's job is to illuminate tradeoffs, not to hide them."

"In a complex economy, simplistic solutions often create new problems."

"The price mechanism is powerful but imperfect in allocating resources justly."

"Capital gains should not be treated as more virtuous than wages earned."

"A society's economic system reflects its deepest values and assumptions."

"We inherit an economic order, but we are not bound by it forever."

"The best economic outcomes occur when people pursue their own good and the common good simultaneously."

"Money illusion affects not just workers, but also policymakers and investors."

"The long run is composed of many short runs; we must act today."

"A prosperous economy is built on trust, not just contracts."

"We should never sacrifice human dignity on the altar of economic efficiency."

"The economy is a means to human flourishing, not an end in itself."

"Credit availability determines investment and growth as much as interest rates do."

"We must learn from economic history or be condemned to repeat its mistakes."

"The Tobin tax on financial transactions might reduce harmful speculation."

"Capital mobility creates winners and losers; we must consider both."

"A true economist understands that correlation does not imply causation."

"The real tragedy is not that some are rich, but that some are poor."

"We must build economic institutions that are resilient, not just efficient."

"The love of money may be the root of evil, but fear of poverty is its poison."