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"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public
by dcow 3y ago
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury." --Alexander Fraser Tytler
- greedo 3y agoDemocracy is the worst of all forms of government, except for all the rest. So by your quote I'm to assume either you're a monarchist seeking a benevolent ruler, a socialist/communist, or an anarchist.
- dcow 3y agoNo? I can point out an insightful quote as a warning and imply we’re not on a healthy path in our current system without espousing delusions of socialism…
- shadowgovt 3y agoThe democracy in the United States has gone on to outlive him by 210 years and has had a social security program for 88 of those years.
- dcow 3y agoHis prediction was 300 years. Anyway I don't think it's until recently where we've really started voting ourselves money straight from the treasury. Time will tell whether that's sustainable.
- greedo 3y agoWe've always voted money straight from the Treasury. Government contracts, government subsidies, you name it, it's been from Day 1. Every tax break we give is money that the Treasury could spend. Every "incentive" we provide is the same. The Whiskey Rebellion was Treasury money...