The Fall of Athens

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote
themselves largesse (generous gifts) 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, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship.
The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through this
sequence. From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance, from abundance to complacency; from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back into bondage."

This was written by Scottish historian Alexander Tyler in 1787 in regard to the collapse of the Athenian Republic of Ancient Greece.

This quote is often cited by those arguing against the social programs promoted by the Democratic Party and is used to justify the need to cut back on the already frayed social safety net the United States offers it's disenfranchised population. But it can just as easily be used against the Republican Party, the current administration, and the corporate welfare state (which draws substantially more milk from the government teet than any social program offerred to the poor). George Bush has pledged to bail out New Orleans and continue his ill-fated war in Iraq without raising taxes. He will do nothing to reform the current tax laws which allow corporations to funnel their money offshore and he will continue to offer no-bid government contracts to his cronies under the guise of national interest. He will allow oil companies to keep raising fuel prices even though they are earning record profits and he will give them tax cuts and outright cash handouts. His fiscal policy consists of one single component: simply borrow more money and increase the deficit.

Here's my question: If we can borrow all the money we want - billions and billions - then why do we pay any taxes at all? Why not just borrow all the money? Why not just pay a token $5 a head and then borrow every other penny? At what point is printing more money simply not an option? At what point does the rest of the world blow our house of cards down and say enough is enough.

Perhaps never.

Perhaps tomorrow.