I guess, in Bob Beane's world ("Free speech without constructive ideas contributes little to progress," AFN, Aug. 17), "right away" is three years?
Oh, well, here's the reality...
"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. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years..."
That quotation has been attributed to many different authors. For a good discussion, see http://tinyurl.com/4ktr4c.
We currently rank ninth worldwide in economic freedom and 17th in DEMOCRACY. How's that grab you? A British-style "brain drain" will be next, followed by British- and Greek-style riots.
I'm tired of jousting with leftists who just can't see the ensuing disaster.
So spend, spend, spend, and party like there's no tomorrow... because there may not be... for you.
Jim Thompson
