"Benjamin Franklin said there were only two things certain in life: death and taxes. But I'd like to add a third certainty: trash. And while some in this room might want to discuss reducing taxes, I want to talk about reducing trash"
About this Quote
Benjamin Franklin’s famous pairing of death and taxes is a touchstone of political wit, and Ruth Ann Minner cleverly extends it to the modern world by adding trash. The humor disarms, but the pivot is strategic: in a room likely primed for the perennial debate over tax cuts, she shifts attention to a quieter certainty that burdens every household and municipality. Waste is not just a nuisance; it is a persistent cost center, a land-use problem, and an environmental threat. Reducing trash, she implies, is both a civic duty and a fiscal strategy.
As Delaware’s governor, Minner cultivated a reputation for pragmatic stewardship. In a small, densely settled coastal state, landfill space is finite and expensive, and pollution imperils tourism, fisheries, and public health. By reframing the policy conversation from abstract tax ideology to tangible waste streams, she emphasizes the kind of governance that targets root causes: packaging, single-use materials, inefficient disposal, and lack of recycling and composting infrastructure. Cutting trash can ultimately ease municipal budgets, curb long-term environmental liabilities, and, indirectly, reduce pressure on taxes themselves.
The line also works as a critique of political priorities. Taxes dominate headlines because they are measurable and polarizing; trash is universal yet often invisible until it piles up, leaches into waterways, or blows across highways. Minner’s juxtaposition highlights a skewed attention economy and argues for investing political capital in issues that deliver concrete public benefits. The cadence of her sentence, with its triad of certainties and the clean contrast between taxes and trash, makes the message memorable and actionable.
Beneath the quip sits an ethic of shared responsibility. Everyone produces waste; everyone can help reduce it. Leaders can set standards, businesses can redesign products and supply chains, and communities can separate, reuse, and compost. By recentering policy on the certainty of trash, Minner asks for a politics measured less by slogans and more by what stays out of the landfill.
As Delaware’s governor, Minner cultivated a reputation for pragmatic stewardship. In a small, densely settled coastal state, landfill space is finite and expensive, and pollution imperils tourism, fisheries, and public health. By reframing the policy conversation from abstract tax ideology to tangible waste streams, she emphasizes the kind of governance that targets root causes: packaging, single-use materials, inefficient disposal, and lack of recycling and composting infrastructure. Cutting trash can ultimately ease municipal budgets, curb long-term environmental liabilities, and, indirectly, reduce pressure on taxes themselves.
The line also works as a critique of political priorities. Taxes dominate headlines because they are measurable and polarizing; trash is universal yet often invisible until it piles up, leaches into waterways, or blows across highways. Minner’s juxtaposition highlights a skewed attention economy and argues for investing political capital in issues that deliver concrete public benefits. The cadence of her sentence, with its triad of certainties and the clean contrast between taxes and trash, makes the message memorable and actionable.
Beneath the quip sits an ethic of shared responsibility. Everyone produces waste; everyone can help reduce it. Leaders can set standards, businesses can redesign products and supply chains, and communities can separate, reuse, and compost. By recentering policy on the certainty of trash, Minner asks for a politics measured less by slogans and more by what stays out of the landfill.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|
More Quotes by Ruth
Add to List
