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This has been coming for a while, and the end of empire is an accelerating process: http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2009/02/the-decline-is-always-slow-until

This has been coming for a while, and the end of empire is an accelerating process: http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2009/02/the-decline-is-always-slow-until-the-rapid-collapse-at-the-end.php http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2009/02/the-decline-is-al... "Freedom and other necessities for prosperity (such as the rule of law, absence of taxation, and so forth) have been in decline in the US over the past decade. The specific proximate causes for the legislation and social changes that brought this decline don't really matter all that much - there is always some sequence of events that politicians and populace can use as justification and cover to further destroy all the qualities that once made their society great." http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2011/10/the-prospects-for-a-near-term-funding-desert.php http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2011/10/the-prospects-for... "It's no great secret that the US is decaying; this is history unfolding as a procedural. The US is ever more rapidly becoming just another Europe, Japan, or pick your dysfunctional fascist-leaning (per the dictionary definition) economy of choice. The ending of empires that centralize economic and legislative power, develop a ruling class, grow their military, and debase their currency is pretty much written in stone - it's the details of the move from wealth enjoyed in freedom to authoritarian poverty that will surprise people in their nature and timing."

te_chris 15y ago
The absence of taxation is not a prerequisite for prosperity. Government is the only institution that we, as citizens of secular democracies, have to protect us from undue influence from theocracy and plutocracy - and taxation is the most efficient way to fund this. Most governments are failing at exacting their democratic duties, however, because over the last 50 years, through incredibly effective lobbying, they have allowed themselves to be captured by special interests and the actual rules and accountability frameworks that governments operate within have been distorted and perverted. This has happened to the point that most western nations may still have 1 person == 1 vote, but they barely have representative democracy. We need to reform government and strengthen its ability to act as the trusted protector of its people against unhealthy factional interests, not destroy it.

te_chris 15y ago

The absence of taxation is not a prerequisite for prosperity. Government is the only institution that we, as citizens of secular democracies, have to protect us from undue influence from theocracy and plutocracy - and taxation is the most efficient way to fund this. Most governments are failing at exacting their democratic duties, however, because over the last 50 years, through incredibly effective lobbying, they have allowed themselves to be captured by special interests and the actual rules and accountability frameworks that governments operate within have been distorted and perverted. This has happened to the point that most western nations may still have 1 person == 1 vote, but they barely have representative democracy. We need to reform government and strengthen its ability to act as the trusted protector of its people against unhealthy factional interests, not destroy it.