I have complied a list of the jargon that I sometimes use:
baby bathwater - a shortened version of "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater", meaning, while you are getting rid of something bad (ie dirty bathwater) make sure you keep the good elements (ie the cute little baby)
bureaucratic bite - every time a dollar goes via the government from the people, it never returns to the society with 100 cents in it
career politician - one who goes or stays in politics for anything else than the good of the society (as they see it)
the invisible hand - an idea suggested by Adam Smith in Wealth of Nations (1776) that when people trade voluntarily, all parties expect to benefit. He also explained that because people trade, each person's actions affect other people. Even selfish actions often help other people. He explained that the butcher and the baker provide food for our dinner not because of their generosity, but because of their own self-interests. Smith explained that even in acting selfishly, people are often "led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part" of their intentions 1
pork barrelling - government spending that is intended to benefit constituents of a politician in return for their political support, either in the form of campaign contributions or votes. The term is thought to have originated on Southern United States plantations, where slaves were allocated the unwanted remainder of slaughtered pigs, or the "pork barrel." source: wikipedia
strike the root - means to hit at the main cause of the problem rather than prune at some of the effects of the problem
two-ended stick - every stick has two ends and when you pick up one you get the other as well, for example when a lobby group calls for the government to support something, the other end of the stick may be the tax payers will have to fund it, regulation will have to be created to support it and an administration is created to support the regulation etc
water will find it's own level - if I take a clear plastic tube and make it into a U shape and put in some water, that water will always be exactly level on either side with in a couple of seconds, unless I interfere by putting my thumb on one end. This is like most things (ie a free market). Government controls to regulate in the interest of the society are almost always counter-productive. People don't need government to make them happy or rich, they just need it to stop crime, provide defence and build roads (ie stick to the basics). The people can do the rest themselves.
.