“Be thankful we’re not getting all the government we’re paying for” is a saying that has been printed on many images. The saying is usually credited to American vaudeville performer, actor and humorous social commentator Will Rogers (1879-1935), but there is no evidence that he said it.
 
[This entry was assisted by research from the Quote Investigator.]
 
 
Wikipedia: Will Rogers
William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma), and is known as “Oklahoma’s Favorite Son”. As an entertainer and humorist, he traveled around the world three times, made 71 films (50 silent films and 21 “talkies”), and wrote more than 4,000 nationally syndicated newspaper columns. By the mid-1930s, Rogers was hugely popular in the United States for his leading political wit and was the highest paid of Hollywood film stars.
     
Google Books
April 1948, Erie Railroad Magazine, pg. 14, col. 2:
HORRIBLE THOUGHT
While we all think we are getting “too much government,” just think what would happen if we got all the government we are paying for.
   
Newspapers.com
20 April 1949, Janesville (WI) Daily Gazette, “400 at C. of C. Annual Banquet” by Roland Kuehn, pg. 15, col. 7:
(Spoken by Dr. Kenneth McFarland, Topeka, Kansas, school superintendent.—ed.)
“One thing we can feel good about is that we don’t get all the government we pay for. We could never stand that.”
 
26 August 1949, The Christian Science Monitor (Boston, MA), “Brevities,” pg. 17, col. 7:
To those who believe we are getting too much government, think what would happen i we got all the government we are paying for.—Grit.
 
Newspapers.com
10 December 1949, Mandan (ND) Daily Pioneer, “Hits and Mrs.” by C. F. Pierce, pg. 3, col. 5:
I think Lee Mohr has something when he adds as an additional reason to be thankful that “we don’t get all the government we pay for.”
   
Newspapers.com
24 January 1955, Courier-Post (Camden, NJ), “Life Hereabouts” by Jake Weiner, pg. 2, col. 1:
TODAY’S FOOLOSOPHY (from the Vincentown reader): “maybe we should be thankful we’re not getting all the government we’re paying for.”
 
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Sal the Agorist
@SallyMayweather
(“Be thankful we’re not getting all the government we’re paying for. Will Rogers” is shown on an image.—ed.)
8:12 AM · Apr 1, 2024