If you want the government off your back, get your hands out of its pockets.

The line turns a common anti-government complaint (“get the government off my back”) into a rebuke: citizens and interest groups who demand less regulation or oversight often simultaneously seek government money, subsidies, contracts, tax breaks, or other benefits. By pairing “off your back” with “out of its pockets,” the quote argues that dependence on public funds invites public scrutiny and conditions. Its significance lies in reframing “small government” rhetoric as a question of reciprocity and accountability: if one wants fewer governmental constraints, one should also accept fewer governmental favors, reducing rent-seeking and the political bargaining that accompanies it.