A plaque remaining from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem.

Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.

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Entry from July 23, 2013
“Government philosophy: If it ain’t broke, fix it ‘til it is”

“Goverment philosophy: If it ain’t broke, fix it ‘til it is” is a jocular saying that’s been printed on many bumper stickers. The usual proverb is, of course, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” However, the joke is that government takes something that’s not broken and “fixes” it until it is broken.
 
“You know what they say in government. If it ain’t broke, fix it anyway” was cited in print in 1993. “On my car: U.S. Government Philosophy: If it ain’t broke, fix it till it is” was a bumper sticker cited in 2000.
 
   
Wikiquote: Anonymous
Government philosophy: If it ain’t broke, fix it ‘til it is.
 
27 April 1991, Rockford (IL) Register Star, “CBS’ ‘Shadow’ loses Hitchcock’s charm” by Howard Rosenberg (Los Angeles Times), pg. 3D, col. 1:
HOLLYWOOD—There’s an old adage in television: If it ain’t broke, fix it.
 
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1943 suspenseful movie Shadow of a Doubt certainly ain’t broke.
 
12 May 1993, The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), “Shots, Snakes, Ollie and Other Vexations” by Jerry Alley, Beacon sec., pg. 6:
You know what they say in government. If it ain’t broke, fix it anyway.
 
The Firing Line Forums
iso1
December 15, 2000, 03:38 AM
On my car:
U.S. Government Philosophy: If it ain’t broke, fix it till it is.
 
Google News Archive
4 January 2001, The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA), “Hot Potatoes” by D. F. Oliveria, pg. B6, col. 1:
Bumpersnicker of the Week: “Government motto: If it ain’t broke, fix it until it is.”
 
22 January 2003, Palm Beach (FL) Post “Stuck in a traffic jam> Read a bumper sticker” by Mike Tighe, pg. 4:
U.S. government approach: If it ain’t broke, fix it til it is.
 
7 March 2004, Whittier (CA) Daily News, “Learn about local economy”:
Government says, “If it ain’t broke, fix it until it is!’
     
Google Books
Test-Driven iOS Development
By Graham Lee  
\Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Development, Inc.
2012
Pg. ?:
There’s an old hacker maxim that seems appropriate here: “If it ain’t broke, fix it ‘til it is.”
 
Google Books
The Mammoth Book of One-Liners
By Geoff Tibballs
London: Constable & Robinson Ltd.
2012
Pg. ?:
If it ain’t broke, fix it until it is.

Posted by Barry Popik
New York CityGovernment/Law/Military/Religion /Health • Tuesday, July 23, 2013 • Permalink


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