9 Cannots - A Message Worth Repeating

  1. Support thrift. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
  2. Strengthen all. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
  3. Help the wage payer. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
  4. Support cooperation. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred.
  5. Encourage rich and poor alike. You cannot help the poor by discouraging the rich.
  6. Establish a strong financial foundation. You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
  7. Save. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
  8. Fight for freedom. You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence.
  9. Take Responsibility. You cannot help man permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

Attributed to Rev. William J. H. Boetcker, who lectured around the United States about industrial relations at the turn of the twentieth century. And used by Ronald Reagan at the 1992 Republican Convention.