What does the quote "I am strong because I am weak" mean?

What does Gerald R. Ford mean when he said this what does this quote mean?

• What does Gerald R. Ford mean when he said this what does this quote mean. These words were spoken by Gerald Ford in an address to Congress on August 12, 1974. He reiterated them as part of his closing remarks of the Republican National Convention of 1996, held in San Diego, California. The full context of the quote (from the convention) is as such: What is it, in a few words, that all Republicans believe? We believe - along with millions of Democrats and Independents - that a government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have. http://everything2.com/title/A+government+big+enough+to+give+you+everything+you+want+is+a+government+big+enough+to+take+from+you+everything+you+have

• Answer:

  The government doesn't make anything. If it gives one person money or services, it had to take that money or service from someone else. The quote refers to the fact that if the government is in a position to give everything that someone that they want, then they have grown powerful enough to take it from someone else. Just because today you may be on the receiving end of the giving, doesn't mean that tomorrow you won't be the one having things taken to give to someone else.